Thursday, December 25, 2008

Pause After Reading

A friend of mine shared this with me (and a few other people :) and I wanted to share it with you all as well. This is from Max Lucado. Please take the time to pause and think after reading.

Merry Christmas!

God had entered the world as a baby.
Yet, were someone to chance upon the sheep stable on the outskirts of Bethlehem that morning, what a peculiar scene they would behold.
The stable stinks like all stables do. The stench of urine, dung, and sheep reeks pungently in the air. The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling and a mouse scurries across the dirt floor.
A more lowly place of birth could not exist.
Off to one side sit a group of shepherds. They sit silently on the floor; perhaps perplexed, perhaps in awe, no doubt in amazement. Their night watch had been interrupted by an explosion of light from heaven and a symphony of angels. God goes to those who have time to hear him—so on this cloudless night he went to simple shepherds.
Near the young mother sits the weary father. If anyone is dozing, he is. He can’t remember the last time he sat down. And now that the excitement has subsided a bit, now that Mary and the baby are comfortable, he leans against the wall of the stable and feels his eyes grow heavy. He still hasn’t figured it all out. The mystery of the event puzzles him. But he hasn’t the energy to wrestle with the questions. What’s important is that the baby is fine and that Mary is safe. As sleep comes he remembers the name the angel told him to use … Jesus. “We will call him Jesus.”
Wide awake is Mary. My, how young she looks! Her head rests on the soft leather of Joseph’s saddle. The pain has been eclipsed by wonder. She looks into the face of the baby. Her son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point in history, the human being who best understands who God is and what he is doing is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. She can’t take her eyes off him. Somehow Mary knows she is holding God. So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel. “His kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:33)
He looks like anything but a king. His face is prunish and red. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. And he is absolutely dependent upon Mary for his well-being.
Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter.
She touches the face of the infant-God. How long was your journey!
This baby had overlooked the universe. These rags keeping him warm were the robes of eternity. His golden throne room had been abandoned in favor of a dirty sheep pen. And worshiping angels had been replaced with kind but bewildered shepherds.
Meanwhile, the city hums. The merchants are unaware that God has visited their planet. The innkeeper would never believe that he had just sent God into the cold. And the people would scoff at anyone who told them the Messiah lay in the arms of a teenager on the outskirts of their village. They were all too busy to consider the possibility.
Those who missed His Majesty’s arrival that night missed it not because of evil acts or malice; no, they missed it because they simply weren’t looking.
Little has changed in the last two thousand years, has it?

Friday, December 19, 2008

Prayers Needed: 23 Year Old Dies While Performing The Nativity Story

This email was sent to me by a friend, a lot of other people were included and received it, but it needs to reach even more people. It is a pure attack of the enemy and we need to cover with prayers, her family members, this Church, the people that were involved in the performance and all the people that God wanted to reach through this perfermance that will not get to attend because it had been cancelled.


If you are receiving this email, it's because I know that you understand the power of prayer, and that especially at this time of year, are grateful for the birth of Jesus who truly is, our only hope and security. I've never sent out a prayer request to multiple people, but this time,I couldn't not ask for your prayers. Last night was Opening Night for Crossroads Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. Crossroads is a "mega-church" with thousands of members. This church is particularly committed to reaching people who may not believe in God or who are searching to find some meaning beyond this life, which we know we can find from the ultimate sacrifice which resulted in an empty tomb. Crossroads puts on a Christmas show every year which is the caliber of anything you would see from a touring Broadway company. The stage sets are extensive, the talent is incredible, the special effects are amazing. This show is heavily attended every year, and this year 26,000tickets were requested (the show is free). People from all walks of life attend this; believers as well as non-believers, young, old, able and disabled. The gospel message is always preached at the end of each performance. Last night, during a scene in which the "three wise men" were climbing a"mountain" that was 25 feet high, a 23 year old girl fell to her death in the middle of the performance of Opening Night. It is uncertain at this time whether the harness malfunctioned, broke etc. They are still trying to determine what the actual cause of the accident was. The head pastor determined to cancel the show immediately and all remaining eleven performances have been cancelled. In addition to the tragedy of this young girl losing her life and the trauma that her immediate family is now experiencing, there were several thousand people in the audience who witnessed this first hand as well as the staff, crew, other performers and volunteers of Crossroads church.My two younger sisters were intimately connected to this show. One sister is the Producer and oversees a large creative team that irresponsible for every aspect of birthing and executing this show. My other sister is one of the choreographers. Both of them, as you might imagine have been deeply and profoundly affected by this. I'm specifically concerned about my sister who is the Producer as she was instrumental in bringing the aspect of harnessing so that actors could "fly" and "climb". She even personally attended at raining workshop in California earlier in the year where she herself,participated in the actual flying and climbing. (A former competitive gymnast, she found the experience exhilarating and couldn't wait to bring this to this year's Christmas show). She is suffering from unnecessary feelings of guilt and at this point, we have been unable to convince her to attend the free counseling that Crossroads is providing at the church today for ANYONE who may need to come and speak with professional. There are so many people who are affected by this and have experienced a great loss. Of concern also, is those who may be seeking to understand more about God and His love for us and something like this can be difficult to surmount. For those of us who have been Christians for awhile, something like this can bring up uncomfortable questions. Was God really in control? Why did He allow something like this to happen?Is it okay to be angry? Those are difficult questions for people who know and follow Jesus but for people who have yet to experience His grace, mercy and sacrificial love, these are questions born of a tragic occurrence that could make the difference in their decision to believe at all. Please pray that the parents and family of this girl will be comforted,especially at this time of year which will come every year with its own fresh memories. Please pray for the staff, crew and volunteers of Crossroads who put an amazing amount of hours, work, dedication and talent into this performance. Please pray for the thousands of people who witnessed this first hand last night and for the thousands of people who will not be able to attend the cancelled future performances.Please pray that my sister will be at peace and know that this was not her fault and that she was not responsible. Please pray that she and her creative team will have the strength to continue their work, the work they believe they were called to, the work that is and has been, touching so many lives. Should any specific thoughts or prayers come to you, please pray in that direction as the Lord guides you. For any of you who may today be experiencing the stress and anxiety that is inherent as we walk with our human minds and bodies in this world,please take a moment to realize that life truly is short. We spend so much time worrying about things that won't matter next week, let alone after we are gone. Take a special moment this Christmas season to share or remind someone of the true meaning of the season and though we can count on absolutely noting in this world, we can "be of good cheer, for He has come to overcome the world". Take a moment to understand that we don't and won't understand so many of the things that we encounter in our lives. And if you are reading this, take a moment to thank The One who lives in your heart, who comforts and provides, who loves us when we aren't so lovable, who believes in us when our beliefs are momentarily shaken. Because of His birth, we don't have to truly die. Because of His death, we can truly live. Here, in the perfect joy that only He provides and forever later, in His house and by His side. Spend one extra moment this season to tell someone you love them, that you care about them, that you are championing them, that you believe in them. They may not be here tomorrow. With love and affection to you all and embracing the resons for the Season, Jane

To find out more, follow this link: http://www.crossroads.net/about/AwaitedStatement.htm

Sunday, December 14, 2008

How Are we Suppose To Use Giving Statments

Ok, this has been on my mind for awhile, it always seem to bother me when I am asked to make sure my address is correct on the giving form, whether tithe or offerings, to make sure that I get my "statement" that tells the government what a great person I am and that they should give me a tax break because of it. I am fully aware that I might ruffle some feather and if I do...then so be it, maybe God is trying to tell you something... :)

I do understand that the Churches have to provide those because the government requires it and that part is Biblical; Jesus teaches us that we should respect all authority (Romans 13) I am not really sure how it works and if the Churches are require to produce a statement for everyone who gives or if it could be optional, which would also help being good stuarts of God's money.

So, maybe I am miss understanding how we are suppose to use these statements and maybe there is somewhere in the Bible where it is all explained and I just haven't found it yet, so please, if you know something I don't, put it in the comments section below.

Thank you for your help!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Daniel's Story

One of my favorite story of the Bible is found in the book of Daniel, chapter 3. It is the story of Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego that were thrown in the fiery furnace because they refused to bow down to the gold statue that king Nebuchadnezzar had made of himself, but they came out unbound and unharmed.


But there are another important lessons in the book of Daniel. The attitude Daniel and his friends had and also their faithful service to God ;


After telling the king his dream, Daniel was put in charged of the king's affair. How easy it would have been for Daniel to take credit for it, and to forget about his friends...But he gave credit to God and made sure his friends would also be taken care off (Daniel: 2). I believe that, because he was serving God so faithfully, God was walking along side with Daniel and was guiding him as were Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego, their attitude toward the king was respectful, because they knew well the God the were serving, they could tell the king that they would not bow down to him, but they did that in a respectful manner; they were respecting the earthly king while serving the Heavenly King. (Daniel: 3)

These are just a few attitudes that God teaches throughout His love letter to us.

I am leaving you with these thoughts, I have to go do my attitude check and make sure it lines up with God's!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Serving is also Seeking

One of the time I feel closer to God is when I serve Him (which also mean His people). It takes my focus away from myself and make me realize that my circumstances aren't that bad after all. The other morning, God whispered the following to my heart, I wanted to share it with you because it helped me discover another way to seek Him, This is what He whispered; "Take your eyes off of yourself and start serving. Why worry about what you can or cannot accomplish, you are distrusting Me when you do that. Stop focusing on you and start looking for ways to help others, to serve them as my Son Jesus did." (My paraphrase) This is also what He meant when He said; "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." - Matthew 6:33 When you serve others, you are telling God, "I trust that you will meet my needs, therefore, I don not need to only be focused on myself and my circumstances." You are also experiencing Jesus' life at it's core, what greater sacrifice of serving is there then dying on the cross for the sins of a nation? Now, of course God is not asking us to do anything as drastic, but He is requiring us to mold our lives in the likeness of His Son. So start serving Him today, and see how great it is!!

Prayer

Lord, may I be authentic, may I be real, may I be transparent, may people see me flaws, most of all, may you make your light shines through me for people to see your wonderful Grace and Mercy! Amen

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Poem From Bill Hybels' Second Grade Teacher

Oh! Give me Samuel's ear, an open ear, O Lord! Alive and quick to hear each whisper of thy word. Like him to answer to thy call and to obey thee first of all!


“If you pay attention to God’s Whispers; the anointing of God will be on your life.” Bill Hybels

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Urgent Prayer

This is a request for prayer for YWAM (Youth With a Mission) missionaries and their churches in Orissa, India.
The request came from Mabel Hurst, an associate of HCJB Global. Please read and make this a matter of urgent prayer.
Dear beloved sponsors and friends of Good News India. We have never seen anything like this. We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. And we brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work. But none of our staff imagined that they would see this kind of carnage…. And it seems to be totally under the radar of the Western Media.
Let me explain: A militant Hindu priest (Swami Laxmananda Saraswati) and 4 of his attendants, who were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and ‘reconverting’ people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa last weekend.
Immediately the Christians were blamed. The cry rose up, “Kill the Christians!” And the horror began…In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribals have been slaughtered. For no other reason than they bear the name of Christ.
Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News India Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa—they are right in the middle of all this chaos. In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home. They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc. They have promised to come back and ‘finish the job.’ Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past 3 days. It has been a time of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer. More police have come to offer protection. In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belongings. As they fled, the blood thirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there, but for His grace.
In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors, turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left. We had favor. The same thing happened in Balasore.
All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and police outside. The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill. Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in house and burned them to death. Manybelievers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road—even women and children. At another orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children and staff behind.
Every one of our GNI directors that I have spoken to said: ‘We stay with our kids…. we live together or die together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do.’ More than 5000 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace.
But so far, no peace is foreseen. This will continue for another 10 days, supposedly the 14-day mourning period for the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down. The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. We ask for your prayers. Only the hand of God can calm this storm.
None of us know the meaning of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what that means. So many of our kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what is happening around them. So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles and are unable to come and get them during these trying times.
Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children.Orissa will be saved—that is our heart’s cry. If we can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus, they will transform an entire region. It is a long term goal, but it is strategic thinking in terms of the Great Commission.
Please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Also, please pass this news on to as many friends as you can. We must getthe word out and increase our prayer base for this isspiritual warfare at its most basic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom. The next 10 days are crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on and help us to get as many people to partner with us on this cutting edge effort to fulfill His mandate: Go and make disciples of all nations…
Prayer works!Blessings,Chip & Sandy Wanner (Col 2:2 MBI)Team Facilitators to YWAM Frontlines


This email was circulating back in August of this year and although we need to keep them in our prayer, the reason I am posting it on my blog is that, it really had an impact on me about how I view my "persecution" I have heard of things like that before, but for some reason, this post on
http://benandjacq.tumblr.com/ blog painted a vivid picture of real persecution and mine became pretty much insignificant! Let's just say, it out things back into perspective. Hope you were blessed by it and make sure to check Ben's blog at the address above!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Help Wanted!

Anyone interested to come and participate in the beta test of the new LifeChurch.tv internet campus tool, join us this coming Sunday (November 16th) at 2pm Easten Time.


Follow this link http://icampus3.lifechurch.tv

(all feedback can be sent to http://getsatisfaction.com/lifechurchtv Sam Duregger, who is the Digerati Drago (Project Manager)


Hope to see you there!!


God is good...All the time!

Monday, November 10, 2008

Matthew 9:18-26; What God has been teaching me.

Only 8 verses and yet so many different things are taught in those verses.

1-First, there is great Trust from the leader of a synagogue in verse 18: “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” (Matthew 9:18) He trusted Jesus to bring his daughter back to life.

2-Jesus was already busy teaching, but in verse 19 it says: Jesus got up and went with him (Matthew 9:19) Jesus showed Selflessness; he left what he was doing to help someone else.

3-In the same verse 19, we see Devotion from Jesus’ disciples; Jesus got up and went with him, and s so did his disciples (Matthew 9:19)They were devoted to Jesus and went with him wherever he went, learning along the way how to be more like Him.

4-In verse 20, we see Endurance; Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. (Matthew 9:20) I can only imagine what it must have been for her to have to live that way for so long without giving up hope!

5-And then a great example of Faith in verse 21: For she thought; “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”(Matthew 9:21) Notice how she didn’t say “I might be healed” but “I will be healed”

6-Love: Even though Jesus was answering to a pretty urgent matter, He took the time to acknowledge the woman; Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment. (Matthew 9:22) Never think that God is too busy to answer your prayer, He Loves’ you! Jesus gives a great example here, but notice that she also played a part in it; “your faith has healed you.”

7-In the next two verses, we see Jesus’ Authority and Boldness; when Jesus arrived at the official’s home, he saw the noisy crowd and heard the funeral music. “Get Out!” he told them. “The girl isn’t dead; she is only asleep.” But the crowd laugh at him. (Matthew 9:23-24)Notice how he is not asking them to leave? He is ordering them to! Does that mean we should go around bossing people? No, it simply means that you were given the authority to cast down what is negative in our lives. They were being noisy and were playing funeral music; basically they were disturbing and depressing so Jesus ordered them out! Next, he tells them she is only asleep, he already knew they were going to laugh at him, but he said it anyway, he didn’t have to, he could’ve just go in the house and raise her to life, but I believe he said it to show them the wickedness and unbelief they had in their hearts.

8-The last two verses shows both, the result and the impact all the previous actions had; After the crowd was put outside, however, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up! The report of this miracle swept through the entire country side. (Matthew 9:25-26) Victory! The name of Jesus and his power is being proclaimed throughout the entire country side! But it wasn’t a straight, none stop, shot, the road that was traveled, had a few stops, afew diversion, other very important actions taken along the way, but Jesus never lost the focus of his ultimat mission . So whenever we are on a journey, we should be careful not to only focus on the destiny, but to acknowledge every opportunity God put in our path and act on it, we never know how it can impact others or even our destiny.


Please leave comments, thoughts, ideas below. You can share what God has been teaching you.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Welcome Home!?

Saturday September 28th 2008; moving day!! Even before I made it to my new apartment with my couch, table and my clothes, I was met by a disturbed individual, he looked at me and asked if I had “two bucks”, It wasn’t the first time I had been asked for money; downtown Toronto if full of homeless people, it’s really sad : (but this time, it was different, I could see in his eyes that he wasn’t in a “normal” state, I told him that I didn’t have any money, he looked at me and asked me WHY NOT? All the while throwing his upper body toward me and pushing me with one hand! My heart started pounding! I started shaking! There was a fury in his eyes; I thought he was going to punch me! Not really knowing what to do, I started walking back toward my brother who was in his truck waiting for me to get back with the key , but the guy started following me and all I could think was “I can’t go toward my brother, that guy might hurt him or damage his truck!” In the mean time, I had grabbed my cell phone and started dialling the rental office hoping to get someone on the phone since the door was locked when I first got there, just before the attack, why not dial 911 you ask? I don’t know? as we (me and the mysterious individual) were going toward the doors that leads outside the building, there was people walking by, he would stop for a second and asked them for money, he would be rambling none sense and immediately turn his attention back to me and keep following me, at that time all I could think was; God, help me, there wasn’t anything else I could pray for, but also, there wasn’t anything else I needed to pray for! As we got to the doors, two guys were coming in, I think they knew something was wrong, they opened the door for me and waited before going in after the guy had come out too, it seems as though they were looking to see what this guy was going to do. As I was getting closer to where my brother was, I tried to seek alternate routes so that he wouldn’t see the truck that has my brother’s company name and phone number all over it, he tried to trip me and started running the other way!! THANK GOD!!!

I got in my brother’s truck, after I made sure that guy couldn’t see me. Shacking! All I could mumble was “I just got attacked by a homeless man!” The truth is; I don’t even know if he was homeless? My brother asked me if I was ok, I admittedly lied, and said yes! I took a few deep breaths and we proceeded with the moving, it took a good 12 minutes to move me! Try to beat that!! : )

After my brother made sure I was ok and left, I sat down on the couch, I was scared and disappointed in myself! Why did I turn my back on him, why didn’t I try to reason him, I know it sounds crazy, but I felt as thought I had failed God, the one who called me to be compassionate and loving and to trust in him! What if I turned my back on someone that He had placed on my path to help? All I could do at that point was asked people to pray for him over twitter! But, to this day, I still wonder, did God place him on my path for me to witness to him? And then today, on my way back from food shopping, as I was thinking about the “attack” I hear these words (in my spirit off course : ); When the going gets tough, don’t start running the other way! Is that what God was trying to teach me? Is He using an attack from the enemy to teach me something? Is it something I tend to do? Well, I would really like your thoughts on that? And please, keep praying that God will free that young man from whatever bondage he is in!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

More Than Just Donuts!

Have you ever felt like God was telling you to do something for someone else, but it seems so insignificant that you are wondering if maybe it’s just yourself being a brownnoser or something. Well I did, I felt God was asking me to bring donuts to the lifechhurch.tv Wellington campus staff on a certain summer day, to thank them for all their hard work in bringing the good news of the Kingdome week after week. The morning in question, I almost backed out, I started thinking, “What are they going to think? Are they goanna say I am a brownnoser? What if there are other people there? What are THEY going to think?” I can probably fill up a page with that kind of questions, but my fingers are already getting tired and I am not even half way through:). So, I fought those thoughts and went to the famous Dunkin’ Donuts (best iced coffee I ever had) got a dozen of donuts and headed to the office. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by the best campus administrator I know; Miss Rhonda Nevera, soon, other staff member joined and where all appreciative of this little gesture (well, almost all, sorry Chris, I didn’t know you were on a diet, it’s not like you really need to be on a diet so... anyway sorry :). But the real reason of my being there was about to be revealed. As was part of the host team and Rhonda wanted to run something by me, we started talking and before I knew it, I was sharing with here what I thought God had put in my heart, I say “thought” because I am still struggling to know when it is God, or me. So she graciously shared with me how God had worked in her life and how important it is to be obedient, how many blessings comes with it and how thankful she was for all He has done, that He will give you the desires of your heart! Very inspiring woman of God! After I left the office, God really started working on my case; somehow I knew I had to be obedient and move back to Canada and try to start a lifechurch.tv campus there, something that is not even in lifechurch.tv near future project? But hey, God knows more then all of us, maybe it was just my own desire, maybe God only wanted to see if I would obey him. Nevertheless, I made the move, was obedient to God and can’t wait to see how He will use me!

So, if you feel God is asking you to do something for someone else, even if it seems really insignificant, do it!!! You don’t know what He really has in store for you!! And if nothing special comes out of it, well...you did something nice for someone else and for that person, it was special!! :)
God Is Good...All The Time!!!!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Here I am

This is the first entry on my blog. This is meant for me to journal the progress of the journey God has sent me to & also to be kept accountable by friends that are very dear to me! So please, feel free to add your comments at any time, whether positive or negative :)

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29.11