Le explique a este estudiante que, lo que nos hace parte de la Iglesia no es la denominación de la cual formemos parte; eso es un disparate. El formar parte de la Iglesia es un acto de misericordia de parte de Dios. Es el milagro más grande, eso es, el nacer de nuevo. Jesucristo nos dijo en Juan 3:3, “…De cierto, de cierto te digo, que el que no naciere de nuevo, no puede ver el reino de Dios.” (Reina Valera 1960)

La Iglesia de Jesucristo no tiene absolutamente nada que ver con edificios y casas. Si Dios te escogió para salvarte, provocando que te arrepintieras de tus pecados, creyeras en el evangelio y recibieras a Cristo como Salvados y como Señor… eres parte de la maravillosa familia de Cristo.

Hermanos, la Iglesia está bien definida en la Biblia. La Iglesia tiene su propio gobierno (Efesios 4:11). La Iglesia tiene también instrucciones especificas. Hechos 2:42 nos dice, “Y perseveraban en la doctrina de los apóstoles, en la comunión unos con otros, en el partimiento del pan y en las oraciones.” Todo comienza con perseverar en la doctrina de los apóstoles no en inventos de hombre.

Está claro que, 1) los miembros de la Iglesia son solo aquellos que han nacido de nuevo (Juan 3:3), 2) la Iglesia tiene su propio gobierno; existe orden (Efesios 4:11) y, 3) la Iglesia tiene instrucciones especificas comenzando con perseverancia en la doctrina de los apóstoles (La Palabra de Dios), perseverancia en la comunión los unos con los otros y perseverancia en las oraciones (Hechos 2:42). Estas son las instrucciones básicas de la Iglesia.

Existen también otras instrucciones que podemos ver claramente en las páginas de la Biblia. La iglesia es un gimnasio espiritual y un centro de capacitación en donde sus miembros se entrenan y capacitan para la obra del ministerio (Efesios 4:12). La Iglesia es también, una agencia de rescate; estamos llamados a ministrarle a los perdidos en lo que se conoce como la gran comisión (Mateo 28:16-20). La Iglesia tiene muchísimas más instrucciones que emanan de las instrucciones que ya he mencionado aquí.

Estas instrucciones no tienen nada en absoluto que ver con ninguna denominación o grupo. El problema es cuando ponemos estas denominaciones y grupos por encima de lo que ya está escrito.  Todo grupo que se autoproclaman ser los únicos que tienen la verdad, los únicos que son la Iglesia, son herejías y, todo grupo que minimiza la autoridad de la Palabra de Dios son herejías también. Hermanos, busquemos la verdad, confirmemos lo que creemos en las Escrituras y no nos dejemos engañar por la arrogancia de los hombres.

I find myself purposely avoiding talking about politics, especially with love ones. The reason for this is because politics is dividing people like never before. We have lost the ability to disagree without demonizing the other side. We have lost the ability to reason. I am a fan of the truth over any political party or political figure.  The truth is the truth no matter who is saying it and, a lie is a lie no matter who is telling it. Democrats automatically attack everything our president says and does, just because he is Donald Trump. Republicans rejected everything Obama said and did just because he was a democrat. In the process, we are losing our objectivity.

I told a friend today that I did not want to talk about Trump, Obama, Hillary, Pelosi and the new socialist wing of the Democratic Party. People are getting upset with each other, loosing friendships and not talking to family members over politics. I still want to have meaningful conversations, but without adding these political figures to the conversation.  I want to talk about what people believe and why. I want to know if people support same sex marriage and why, I want to know if people support abortion and why, I want to know if people believe in high taxes, strong military, obeying our parents and obeying authority; I want to know what people think about the police (the good, the bad and the ugly) and those who disrespect the police; etc.

Many times, what I see, is that people are supporting political candidates who totally contradict their belief system, but because that’s the way they vote traditionally, they are unwilling to dig deeper and stick to their convictions. Today, a man expressed to me how he despises the idea of transgender going into the women’s bathrooms. Nevertheless, it is his own party who support these kinds of changes. So, without mentioning any political party or candidate we were able to have a respectful conversation, focus on what we believe and not on who we support for office.

Isiah 5:20-21 says, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!²¹ Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” (KJV) There is evil, darkness and bitterness everywhere; but the truth is not out of sight; the truth is not hiding from us either. So then, point out the lies, where ever they come from and, recognize the truth where ever she is told. Is really time for all of us to dig deeper in passionate pursue of the truth; stand firm and don’t compromise. It is time to activate our conscience and call it like it is.

Estoy tan contento por la publicación de mi primer libro en español. Este libro habla de mis cuatro viajes misioneros a México y enseñanzas aprendidas en el proceso.  Espero que sea de gran bendición para ti.

https://www.amazon.com/XQS-Womens-Push-Breathable-Everyday/dp/194310638X/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_2?keywords=7+Banderas+de+Esperanza%3A+La+bendicion+de+Yokdzonot&qid=1558047536&s=gateway&sr=8-2-fkmrnull&fbclid=IwAR1Dd_fysZdfy3GL4BRs5Jw1ewH4KYYkl9ps_xSlm220-gwad7M-NB73ghg

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/7-banderas-de-esperanza-ngel-casiano/1131374506?ean=9781943106387

 

Today I am not writing about having each other’s back or, how we are a family or how we are in this thing together, etc. I am not going to talk about whatever the government has to offer this time around. If the focus of your hope is on those things while ignoring God, you will find yourself running in circles and not advancing. We must fix our vertical relationship with God first before we can truly have a chance of learning how to deal with our horizontal obligations. Today I want to talk to you about “Changing our Focus”. I want to give you 5 Biblical truth that will help us to change our focus:

1. Nobody loves you like God.You keep looking for love in all the wrong places, but nobody loves you with that Agape love, that unconditional love, that love without conditions that comes only from God. In John 3:16 Jesus tells us,

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)

2. God is the only one who will never leave you nor forsake you.People will let you down eventually. We are humans, we make mistakes, we say the wrong thing, we read into things wrong, we get tired, etc. But not God, He is always there, in the mountains, in the valleys and even in the deserts. In Deuteronomy 31:6 Moses tells us,

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (NIV)

3. God is the only one who has the ability to supply you with everything you need.You can look for stuff, places and people, but only God can truly satisfy and fill the emptiness of your soul and give you everything you need. The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:19,

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

4. God is the only one you and I can truly trust with our lives.If you are placing your hopes in people and programs, the Bible states that you are curse. When it comes down to the seriousness of our lives and destiny our trust should be on the Lord and on the Lord only. Jeremiah tells us in Jeremiah 17:5,

“…Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
    who draws strength from mere flesh
    and whose heart turns away from the Lord. (NIV)

5. God is the only one we can truly trust with our pain and adversities.Many of you are in a great deal of pain, some of that pain have been cause by family members, a former friend, a spouse, local churches; that is, men that have presented to you a false idea of God; and, some of that pain have been cause directly by you. Jesus Christ is more qualify than any therapist, any doctor, any physiologist or psychiatric to deal with your pain. As Jesus got ready to start this three-year ministry he stood and read these words in a synagogue,

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free, Luke 4:18 (NIV)

Conclusion

Today I am asking God to change our focus, from focusing on ourselves, people and programs to focus on God. If you change your focus you will begin to see fruit in your live. As you change your focus you will begin to see how we become more effective in loving one another, helping one another, encouraging one another, praying for one another and all the one another’s in the Bible.

 

 

When I was a kid being a victim was simply not cool! We wanted to be the tough kid; the one that everybody feared. We wanted to be known as fighters. We did not want to be labored a coward or weak. However, in today’s society, we celebrate victimhood; there is no need to overcome anything. Part of the reason this is so, is because being a victim has its privileges. There are a number of government programs and various kinds of disabilities that, if you qualify for, you can make some money out of it without having to do a thing. Taxpayers have your back!  Let me establish very quickly that it is not biblical for us, as Christians, to see ourselves as victims and walk around in fear. That is a slap in the face of God.

Make no mistake about it… life is tough. In 2 Timothy 4:7 the Apostle Paul tells us, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (NIV) The Christian life is a fight; it is a fight to maintain our faith in spite of what we go through and, in spite of what our eyes see. The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:7 that, “…we live by faith, not by sight.” (NIV) Another great man of God, King David, tells us in Psalm 34:19 that, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” (KJV) The focus should never be on the suffering; but in God’s deliverance. Beloved, we are more than overcomers. Revelation 12:11 tells us, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (KJV)

The word Overcome in Revelation 12:11 is the Greek word “níkē” meaning, “To be victorious, to prevail.^[1] Romans 8:37 tells us that, “…in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (KJV) Again here, we see the Word Nike! Maybe you lost a love one; maybe you lost your job; maybe you suffer a great betrayal; maybe you lost it all; maybe your dad mistreated you; maybe your mom mistreated you. Maybe this or maybe that! God did not promise a life with no afflictions; but He promised that He will deliver you from them all. There are two Biblical reasons why Christians should be the most courageous people on the face of the earth:

1. We should not be afraid of death: The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (NIV). A Christian should never be afraid of death. I wrote this article about a year ago; I felt like doing an update because of the reaction of many “Christians” in regard to the Coronavirus. It is now ok in Arizona to gather again for our worship services as long as we are 25% capacity, practice social distance, keep the place clean, extra hand sanitizer and so on. Governor’s closing the churches is another discussion, for another day, but to see how easy we went to online services, how afraid we are to gather again and how so many did not considered powerful and biblical alternative such as meeting in small groups in homes or in parks, lakes, etc. Because of our fear of death, we violate one of our most important exercises Christian faith…the gathering of the saints. Hebrews 10:25 tells us, “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (NIV) Why? Because of fear of death. That is a shame! Even after President Donald Trump declared churches essential, pointed out the abuse of power of many governors around the country and stated that he will override any governors who opposes churches to be open in their state, I will not be surprise if we do not see a massive amount of churches opening today.
2. The greatest weapon against fear is love: We as Christians are called to love. Love is at the center of our relationship with God, we are called to love Him above all things. Also, love is at the center of our social responsibility as we are called to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. In Mark 12:30-31 Jesus told us, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’³¹ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (NIV) The level of your fear is the level of your love; the Apostle John stated in I John 4:18, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (NIV)

The Coronavirus is exposing the character of our political leaders; but is also exposing the character of our religious leaders. We can see why cowards will not inherit the Kingdom of God (Revelation 21:8). They are selfish and they have no faith in God. In their selfishness and lack of trust in God they are doing a great job in destroying our country.

^[1]Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament(Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

This is not the time in my life when I am making the most money. I am a Shelter Manager in a Rescue Mission; we definitely do not make a whole lot of money. Just 4 years ago I was making $9.00 an hour more than what I am making right now. However, because I am a better steward of what God has given me, I have more money in the bank. I am totally debt free and, I am working on something that I thought it was impossible, to have enough emergency savings for six months. I am now ready for God to release more into my life because I am learning how to live within my means. I thank God for Dave Ramsey; he has been the instrument God is using to transform the way my wife and I approach our finances.

As I focus on the topic of this small article, I will be dealing with answering the following question, is prosperity achieved through giving or through good stewardship? You will never be prosperous by giving only, without stewardship; but you will always be prosperous if you embrace biblical stewardship. In 3 John 1:2 the Bible tells us,

Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. (NASB)

            Let me start by stating that, it is God’s will for us to prosper. The word prosper is the Greek word, euodóō; meaning, “Easy to travel through. To lead in a good way, to prosper one’s journey. Figuratively, to make prosperous, give success to; to be led in a good way, to have a prosperous journey.”^[1]As we can see, prosperity goes beyond money; on this verse the Apostle John attaches health and the condition of our souls to true prosperity.[2]In our souls we have our minds (the way we think) our will (Decision-making) and our emotions (the way we feel).  However, it seems that when it comes down to prosperity, as explained by the average church, the focus is strictly on material things. The theology of the prosperity Gospel apologist goes only as far as Malachi 3:10, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.” (NASB)

For some, prosperity is only achieved if we just give our tithes and offerings or, better yet, if we give beyond that. However, this message is incomplete if we don’t deal with this thing called stewardship. Proverbs 21:20 tells us,“There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man swallows it up.” (NASB)

            Prosperity is found as the result of divine wisdom. We can give, but if we are not good stewards of what God has already provided us with, if our giving is irresponsible, we will not prosper. We will find ourselves one bad situation away from a financial disaster. For example, the Lord is blessing you with a good job. Let’s imagine that this week you made $1000.00; you go to a church service on Sunday and the preacher is talking about sacrificial giving, faith and planting seeds, etc. The preacher is talking about how the Lord is going to bless you if you give a $500.00 offering. Apparently, the Lord told him that there were 50 people that were supposed to give $500.00 each. Now, you just made $1,000 that week by working hard. You have bills to pay, your car needs gas and your house is in desperate need of groceries. You have enough money to cover all of your financial responsibilities; God really provided all you needed for that week; but this preacher is still talking… What would you do?

I have a word for you, DON’T LISTEN TO THAT FOOLISHNESS.” You have the God-give responsibility to provide for your family. First Timothy 5:8 tells us, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (NASB) Understand that here the Apostle Paul is placing folks who do not provide for their families, in the same category as folks who deny their faith.

Your biblical responsibility is to take a look at that $1,000.00 you made that week and understand that, 1) you must make sure you pay your debt, because it is a sin to be in debt. Romans 13:8 tells us, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” (NASB) This is not a recommendation; this is a Biblical mandate. 2) Living within our means is actually biblical also! Make sure you are addressing your debt and that you are providing for your family. Believe me when I tell you, that preacher is not delivering a Godly message to you or anybody when he speaks about giving a $500.00 offering. As soon as preacher speak of a particular amount, he is clearly in violation of Scripture. This is a demonic tactic that is keeping God’s people in bondage. First Peter 4:10 tells us, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” (NASB)

            You give according to what you have received. According to First Peter 4:10, when you give according to what you have, you are a good steward of God’s grace upon your life.  Giving out of what you do not have or, giving what you are supposed to use to provide for your family, is irresponsible and ungodly giving. What about those preachers that encourage folks to place their giving on credit cards? Again, a total violation of Romans 13:8. The same goes to those missionaries with families who abandon their jobs to go and serve the Lord with no income. While the Senior Pastor enjoys a salary and house allowance, the Missionaries have to live “by faith.” Again, we all have the biblical responsibility to provide for our families. The Apostle Paul is our best example, even as he was a single man and even as he was an apostle, he still work and make his own living.

In Matthew 25:21 the Bible gives us another powerful insight into stewardship, “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave (employees). You were faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” (NASB) I am not saying that giving is not biblical; as Christians we must give. What I am saying is that the Bible is very clear that stewardship is required for prosperity. In Matthew 25:21 we see that prosperity came as the slave (employee) proved himself faithful to his master. The master is a typology of God.

To be good stewards of the blessings God gives us is a Biblical theme. The secret to prosperity is not in giving alone, but in faithful stewardship. You can give a $1000.00 expecting that the Lord will bless you with $10,000, but the reality is that is not going to happen. God is in the business of teaching you how to manage that $1000.00 before he can bless you with more. If we are faithful in the little things God will indeed bless us with more. That my friend, is a biblical promise.

 

 

^[1]Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament(Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

[2]In our souls we have our mind (The way we think), our will (Our decision-making process) and the seat of our emotions (The way we feel). The way we think, and act will affect our emotions. The Apostle John wants us to prosper in our mindsets and make decisions according to God’s will; the result of that will be the enjoyment of joy and peace.