Where is your peace?

It seems that Philippians 4:6-7 just finds its way back to my life in the middle of every season i enter. It reads:

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

So what do we know about this verse? We know Paul wrote it. We also know he wrote it while he was in prison for preaching the Gospel (Philippians 1:7, 13, 17). What does this have to do with you and I?

I have recently been going through a season of TRUST, meaning i have had to trust God for bigger things than ever before. I have been anxiously waiting for a breakthrough and move of God. Yesterday I spoke to someone i look up to and as i told him about how i am waiting for God to do something big he asked "Where is your peace? Is your peace in God providing or in God? Will you have peace only when He has come through for you or even in the process?"

This wrecked me. Paul could have dwelt on his need for a breakthrough (aka freedom from prison) but he dwelt on something better, the Peace of God. Truth is sometimes we get so caught up in the situation, in the "now" that we lose sight of what its all about, God. He has my best interest, He sees the bigger picture, He knows. My trust CANNOT be dependent on Him coming through for me, that isnt faith, but on the fact that He is STILL God even in my circumstances.

I now have peace, although the breakthrough hasnt come because my peace comes from the Lord not from some money i need, health i desire, or a call on my life.

7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Through prayer and thanksgiving we receive His peace that is far greater than our answered prayer anyways! As we live in Christ Jesus our hearts and minds remain confident in this...WE WILL SEE THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD.

"My Peace is not dependent on a breakthrough but on the God that brings breakthrough"

-Henry Espinoza

In the Meantime...

Being ambitious is one of my bittersweet traits. Like many, i can quickly get caught up with "whats next" and miss out on where i currently am. To paint a better picture i have found a perfect passage.

45Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd....50 Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. 53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there.

To give you some context; Jesus sent the disciples somewhere, to their next mission, leaving behind what they had done in the past. The disciples get in a storm, everything is going nuts, the disciples are freaked out, scared, and lacked faith even WITH Jesus present. All they want was to arrive at their destination. Sound similar?

After hearing a sermon on this passage I was challenged with the question; What do you do when your not where you used to be, but your also not where your suppose to be?

The disciples had been sent out. Jesus was taking them to a new place. He has a destination for them. In the middle of the journey they find themselves in a storm. They are no longer where they used to be but they are also not where they are suppose to be. The passage presents 3 things;

1) Jesus steps in the boat and the storm calms.

- His presence in our situation will calm all storms of life

2)They lacked faith, hearts were harden (v.52) Yet STILL arrived

- You and your ability have nothing to do with God's faithfulness in the storm.

3)The only thing they did to get to the other side is stay on the boat.

-dont jump ship,even if your scared, just stay in the boat.

We sometimes want God to tell us when we are going to arrive, He simply says "When we arrive". What do we do once we leave where we used to be but are not where we are going to be. What do we do with the "meantime". There is only one thing we can do and that is, stay on the boat. This statement is more profound then we think. I doesn't mean that you wont get tempted to give up, you will, i am sure the disciples did, but don't give up!

In the "meantime" we learn about God's grace that keeps us (v.51), we learn about our own inability to get where God wants to take us without Jesus, and we learn that there is always a season where you aren't comfortable but He is with us.

I find myself in a rather interesting season as i suppose you do as well. You know God has something for you in the next season. You know God has prepared good things for your future. You have seen a vision of what God wants to do in your life. You have discovered your calling. Then God says "Ok, now endure the 'meantime' season."

I know, I know, it makes you want to pull your hair out. You have been waiting and waiting and God finally takes you out, gives you a glimpse of where you are going, but then places you in a "meantime" season. There is ONLY one thing that the disciples did to get to the other side. Or rather one thing they didn't do. They didn't jump ship. They stayed on the boat. No matter what season is headed your way, embrace this one. Today impacts tomorrow a whole lot more than you know. I leave you with this;

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6,7

Wake up in the morning feelin like Jeremiah

So despite the fact that the title is somewhat funny it is truly what is in my heart. I did wake up this morning with a new retrospect on the whole Proverbs 7:1 that states "My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you." And just wondered How does God's word, inside me, effect me?

I did wake up in the morning feeling like Jeremiah (haha). As i came accross the Book of Jeremiah Chapter 20 and Verse 9 something inside of me just clicked.

"But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot." (Jeremiah 20:9)

When i read this i completely realized THIS is how i feel. For some reason after keeping His words, reading His words, digesting His words...i cannot keep them in! INDEED i cannot, there is something inside of me that will only be satisfied when i let these words out. I must speak up, i must shout forth His glory, i MUST! I dont wanna go on with repeating the same, so ill leave you with this; FIND his WORD, READ his WORD, LIVE his WORD, and something inside of you will just burst and you will not be able to contain it. You will HAVE to share it!

To all my interns, and all my friends

So the eight weeks are up, they are complete. The deluge Internship is over, or is it? I have said this many times and i will say it again. The deluge internship has JUST begun. We are to be tested and tried, to see what we have learned. We cannot afford to let go of what we have learned but rather we must tatoo it to our hearts. I wish i could write you all a letter but i have decided that my friend Peter has already done this for me. There is not much i can say after this:(emphasis on the BOLD)

2 Peter 1: 3-11

3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

now i want to say something, but i cant its simple enough. If you aren't impressed, read it again. God has SERIOUSLY prepared GREAT things for us, but we must be EAGER.

I really can't say much, except for this:

I truly love all of you, some of you are easier to love then others (honestly) but nonetheless you are all AMAZING people. I know that God will be glorified through all of your lives. I pray that we all remain strong in the faith and that we never forget what God has called us to do. God bless you all, and i love you.

-Henry

God's Coffee

I recently Graduated High school and am currently embarking in a new adventure. Even though it has only been days, i still talk to all my best friends and have even spoken to one or two teachers. I wonder if years from now i will be able to get together with them and discuss life.

I came across a story of a group of alumni getting together to talk about their lives, this is how it went:

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... and then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us." God brews the coffee, not the cups...Enjoy your coffee!

Maybe today you find yourself in an overwelming situation. Maybe you are reflecting on your life and for some reason your not satisfied with what you have. Maybe you thought your life would be different. Maybe you are seeing other peoples lives and wishing it was your life.

God brews the coffee, and he has made sure it is EXACTLY what you need, perhaps you are paying too much attention to the cup. Think about it, without the cup is it still not coffee? Be grateful because God has given you life, something more than 500 people did not have today alone.

If you don't get everything you want, think of the things you don't get that you don't want." ~Oscar Wilde

IN HIS IMAGE

How many of you guys remember the days when you would come to church and as your parents went to the main santuary you went to sunday school? How many of you guys remember Noah's ark, Moises parting the seas, and Jesus doing miracles? How many of you guys remember Joseph and his really awesome jacket? (alright so maybe it was a tunic)

I have been able to read Joseph's life story in depth and with discernment in a way that leaves me speechless. Joseph was paralleled to Jesus did you know that? Check this out

Joseph: Jacob's favored son,

Jesus: God's one and only beloved son

Joseph: Had dreams of his reign

Jesus: KNEW about His reign

Joseph: Hated by his own brothers,

Jesus: Hated and crucified by His own people

Joseph: Rejected by his brothers,

Jesus: Rejected by the jews (His brothers)

Joseph: Was placed in a foreign land to serve,
Jesus: went to foreign cities to serve

Joseph:Tempted but refused potiphars wife

Jesus: Tempted but refused sins of satan.

Joseph: placed in a high position by egyptians(foreigners)

Jesus: Valued by gentiles (us)

Joseph: Became the solution to a famine (shortage in food)
Jesus: Became the solution to a famine (shortage of Hope)

Joseph: showed his people his dreams were right all along
Jesus: shall show the jews he was right all along

Amazing is not even close to describe how God does things. Now if you love literature like me, then THIS just blows you away. IF this hasnt then THIS should.

Joseph pleased God. God is Love therfore God wants us to portray love. Christ was the completion, the fullfillment, of God's love. He portrayed love like no one else and became a man that was created in God's image. God had many men who were amazing. They were placed in the bible because God saw HIMSELF in them and was PLEASED

[Genesis 1:27-31
So God created human beings in his own image.In the image of God he created them...Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!]

Abraham was tested with Isaac. God wanted to see if he would sacrifice HIS son, HIS promise, HIS offspring. Harsh right? not at all!!!!!

God did the same thing remember? I have heard many people say:

"how can you serve a God that would ask someone to kill their own son?"

ummm how can you NOT serve a God that would do that for YOU?

When God saw that Abraham would kill Isaac simply because He asked him to He told him to STOP. Why? God had seen Himself in Abraham and was pleased.

God is ALWAYS looking for HIMSELF in US since that is how He created us. IN HIS IMAGE.

CHRIST was the fullfillment of that. Christ was God therfore God was pleased. The men mentioned in the bible were there because they reflected God because God saw it pleasing to His eyes that they would live a Godly life. My question is: Can God see Himself in you? My prayer for my life is that God may look at me one day and see HIMSELF and be pleased. How about you?

Into the Holy of Holies

Sweep me away

Sweep me away in your love,

where nothing else matters

Sweep me away

Sweep me away in your love,

where nothing else matters.

As this song played tonight at Elevate, my heart underwent some serious emotions. I am not an emotional guy, i am constantly in desperate need of only God and not some emotion that music can sometimes bring. This song was different though. I desired to find this "Love" . We often say we love God but the bible itself says in Matthew 15:8 "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. I came to terms with myself that it starts in the heart. You can say love, you can pretend to show love, but what is important is your heart. I am going to try to understand these lyrics.

The way i see it, we are asking God to sweep us away. In essence we are asking God to move us from the place we are at, emotionally, spiritually, and perhaps even physically. I have observed my mom when she sweeps the kitchen, and in some occasion (though not many) have done so myself. When i broom some dust i go back to parts already swept and do it again. Once I have gathered it all together i put it in the dust pan. Then it goes to where it belongs (not on my floor).

God on sweeping duty

1) retracing previous places

- Through my own experiences i have witness the hand of God having to go to places that i felt i had "fixed" and has had to give it one last swept to ensure that nothing has been left there.

2)Bringing everything together

- During cleaning time what you want to do is bring it all together so that you can put it in the dustpan all at once. What God does is He brings your family issues, economic situation, emotional crisis, insecurity, and all your terrible circumstances and puts them in a dustpan

3) Throwing out the trash

- This is the best part. Was the floor dirty? YES. Did things look bad? YES. Did it take a while? YES. Who's floor is now clean? YOURS IS!

The song does say specifically WHERE to sweep us away. In His Love! So this is where the question comes, What is Love?

To love something you have to hate something. Paul Washer once said something "I love babies, therefore i hate abortion". To accept something you refuse something else. Judah Smith once said "when i chose my wife to be my wife i accepted her and by accepting her i refused every other women on this earth". When we love God we hate the devil. When we love Jesus we hate what he was born to defeat, sin. Get it?

One of the most controversial books in the bible describes it perfectly:

Song of Solomon 8:6 Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

Love is as strong as death? What?!?! Jealousy as unyielding as a grave? What?!?!

It took me 7 days of bible study to understand Song of Solomon, i kid you not! It is a love that we don't comprehend. It is not made easy and it does not make sense. When your asking God to swept you away in His love you are asking him to let you undergo something that you are not going to be able to understand. GRACE and MERCY combined. You are telling God, take me to a place where nothing makes sense and enrich my body with an inexplicable love.

Where nothing else matters?

Do you understand that you are asking God to break your pride, your personal desires, your ambitions. You are telling God CRUCIFY my flesh and let my spirit REIGN. You are telling God, i want to see more of You and less of me in me! You are stating that you want to be in a place where God's presence is so great that your mind, body, soul cant even begin to wonder off about anything else. THIS is some crazy stuff. THIS is some Ezekiel, the Lord took my spirit, kind of stuff. This is some Holy of Holies kinda thing where it is you and the Lord. This is some "The Lord came down to where Abraham was in His tent" kind of stuff. You are no longer asking God for a feeling. You are no longer asking God for a new contemporary christian CD. You are no longer asking God for anything concerning you. You are telling God take me away, where i can be with you and you with me, and i will not need anything else because i will be with you. I dont know about you but that is NOT just "some song".

We are asking to enter the Holy of Holies. We are asking God to let us be one with Him, where nothing will make sense and it wont need to make sense. You are asking God to allow you to enter the tabernacle, pass the bronce alter, into the holy place, through the curtain and enter the Holy of Holies face to face with the ark of covenant where the Spirit of our living God will pour like never before. WOW! that is an overwelming stanza to sing. I want it, i desire it, i need it!

Think about the stanza. Tonight and every night my prayer is that He sweeps me away in His love where nothing else matters.

Keeping Up with the Disciples

Its 1:52pm on this Wednesday afternoon. As i thought about the building of my school i reflected on the courage that it would take to start something from absolutely nothing. Can you imagine a couple of acres of land, no blue print, no resources, no workers, and no idea what to do. I realized that THIS is how Jesus started His ministry. Though God is all powerful and omnipresent, Jesus started everything from scratch. When the world was completely corrupted (refer to early chapters of the 4 gospels) He rose up and created a kingdom, redeemed those that cursed Him, and also influenced, what till this day remains, the biggest seller in history of books. Do you understand that all of History was based on His-Story (hehe)?

i was thinking about how he chose 12 random, unprepared, underqualified, and somewhat arrogant (peter) guys. how can you possible do what He did with 12 random guys, who many believe, with the exception of peter, were all under 21 years of age. The bible says he chose them, that they MIGHT do His will.

The impacting thing about these 12 was that they were NOT perfect, NOT worthy, and NOT capable, simply willing. Im going to get straight to the point. God-willing i hope you understand this.

All 12 disciples died PREACHING his word, with the exception of Judas( but lets not get into that :D), and lived for Christ. Some were bruised, burned, beat, and martyred. the amazing men brought us many books of the bible, but now they are gone. Where do you fit in the kingdom that Christ came to establish? YOU are the continuation of the disciples. You see NOW there are not only 12 disciples there are many. Missionaries, evangelists, pastors, and many normal people deny themselves, pick up there cross and follow Christ. It is up to US to continue to word of God and spread it. We have alot of ground to cover and i motivate you to read the books of Peter, let him speak to you, from grace, that we have a job that will bring JOY despite the trials that we will first go through. Keep up with the disciples and don't be satisfied with what they did. GO OUT and PREACH!

When the answer is "No"

In a world where facebook is about the number one source of communications and we no longer call people because its too easy to text them, it comes to no surprised that this post will have SOMETHING to do with the growing social network Twitter. I dont use my twitter account often but when i do its always a joy. Today i came across a retweet that came from RevRun. He said "All of your prayers are answered...just admit sometimes the answer is NO". Now i know that RevRun isn't exactly a preacher or an ordained pastor but he brings up a good point. God answers all of our prayers. Sometimes its just hard to listen with spiritual ears when he is saying "No" to us.

I have often prayed for things that i believed i needed. I have also come across times when i feel that something is essential to my spiritual life, and because its essential than God will say yes. I have found myself praying and praying day after day until God gives me what "i need" when He probably told me within the firstweek of praying that it was NOT what i needed and He will NOT give me something that may harm me.

Faith requires that we see with spiritual eyes and hear with spiritual ears. Are you listening to God's voice, or are you listening to the voice you have made up for God. Friends i can assure you that there is a difference between God's will in your eyes, and God's actual will.

I spoke with a friend yesterday and i came to this conclusion:
Just because you do something for God doesnt mean that that is your calling. Don't get me wrong, the bible is clear when it says that everything can be used to glorify God and our goal should be to do just that. But i challenge you with this. What about an usher that has been an usher for 40 years, because he was desperate for serving, yet failed to accept his missionary calling of starting over 20 churches in all of Asia. I kid you not, many people have lived serving in one area, which is great, but failed to complete God's calling for them. Why does this happen?

Sometimes we choose and sort the things God has called us to do. I wanted to be a graphic designer and use it to glorify God. There would have not been anything wrong with that except it wasn't God's calling for my life. There IS a difference between a passion and a calling. I can be good at art yet be called to worship ministry, which i am not unfortunatly. I can be a good guitar player yet be called to organize the ushers at a local church. We must discover God's PERFECT WILL for our lives as Romans 12 tells us. And sometimes when we ask God to allow us to go into one kind of ministry God may be calling us to another one. Sometimes the answer is "no". Don't make it a "yes" if God said "No". Chances are that IF you are answering God's calling, God will see you through it the whole way.

How do i find my calling? SCRIPTURE, PRAYER, FASTING, and most importantly LISTENING. God desires to speak to you. So talk to him. Then, dwell in silence. Dont pray to God and ask him for a response and then say amen, then get up and leave. Don't do that! Pray, ask, then be quiet and listen. Sometimes God doesnt answer because you dont let him speak. LISTEN, dwell in His silence, and be prepared if he responds with a "No".

"These aren't my boots"

I heard a story about a kinder gardener and his teacher. One day a kindergarten teacher was helping one of her students put on his cowboy boots. He asked for help and she could see why. Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots still didn’t want to go on. Finally, when the second boot was on, she had worked up a sweat. She almost cried when the little boy said, "Teacher, they’re on the wrong feet." She looked down and sure enough, they were.

It wasn’t any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. But she managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on - this time on the right feet. And it was only then that he announced, "These aren’t my boots."

She bit her tongue rather than scream, "Why didn’t you say so?" like she wanted to. And, once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet. No sooner had they got the boots off then he said, "They’re my brother’s boots. My Mom made me wear ’em today."

Now she didn't know if she should laugh or cry. But, she mustered up what grace and courage she had left to wrestle the boots on his feet again.Helping him into his coat, she asked, 'Now, where are your mittens?'He said, 'I stuffed 'em in the toes of my boots.'

She will be eligible for parole in three years!

It appears to me that many times we are often impatient and high tempered about stuff. If we were to confess our weaknesses RIGHT NOW i would have to be the first to say that i get angry easily. Anyone that knows me will tell you that i do not tolerate a whole lot from people. This is not always good. Though this story brought a smile to my face and some laughter, it made me think. How often do we get mad simply because we have to try things over and over when we simply shouldn't "have" to even deal with them to begin with. The teacher couldnt see why the boy needed help but helped him anyway.

Have you ever tried to help a family move furniture around, a task that seemed to only require 3 hours, and have spent a whole day figuring out how to place things in an order where everything would fit?

Maybe you once told a family friend that you would take care of , what would appear to be nice, kids and come to find that they are 3 little walking nightmares that destroy everything they step on.

Perhaps you have been the one that has taken the initiative to do something and have later been lectured about how you did it wrong.

Moments like these sometimes provoke a rage of anger in us because "i didn't HAVE to do this for you" or "at least i tried to help" or even the occasional "if you are not pleased with my help than i will no longer offer my assistance".

This attitude is the kind of attitude that breaks friendships. ruins testimonies, and closes doors in our lives. From first-hand experiences i can tell you that when you are doing something for someone else you have to be prepared to their reactions because they wont always see it like you do. They wont always see that you are doing them a favor and they wont always see that you didn't have to do this for them. I can say this NOT because i have always made people happy when i help them but because i am often confronted with the same reactions from people.

One must really evaluate the intention of one's "help". Why did you decide to help them? Was it because you wanted them to thank you or because you wanted to make it easier on them. Now, there will be times when you will make it harder on a person, BUT don't let this discourage you. I can't really give you scripture on this topic other than a reference to the bible in 1 Samuel 16:7 When God tells us that He looks at our heart. This assures us that He knows why we do things and He knows our intentions. The teacher unfortunately didn't understand that, or she has never read 1 Samuel 16:7. Keep on helping people, keep putting and taking off boots because even if they aren't their boots, God knows you are trying to help.

This post was inspired by a 3 foot friend, who never ceases to take an opportunity to help someone, despite the mistakes he may make.

One-thumb up!

I heard the story about a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he had grown up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!"

One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off.

Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" to which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.

About a year later, the king was hunting in an area wherein he should have known not to hunt. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village.They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came close to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way

Though this story may be funny, its message is amazing. Is everything that bothers you bad? Have you ever stepped out of your natural perspective on good and bad and consider the fact that what may be an adversity for you is serving as a blessing?

I have witnessed people that have broken there foot and in their "adversity" they have seen that they can no longer go to the places they normally would. This is NOT to say that God punishes people and breaks legs, but instead He allows things to happen to help us. A friend of mine who often spent weekends at clubs and parties doing reckless things and being ruthless, was unfortunately jumped in one of those parties and ended up with a broken foot. What happened? He could no longer attend the parties and had more time to reflect on his decisions. My friend, and brother in Christ is now a christian and has had the opportunity to share his testimony in various churches. This is a perfect example about how adversity isn't ALWAYS adversity.

Your attitude is still able to change despite the uncontrollable situations that you will find yourself in. The friend told the king "this is good" despite the situation, little did the king know that THIS very situation would one day save his life. Some people love to be in the GOOD situations and WHINE about the bad situations. In the words of a very known pastor "bloom where you are planted".

Acknowledge that your situations are but a stepping stone in what will one day be your testimony. Through your experiences many people will come to know Jesus:

"Dude, i was in that same situation and look what God did"<--- this will be you IF you can overcome the challenge of Glorifying God in the midst of adversity. Have you had any problems lately? Feel like your in a terrible situation? Don't know what to do? Answer: Glorify God! In the few you were faithful in the great i will place you, said the Lord. God can possibly be saving your life. He can possible be strengthening your testimony. He could possible be saving you. Keep pressing on, you don't ever know when your missing thumb will be a vital blessing. Verses to read
Deuteronomy 31:8, Exodus 33:14, Psalm 16:8, Psalm 27: 1, 3, Proverbs 29:25, Proverbs 18:10, Jeremiah 16:19

Question!

I was wondering, for the couple of people that follow this blog, what is your perspective of the inter-denominational movement and where do you stand in it?

I said it is NOT too late to apologize

How are you guys! I have recently been moved from location due to remodeling of my house so i have not been able to get on a computer, but here i am.

Today i came across an exert from Today In the Word, here it is:

In the washroom of his London club, British newspaper publisher and politician William Beverbrook happened to meet Edward Heath, then a young member of Parliament, about whom Beverbrook had printed an insulting editorial a few days earlier. "My dear chap," said the publisher, embarrassed by the encounter. "I've been thinking it over, and I was wrong. Here and now, I wish to apologize." "Very well," grunted Heath. "But the next time, I wish you'd insult me in the washroom and apologize in your newspaper."

Though there is a bit of humor involved i find that there is a certain truth to this. I have come across times where i have done things that were uncalled for and deserved an apology from my part. I also have done things that have humiliated people in the midst of crowds. However like William Beverbrook, I too apologized and, like Beverbrook, did it where no one could see.

This happens because of two reasons.
1) Pride
2) We do not truly understand the effect we had on the victim of our action.

Pride
Our pride is certainly one of the most dangerous things in us. We are often spiritually idle because of our pride. Our pride sometimes makes us lose our blessing and in some cases our gifts. Its easier, not necessarily easy, to apologize in a washroom where no one is looking. It is very hard to do it in public, admitting your fault in front of everyone. As we read Heath's response we see how people truly wish to be apologized. By insulting Heath in the newspaper he publicly damaged Mr. Heath's reputation. By apologizing in the washroom, Mr. Heath's reputation was still damaged and the only one that felt satisfied was Mr. Beverbrook himself. Defeating Pride is the first and last step of being humble.

Not Truly Understanding the Effect
If we do not truly understand what we did, then we cannot fix it. Many times we hurt people with our words and comments and don't really acknowledge the damage we have done. A big part of not acknowledging it comes from doing it so often that we do not see the damage we make. This is very dangerous. When we lose sensitivity of our actions we are no longer in control of what we do, instead it goes beyond our own will. We do things, not because we want to but, because we have done them so much that it because "ok". Perhaps it is time that we give words of encouragement more than we insult that way "encouraging" because our idea of what is "ok". Before i confuse you more ill finish with this, the moment you realize the damage you have made, FIX IT!APOLOGIZE! Don't contemplate on apologizing or not because most of the time you will choose to NOT apologize.

These 2 things are the main reasons why we sometimes fail to apologize. My question is: Have you done anything to someone lately? Maybe they are home thinking about what you did to them. They would be super surprised to receive an apology. If you are not quite ready to "publicly" apologize OR it is concerning something that should not be told "publicly", then start of by just giving them a call. Don't miss out on your blessing because of pride and don't make it a habit to do wrong on to others that you can no longer stop yourself from it.

I believe that when you apologize to someone you unconsciously give them the power to forgive you, releasing them from a potential grudge against you.

Verses to Read
James 5:16, Galatians 6:3,Proverbs 29:23,2 Timothy 3:2

the NOT-SO cutting edge?

Last weekend I attended College For a Weekend at Liberty University. During this trip i was able to walk in on Principles Of Youth Ministry 101, attend a Skillet/TobyMac Concert, and also Ice Skate.

I must be completely honest with you, I have probably Ice Skated for a total of 2 hours in my life, none of which were on my feet. I cannot skate to save my life. We went to the Ice Center at LU where they were hosting a "Free Skate Night", and as all my friends put their skates on i chose to sit this out. My friend Jordan came up to me and asked me why i did not try it. I told him that i did not like to do things that I did not succeed in. In reality, who likes to do things that they absolutly can not do? Not me!

As i sat there, my friend Jordan simply told me that i should not hold myself back from doing something just because i couldnt do it. I was very sure that i was not going to skate but for some reason i decided to try it. I got on the ice and was completely lost. My friend Andrew told me that it was like kicking left and right and rotating all the weight on one foot at a time. So i Did! and i began to skate, then i lost my balance a little. I did not fall once that night but something great happened. I learned something that night.

I looked around and i saw some people speed-skating, i saw a girl figure skating, and in one corner i saw this really big guy walking with skates and holding on to the rail to keep his balance. I began to notice that everyone in the rink was either skating amazingly or trying to skate.I also notice that the people that couldnt skate, like me, attempted to skate in different ways. I saw some people fall, i saw some people walk on ice, and some people simply stand on a corner trying to convince themselves to try it.

I feel that in THIS same way, christians battle with fear. I feel that we all wanna skate, but NOT all of us are in the rink. I feel that everyone also has their own method of learning. A very tall guy was just skating, little by little, back and forth on one side of the rink, this was his method. my method was simply left-and-righting all around the rink.

I have a very important question. What is your method? We say we want to get somewhere with God but dont try long enough to get there. Its not about trying hard enough, its about trying long enough. God doesnt see how hard you try, he sees how long you try. The bible says that he who falls seven times should rise eight times. God doesnt want you to try to not fall, he wants you to get up when you do fall.

I sat out for the first 15 minutes of "Free Skate Night", but then decided to try it. Are you trying God? or are you sitting out? Im not talking about going to church and praying before you go to sleep and before you eat a meal. Im talking about trying God. Im talking about letting Him take your burdens, your addictions, your past. Get on the Rink with Christ, but make sure to let Him help you. Don't sit out! Don't quit if you fall! Get back up!

I wanna finish with saying this...i tried to skate. I DID NOT perfect the art of skating. However, i attempted it. God sees you trying, so keep trying. Eventually you will realize that you trying will become you doing.

Monkey Trap

Legend has it that if you want to trap a monkey, you create a cage or box with a tiny slit just big enough for a monkey to fit it's hand through. Inside the cage you place a banana.

When a monkey comes along, it will put it's hand through the slit and grab hold of the banana. The problem (for the monkey) is the slit is not wide enough for it to pull both it's hand and the banana out, effectively trapping it. The monkey is so attached to the new treat it has discovered, it will not let it go no matter what danger it puts itself in. Unfortunately monkeys are that dumb.

Humans of course do not become attached to things like that... or do we?

I believe that sometimes we are! I believe that many of us want to be free but wont let go of the banana. I don't wanna call us monkeys because we are not but why do we sometimes act like them? Have you ever came across something in life that you knew was holding you back but you just couldn't let it go? Perhaps it was pride, anger, lust, jealousy, lack of commitment, dishonesty, or anything else you can think of. Do you realize that you are holding on to the banana and putting yourself through danger?

Based on my observations and experiences i believe it is safe to say that the number one reason why many Christians fall into the world is because they don't experience God like others around them do. I feel that many Christians want to feel God in the same way that very spiritual people do and when they realize that cant, they get frustrated. I would even go as far as to say that many Christians get tired of being in the same spiritless relationship with our living God and give up on it.

I can assure you that none of these things are God's fault. God in essence is a provider, healer, and much more. He has already taken the first step towards us we just gotta take the next step towards Him. Taking a step towards Him often means changing directions, since we normally are not fixed on Him, which in other words translates to "letting go of the banana".

If the monkey does NOT let go of the banana then he will be in the trap FOREVER. Its time to make a decision. Will you live like the monkey? IN a couple of weeks i will devote a whole week on talking about letting go of these things but for now you have a decision to make. Its either letting go of the banana or staying trapped. Galatians says we have been set free by Christ so that we may never be slaves again. What will you do with the freedom Christ has given you?

Luke 17:33 - Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

Walking on Dry Land

As i am coming to the end of spring break i am learning more and more that God has left us the Holy Spirit to magnify Jesus Christ and minimize us. You see, the more of us in us the more likely we are to live against God's Will. Why is that? Well, for starters we aren't by nature God seeking until Christ lives in us. So I feel that if I am filled with my own human habits, i cannot live up to my full potential. It is only when i am filled with Christ that i will reach my full potential. I have come to an understanding that God has a deep desire to carry us through our trials.

When you read the Pentateuch, first five books of the bible, also known as the "Books Of the Law", you experience a God with the basic intention of Caring for His people. Though they do not respond to God's will, causing them to suffer a lot, He still keeps them out of harms way and delivers them from all enemies.

Exodus, which simply represents the Exit from Egypt or departure, is known mostly because of a miracle that God does when he opens the red sea, allowing the people of Israel to cross it without any harm.

God, being omnipotent and omnipresent, knew that the people of Israel would enter into 4 decades of sin, lack of trust, and disobedience however He still took them to the other side of the sea. I begin to wonder, why God does things like this. But i realize His spirit desires much more than what we do for Him. In other words, God hopes that we step out of our nature and into His nature. This can only happen when we truly live in His spirit and His spirit in us.

God took the people to the other side and in that same way He takes us places that we don't deserve. If you are like me you have probably prayed and asked God for peace and He has given it to you. If you are anything like me, you probably didnt deserve His peace but he gave it to you anyway. God continues to carry us across the sea but will we return the favor the same way the people of Israel did? I am convinced that many of us sometimes receive God's help, yet fail to acknowledge it in the long run and live as if we weren't grateful for His help.

The people of Israel were taken to the other side, yes! But God, when he saw that they did not serve Him and honor Him, made sure that they did not reach the next level, promise land, for 40 years. According to many theologians, this voyage was suppose to only take around 11 days but instead took 40 years.

God wants to take you to the next level, but sometimes you aren't ready and you elongate the time in which you accomplish His will. I strongly believe that all of you reading have been taken to the other side and have walked on dry land. What did you do after that? Have you been walking in circles in the wilderness for 40 years? Is it time that you return to God's original plan and not yours?

James 4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Maybe you do not see God moving in your life as much anymore because you ask for things to happen in your life for your will and not His. God is ready to point you in the right direction. He is ready to rise up a Joshua in YOU. But its all up to you.

We sometimes fail to see God because we aren't looking at God, only an image of Him that we have created. The best way to know Him is to talk to Him. He has also left a 66 book love letter for YOU. Read it, talk to Him, experience Him.

He paid a debt that He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay

It is SO illogical for someone to pay a debt they did not owe specially for people that would notappreciate the fact that He paid it. Today is GOOD Friday. We celebrate the day that our savior, Jesus Christ, died on the cross. Sunday will be Easter Sunday, the day that we celebrate His resurrection. I don't know about you but after tonight's experience i want to celebrate His resurrection TODAY, TOMORROW, AND EVERYDAY!

Im going to take this opportunity to talk about tonight. As you may have read in yesterday post, i was invited to preach at a church in VA for a youth service. Now this whole week i have been undergoing man things. I have been trying hard to consecrate myself and i have seen God's hand in all of this. Tonight i went with the purpose to give God at least half of what he gave me. I wanted to share the "Good News". God is READY to take us to the next level, and tonight Adriel, Andre, and myself saw that! I give the Glory to God for what he did tonight because i had not seen a moving of the holy spirit like that in a WHILE!

With that said i want to get back to the quote. Jesus saw us! We had a debt. God said that the wages of sin are death, and unfortunately we all have sinned. We are all sinners. In the words of Pastor Dale "some people believe we are and some people believe we aren't, BUT the bible entertains no such thing. It is very direct when it says we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

It was our debt. You see, sin is like a very expensive dinner meal. You walk in to a fancy restaurant, and already have a reserved seat. You are so amazed at the menu that you get one of everything. You get Parmesan chicken, lobster, pasta, and many more things. When your done your completely full, yet the waiter says "would you like some desert", and even though you know it would be ridiculous to get dessert after eating all that you ate, you say "sure". You get the double fudge cake, a cheesecake with bread crumbs, the lava-explosion-volcano-strawberry-chocolate thingy, and even some ice cream. You somehow manage to eat it all and then you say "WELL its time to go". As you are walking out the door you feel a tap on your left shoulder, when you turn around you find the waiter there. "I hope you had a wonderful meal", "Yes" you say, "But you still haven't paid". So you say "well, that's not a problem" and as you take out your wallet you hand him a couple of singles and a $5 dollar bill and then say "keep the change". You continue walking out the door and as you are about to open the car door you get another tap on your left shoulder. The waiter says "Sir the bill came out to $347.89 and you gave me $12"

EVENTUALLY you will come across a time when you are involved in sin and SIN will bring a debt that you wont be able to pay for. Jesus didn't have to pay this debt. He was sin-free. He payed the tab when He went to a restaurant, and tipped well too. But YOU couldn't pay for the tab. You needed someone to pitch in. You needed someone to take that debt and pay it. Jesus paid it. But it wasn't a simple debt. The cause of your debt was death. The death that should have fallen upon you, fell upon Him.

You all know this! so whats the point? The point is that Jesus was our replacement, he redeemed us. Because of His sacrifice we can now get closer to God. THAT is enough to be thankful for. Christ LIVES yesterday, today, and forever and as we pass this week let us remember that HE paid a debt that he didn't owe, because we owed a debt we couldn't pay.

If you dont understand what he did, watch this.

The remnant

Hey guys, i don't want you to think I'm slacking or anything for not posting anything today but to be honest with you i am undergoing some serious spiritual battles in preparation for a preaching that i have been privileged to give at a church in VA tomorrow night. I want you guys to know that tomorrow i will be posting something new titled "Paying a debt", but today i want to share something with you that absolutely changed my life. Prepare your hearts because in reality it is the most anointed drama i have ever seen. God bless and i hope you enjoy.

New Friend Request.

The other day i read a letter that was sent to many people on Facebook by Pastor Alex Lopez. Though i do not know who he is, i respect that God has placed him as a pastor and felt the need to read to see what he had to say. He asked a very valid question. If Jesus would visit some of the Facebook pages of many who claim to be Christians, what would he say? I believe he would say "These people honor me with their lips, but their Facebook accounts are far from me." I notice that many of my friends that are christian did not display it on Facebook.

Perhaps you remembered in Matthew 15:8-9 when Jesus spoke and said "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." He was referring to the people that knew the word and prayed and worshiped but their hearts, their lives, were not in full submission to Him.

Maybe you remember Matthew 7:21 -23 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' ²³Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

The most impacting thing about these verses are that they are in essence WARNING us against religious lifestyles and trying to enter us in divine relationships with our living God. God is saying it is NOT enough that you have given prophesy in my name, it is NOT enough that you preform miracles, because the most important thing is I want to know YOU!

Its not about you knowing God, Its about God knowing you. The bible says that even the demons know that God is Lord and they tremble at the thought. By simply knowing about God and not doing anything to serve Him, we are in the same level as the demons. I don't know about you but they are not exactly the kind that i want to compare myself with. In the words of Paul Washer, God needs to know us!

If you go outside the white house and yell "I know Obama, let me in!" they will look at you like you are crazy and say "So what, get out of here!" But if Obama comes outside and says "I know this man let him in" then its a whole different story. In that same way God needs to know us.

Back to the whole Facebook thing. Ask yourself: If i call myself a christian, do my pictures, status, and comments glorify God? The solution does not come in NOT letting the public know the bad things I do, the solution comes in not doing the bad things I do and entering a consecration with the Lord.

Pastor Alex finished with this:

"For the Luke warm people: You have options. You can change your life around or you can erase off of your "Info" that you are Christians. Because in reality you are dishonoring the faith that we profess and stomping on the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross."

Though you may say "this is a bit harsh" and "you will push people away" but ill tell you this: Many of these people are already away. The only good thing about being away is that there is only one other direction to go, to come back.

Remember brothers and sisters that everything we publish on Facebook comes from our heart. I hope that our hearts belong completely to Jesus. God bless you.


Verses to Read
1 Corinthians 2:14, Romans 8:8, Galatians 2:19-20, Matthew 7:21-23, Matthew 15:8-9

Refusing to get in the Wheelbarrow!

Yesterday i attended the 4PM service at my Church. I normally go to the 1PM service but yesterday i really wanted to see how the Hispanic Ministry was doing so i went to the 4pm. When it was time for the offerings the brother that gave the announcements said "this is the best time, tithing is a commandment from God but offerings is when you show God the love you have for him"

Though i been hearing this for years i never really though about it. I remembered one time that i had about 5 dollars in singles. I remember that i wanted to get some food after the service. I even remember that during that time i was asking God to bless me because i wanted to buy somethings and didn't have the money that i needed. When the offering came around the brother said "Give with Faith, take a step of faith" and unfortunately the story doesn't have a happy ending because i only gave a dollar because in my heart, though i knew what i had to do, my faith was just words not actions. In other words i realized that even though i wanted God to bless me i didn't have the faith to believe that HE would provide.

I came to realize that there is indeed a connection between belief and faith. Belief is the first step, Faith is the next. To illustrate this idea, i would like to show you a story.

There was a tightrope walker, who did incredible aerial feats. All over Paris, he would do tightrope acts at tremendously scary heights. Then he had succeeding acts; he would do it blindfolded, then he would go across the tightrope, blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow.

An American promoter read about this in the papers and wrote a letter to the tightrope walker, saying, "Tightrope, I don't believe you can do it, but I'm willing to make you an offer. For a very substantial sum of money, besides all your transportation fees, I would like to challenge you to do your act over Niagara Falls."

Now, Tightrope wrote back, "Sir, although I've never been to America and seen the Falls, I'd love to come."

Well, after a lot of promotion and setting the whole thing up, many people came to see the event. Tightrope was to start on the Canadian side and come to the American side. Drums roll, and he comes across the rope which is suspended over the treacherous part of the falls -- blindfolded!! And he makes it across easily.

The crowds go wild, and chant that he do it again but this time pushing a wheel barrow

He comes to the promoter and says, "Well, Mr. Promoter, now do you believe I can do it?"

"Well of course I do. I mean, I just saw you do it."

"No," said Tightrope, "do you really believe I can do it?"

"Well of course I do, you just did it."

"No, no, no," said Tightrope, "do you believe I can do it?"

"Yes," said Mr. Promoter, "I believe you can do it."

"Good," said Tightrope, "then you get in the wheel barrow."

He refused to get in.

The word believe, in Greek means "to live by". Now, this really isn't about money and it certainly isn't about tightrope. This is about a faith that ACTS!

I talked about having a faith that fights a couple days ago. Do you have a faith that acts? I came to realize that my God is a God of response. He loves to give us solutions to our problems BUT we must have a faith that acts. The scripture says:

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
- Matthew 17:20

I don't know about you but i want to have a faith that will allow me to get into the wheel barrow and COMPLETELY trust that God will take me to the other side.

You have to ask yourself, how often do we say that we believe Christ can do it, but refuse to get in the wheelbarrow?

Verses to Read

Romans 1:17, Hebrew 11:1-6, 1 John 5:4, James 2:19-24, Mark 11:23-24