Good preaching , good doctrine, being good people is NOT ENOUGH

A good church club is not enough, good fellowship —its NOT ENOUGH

Just being a member of that club is NOT ENOUGH

Bible studies is good, but not good enough,

That just making it to heaven is not our goal

Knowing about God without truly knowing Him and experiencing God is meaningless

Good programs is not enough,  change without transformation is intolerable,  staying the same is not an option

Gifting w/o character is futile,  singing songs without worshipping is hollow,  meetings without God showing up is pointless,  faith w/o works is not enough,  having works w/o love is not acceptable,  our function comes out of our relationship first , with our Father and second with each other.

Confident faith is good, bold faith is better…

Holy Spirit filled, Holy Spirit led and Holy Spirit empowered,  Anything less doesn’t work for us

We’re a battleship, not a cruise ship

An army, not an audience

Special forces, not spectators

Missionaries, not club members

We value both pioneers and settlers,  pioneers to expand our territory and settlers to build on those territories

BUT we are not squatters – people who take up space others have fought for without improving it

To be infectious instead of innocuous          

Contagious instead of quarantined,  

Deadly instead of benign

To be radical lovers and outrageous givers,

We are a mission station NOT a museum

Therefore we honor the past, but we don’t live it

We live in the present with our eyes on the future

….. by Graham Cooke

Because of this reputation, Joseph was called upon to interpret a dream that deeply troubled the Pharaoh.  None of the Pharaoh’s wise men  had been able to decipher the dream except Joseph.  He  accurately relayed the symbols in the dream to a future time of 7 years abundance that would be followed by a 7 years  great famine.   The Pharaoh rewarded Joseph, now 30 years old with overseeing the land of Egypt as governor.   In these prosperous times he stored up the abundant harvest toward the tragic times ahead.  During the years of famine, Joseph’s brothers came to buy grains  to keep their people from starvation.  Not recognizing their young Hebrew brother as the elegant prominent Egyptian, he ordered them harshly to return with their younger brother.  When the brothers returned with Benjamin, Joseph revealed his identity. The brothers suffered from great remorse of their past actions and Joseph forgave them. It was a joyous reunion between a grieved father and lost son.  Joseph’s years of steadfast reliance on God brought about not only reunion but his high position so that he was able to save a nation from starvation.

** Joseph –  a  victim of human trafficking, at 17 yrs old (37:2), he was thrown into an empty well, then he was sold (20 shekels silver) into slavery by his brothers to Midianites  who in turn sold him to Egypt ( 37:28)  July 13&14,2012 Human Trafficking Confab, Not for Sale Philippines w. P Ef Tendero

** He becomes the head & not the tail wherever he go… head of Potiphar’s household 39:4, 22-23 in charge of prison, 39:22-23 rose up into power  41:40-41 (governor of Egypt 42:6)

** Joseph was pure, honest & holy, impeccable character & integrity .. 39:10- tempted day by day by Potiphar’s wife;  he is trustworthy – starts by having a word of honor, keep ur promise,

Generosity is not a money issue but a heart issue.  Its giving attention, time, value, gifts , appreciation, concern to other person. (brothers, Potiphar, warden, cup bearer & chief baker).  This is a quality of a servant leader.  He has outward focus…serving others instead of being selfish, self-absorbed on ur looks, reputation, (handsome -37:&   entitlements/rights (because am Jewish, talented, you should invite me, because I think am beautiful u should see my or FBphotos,  because I pay tax, uncle Sam provides for my SSI, SRO, etc,  because I am in need (homeless) you should feed me,  ) 

Serving others  is an outward focus, not selfish, self-absorbed on looks or accomplishments, craving attention, reputation or self entitlement, but giving genuine love, care & attention to needs of others. . ” dts@

To Understand instead of being understood:  craving for attention, dying to be noticed as spectacular (lady gaga outfit, loose pants,  writings on toilets)

**50:20  You intended to harm me but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being one, the saving of many lives.

Stewardship is not asking people to give but  knowing 100 percent what we have giving it to God .

We don’t plan to fail but we fail to plan.

** God was with Joseph (39:2,prosper 3,success,5,21,23-success=  5x) Deuteronomy 8:18  But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

** Season of abundance & season of lack/hardship :  “save for the rainy day”  41:47-49    

41:49 – Joseph stored up huge quantitites of  grain, like the sand of the sea: it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.

Proverbs 30:25  Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer –

Proverbs 24:3  Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts. —

Prov 22:7 The borrower is slave to the lender

Proverbs 21:20 In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has. —

Matthew 6:26  — Look at the birds of the air they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

It may be paying for everything with a credit card, or buying gifts you can’t afford, or impulse buying, or waiting until too late and buying gifts because you’re desperate. The keys to not busting the budget are having a plan and knowing exactly what to spend. The less confused you are, the less money you’ll waste.

The Plan of Attack

1.Make your Christmas budget as early as possible. It’s never too late. Keep it separate from your regular budget. Don’t put a separate Christmas category into your regular budget; give the Christmas budget its own sheet. List everyone you want to buy for, how much you can spend on them (remember, cash only), what they would like and where you can find it at a reasonable price.

2.When you do the actual shopping, have a plan. Know which store you’re going to, how much you’re spending, and then stick to it. Get in, get it and get out. Don’t let yourself wander, because you’ll impulse-buy something and bust the budget.

3.Get creative with your giving. How would it feel to budget $50 for someone’s gift, and then find an imaginative way to give them a nice $20 gift? Think of a gift that isn’t expected, maybe cooking someone their favorite dinner or volunteering to help someone with a project they are working on. Get ideas here

4. Consider drawing names if you have a large family or a lot of people at the office to buy for. Don’t worry about someone being mad at you for not receiving a gift; don’t even be worried about not getting enough gifts from co-workers. You’d be surprised at how pleasant Christmas can be when you don’t spend tons of money or stress yourself out with trying to find many gifts for many people.

Last but not least, don’t think the spirit of Christmas is about “stuff.” You can have a giving spirit without having a negative checking account. Don’t forget the reason for the season.

Imparting the blessing through unconditional love.  The story of Dick & Rick Hoyt.  Dick Hoyt  is my hero , a great example of what a father’s love can accomplish.  While some parents abuse their kids or simply neglect them every way they can, here is one dad  who never gave up on his son Rick who was born in 1962 with cerebral palsy.   And one son who, notwithstanding his physical condition, remained steadfast for his dad.   Maybe if  the parents  rejected him  when he was born he would have withered and die.     I cannot imagine how much more Our Father would be willing to do.. or sacrifice for us.   Nor can I fathom the faith and obedience of His Son Jesus Christ who, willingly and wholeheartedly surrendered His life for His Father above.

 Many doctors  gave up and recommended to put Rick  in an institution informing the parents  that he would be nothing but a “vegetable”.    But Rick’s  eyes kept  following his dad,  he responded to  love,  and the parents hope he would communicate someday.  Dick & Judy treated him like a normal child taking him weekly to a children hospital in Boston and teaching him alphabet  with sandpaper letters & objects in the house.  At  12,  he was able to communicate through a computer machine developed by engineers and it became clear that he was intelligent.  

Team Hoyt began in 1977 when Rick became inspired by an article on racing he saw in a magazine.   Dick Hoyt was not a runner and was nearly 37 years old.   He is old, weak and with a heart disease, but when his son asks him, “will you ran with me in the marathon?”   The father said , “yes!!!”   After their first race Rick said, “Dad, when I’m running, it feels like I’m not handicapped.”  After their initial five mile run, Dick began running every day with a bag of cement in the wheelchair because Rick was at school and studying, unable to train with him.”   As of July 2010, the Hoyts had competed in 1032 endurance events, including 68 marathons and six Ironman triathlons.   They had run the Boston Marathon 26 times.  Also adding to their list of achievements, Dick and Rick biked and ran across the U.S. in 1992, completing a full 3,735 miles in 45 days.

 They also compete in triathlons with Rick sitting in a boat for the swim portion, Dick pulls him in a boat with a rope attached to his body. For the cycle portion of the triathlon, Rick rides on the front of a specially designed tandem bike.  Then he pushes Rick for the run.

Rick  graduated from Boston University in 1993 with a degree in special education and later worked at Boston College in a computer lab helping to develop systems to aid in communication and other tasks for disabled people .  He lives a normal and  fulfilling life.

Few weeks ago, a bunch of our church people celebrated their birthdays by driving together to Muir woods and to a place called “Mystery Spot” in the Bay Area CA. The place is insane .. the law of gravity and the magnetic compass are getting crazy. An object like a billiard ball and a bottled water poured out by our guide in an inclined plane climbed up instead of going down below. The water level shows the area is on a flat line 180 degrees. Yet your height changes in comparison with someone standing opposte you.

Anyway, its difficult to live &quite complicated to build a house property on that area which is about 150 ft in diameter called mystery spot… some of us were nauseated & had a headache after walking around doing some activities with out guide.

NowI’ve asked  our guide, googled it to find out  as satisfactory explanation of the mystery  and what’s causing the phenomena… and there are several explanations.    Some article says the earth gravity on the mystery spot  distorts your vision, its a tilt- induced illusion.  Some one said there was a UFO that crashed…     Whatever it is … its really some kind of mystery.   I don’t know how to explain also.   And I think there are lots of mystery …  secrets that we have  not discovered the right explanation yet .

Ref Txt:  James 3:1-12

Introduction:  Do you remember this talented lady singer who captivated the hearts of the American people with her golden voice decades ago? She could have been a mega star in “ American Idol” these days.   Along with her brother, Richard, they gave us such timeless hits as “Close To You” , “We’ve Only Just Begun”, &“Rainy Days and Mondays.”  But the show biz world seemed to come to an end  when suddenly she died at the young age of 32, right in the prime of her career.  Following her death, it was revealed that she suffered from the eating disorder anorexia nervosa.  The USA TODAY later reported her eating disorder started years earlier when an interviewer once referred to her as “Richard ’s little chubby sister. ” That reporter’s words ignited THE FIRE that eventually claimed her precious life.  Her name –KAREN CARPENTER.

In 1925 a brilliant young man published  Volume I of his book, Mein Kampf (My Struggle) and a year later, he released Volume II,  another best seller.  In his writings, he revealed his political ideology and his distorted anti-Semitic sentiments.  He earned title as Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” in 1938, nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1939, and one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” in 1943.  History tells us he suffered several rejections, emotional hurt that led to depression , later he was responsible for the genocide of over 6 MILLION JEWS in the Holocaust then committed suicide after WW2.    His name… Adolf  Hitler.

WORDS ARE POWERFUL.   Prov 18:21  “The tongue has the power of life and death,..”   Soft words sung in a lullaby can lull a baby to sleep. Hateful words can incite a mob to riot. ( Ayatolah Komehni, Osama Bin Laden).   Excited words can fire up a football team before they take the field.  Courageous words can inspire soldiers to go into battle.  (General Patton, W.Churchill).  Encouraging words can lift someone’s spirits.  Eloquent words can give rise to a bold dream. 

Now, raise your hand if you have NEVER been in a situation where you wished you could take back what you had just said.    OK – so raise your hands if you FREQUENTLY  find yourself in a situation where you wished you could take back what you just said.  Wow…  I’m with you too.

Ps 64:3”They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their words like deadly arrows” Once words have been unleashed from the tongue they can never be retrieved. Someone can say something hurtful to you and later apologize and say, “I take back what I said earlier.” But that doesn’t erase the hurt of their words, does it?    Prov 12:18  “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Psalm 39:1, “..I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth.”  Matt 12:36 nkj  “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”   Perhaps we need to meter our speech, like in taxi, or maybe some people need to be gagged to stop talking. 

 Prov 10:19  “When words are many, sin is not absent,  but he who holds his tongue is wise.”  Be careful with our words..  words can kill or can get u killed!  When you are faced with a situation or a problem, (say for ex. one of your children) broke your glasses or your guitar string, ,… don’t make pronouncement or pre- judgement — “you David, you always break things in the house” ..  instead , ask questions instead of blame…(ask wisdom from HS..  how to turn the opportunity into “teachable moments”)   Remember people are more important than things.  David, come here pls..  do you know what happened here, how did it break? 

Words of life energize people.  That’s why I like the name of our church.   Many times people asks me , “How’s church?  Or what kind of church you have? “  Let me ask you same .. ? Now, the way you respond will tell me whether I want to come to that church or not!!!  Check it out do you speak blessing or curse to your own church -body of  Christ? —   What’s in it for me?  Do you want to know how I will answer..? –My church is the best!! I love my church! (ExcitedJ)   Jesus is present in our church.  The HS is present in our church. God’s Holy Presence is in our church.!    We have lovely, lively & passionate people who advances God’s kingdom.   Dynamic & solemn worship that glorify Jehovah YWHW.  Relevant message that challenge & help  us grow in faith & relationship with Jesus & with one another.  Plus we have good food.. we have beautiful & handsome people…  We love our church, we love Jesus! 

That’s the identity of our church.   We speak the Word of Life!   Broken bones heal and we forget about them. But often the pain inflicted by someone’s careless words stays with us a long, long time. Chances are you can still remember the most hurtful words anyone ever spoke to you. I know I can.  Think of the person who told you that you were ugly or stupid.

Think of the person who told you that you were incompetent or that you never do anything right.

Think of the person who told you that you would never amount to anything. THINK

Someone has said that great minds (think) discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, and small minds discuss people.

Why is it so hard to say kind things with our tongues? Where does all the garbage come from that comes out of our mouths? Jesus gives us some insight in Matthew 12:34 and 15:19: “…For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks”…for out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, lies and slander.” If you want to stop using death words and begin speaking words of life, you need a different heart. The good news is that Jesus specializes in heart transplants!!!!

Now turn to James 3:

POWER TO DIRECT:   Just like the bit in the horses’ mouth (v3)  and the rudder on a ship,(4) our tongue is not so big.  But it has the power to direct and influence the lives of others.  And it even has the power to direct our own lives.    Think of the things you say to yourself .. they are like self fulfilling prophecies.  If you keep telling yourself things like, “I’m stupid!” “I’m ugly”  “I can’t do this” “I can’t do that” “I’m no good to anybody” ………those words will direct the course of your life on a downward spiral.

But if you say things like: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength!” “I am willing to try.” “I am willing to learn!” “I refuse to quit!” “I will NOT give up!” …………..those empowering words will set you on a positive course in life!

POWER to DESTROY:  (Read verses 5,6)  someone’s reputation, their good name and their honor.  (gossip).  Our words have the POWER to DESTROY someone’s hopes, their dreams and their ambitions. Our words have the POWER to DESTROY someone’s friendships.  Reckless words are words spoken in haste, words spoken in anger, words spoken in frustration, words spoken in ignorance, words spoken with no forethought of the hurt and damage they will do.

**** Untameable:  (Read verses 7-8)  I don’t want you to leave here today trying to tame your tongue by your own strength. It will take more than just willpower and determination. In its natural state, the tongue is a “restless evil”. It’s like a ferocious beast that will not be subdued and like a serpent that’s full of deadly poison.  (Read verses 9-10)  contradictory nature: traitor, double faced.   NOTE v 9 – USUAL TARGET, OBJECT OF OUR TONGUE … People who are CREATED in the IMAGE OF GOD!!!  The IDentity of people, is image of God, and we should BLESS people’s IDentity instead of CURSE.  The enemy, the DEVIL wants to curse our ID..  so we lose the essence of “WHO WE ARE.”. insecure of our image, we want to project someone we are not, wearing masks of pretentions to cover up weakness or our perceived weakness!

“Sixty queens there may be, and eighty concubines, and virgins beyond number; but my dove, my perfect one, is unique…” (Song of Solomon 6:8-9).

  Every business must have a unique niche if you wish to separate yourself from others to compete in the marketplace. This is especially true if you are competing in an industry that is very crowded with competition and low price is a driving incentive for the customer.

  It used to be that a cup of coffee was just a cup of coffee. Then a company came along and completely changed the rules. They violated every marketing rule. They overpriced their product. They changed the language – a small is actually a “tall.” A medium is “grande.” You get the idea.

  Starbucks, the specialty coffee retailer, is one of the great 21st century American success stories. Considered as one of the most successful and admired companies today, Starbucks has grown from a single store begun by a Jewish man in Seattle 33 years ago to 12,000 stores, almost 4,000 of which are in 36 countries outside the U.S. In fiscal 2006, the company posted revenues of more than $8 billion.* Cup by cup, Starbucks has changed the way people drink coffee.

  More remarkably, the company successfully transformed a pedestrian commodity into a high-end accessory. It has created a “Starbucks lifestyle” that more people continue to embrace in the United States and abroad. They created community around their product.

  If you’re thinking about starting a business, or making an existing business better, ask yourself this question: “What’s unique about my business or product?”

  God created each of us to be unique. Define this uniqueness in your work life and promote it with integrity, and you’ll have a good chance for success.

by Os Hillman, Sept – Today God is First

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Some questions we can ask about “Word of Life” could be – what’s unique about our church — are we really  spiritually  lovely & lively people,  good food, dynamic Worship, relevant Word,.?….    what’s  in it for me,  what I like about our church,  am I getting fed spiritually,  do I enjoy coming to the fellowship, excited about our Worship,  do I enjoy the presence of our brethren & His Presence in the church,  am I growing in faith & relationships…..

Worship is giving God the best that He has given you.  Be careful what you do with the best you have.  Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to him as a love gift.  Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship.  If you hoard a thing for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot as the manna did when it was hoarded.  God will never let you hold a spiritual thing for yourself, it has to be given back to Him that He may make it a blessing to others.

Bethel is the symbol of communion with God; Ai is th symbol of the world.  Abraham pitched his tent between the two.  The measure of the worth of our public activity for God is the private profound communion we have with Him.  Rush is wrong every time, there is always plenty of time to worship God.  Quiet days with God may be a snare.  We have to pitch our tents where we shall always have quiet times with God, however noisy our times with the world may be.  There are not  three stages in spiritual life — worship, waiting and work.  Some of us go in jumps like spiritual frogs, we jump from worship to waiting, and waiting to work.  God’s idea is that the three should go together.  They were always together in the life of our Lord.  He was unhasting and unresting.  It is a discipline, we cannot get into it all at once. 

— by Oswald Chambers,  My Utmost for His Highest

Poor English, Preacher!

The story is told of a woman who approached Dwight L. Moody after one of his great evangelistic meetings in Chricago. “Mr Moody, she said, looking up at the big man through squinted eyes, “I am an English teacher. I am appalled at your grammatical errors. It seems to me if a man knew he was going to speak before this many people he would at least try to use better grammar.” Poor Moody, he did murder the King’s English. Looking down at the little woman, the bearded preacher boomed, “Ma’am, I’m doing the very best for Jesus with what I have.” Then he paused, looked at her intently, and added, “Tell me, are you doing the best for Jesus with what you have?” It was the perfect answer to a critic who had no other motive than to tear down. Moody had learned the secret of taking it—and leaving it.

p. 28

Fools for Jesus!

There is a fabled story about the famous nineteenth-century preacher, Phillips Brooks. One day Brooks received a letter in the mail. Opening it, he found a clean sheet of paper with one one word written on it: “Fool!” The next Sunday, Brooks carried the letter into his pulpit in Boston. Holding it up, he announced, “ I have received many letters from people who wrote the letter but forgot to sign their name. However, this is the first time I’ve received a letter from someone who signed his name and forgot to write his letter.” The man or woman who succumbs to the guilt of criticism –both that which is justified and that which is unjustified—is the person who doesn’t know who he is and has forgotten that the same authority God gave to Jesus Is ours also.

p.71

“The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them” (Num 12:9).

  Beware of trying to depose a leader that God has raised in your midst. Leaders are placed by God in business, government, churches – almost every place where leaders are required. When God places a person in position of authority, it is a grievous sin to go against that leadership. God Himself opposes those who come against His leadership.

  God’s leaders are not perfect. They make mistakes. That is why following a leader can require a faith that goes beyond faith in the leader. Our faith lies in the God who elevated the leader to his or her position.

  Miriam and Aaron, the older brother and sister of Moses, had a family dispute about Moses’ wife, who was an Ethiopian and Cushite. She most likely was a black woman. We do not know the nature of the dispute, but it was a typical family conflict.

  However, the family conflict began to impact God’s agenda for a nation. They were now meddling in God’s business. And He did not like that in the least. God literally brought Aaron and Miriam into the switching house. He judged both Miriam and Aaron for their rebellion against His ordained leader. “Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” (Num 12:8).

  Miriam was stricken with leprosy and had it not been for Moses’ appeal on her behalf, she would have been cast out for good. God gave her a second chance but it required being cast away from the camp for seven days. Miriam and Aaron repented for their rebellion.

  If you struggle with a leader that God has over you, pray for that leader. If God wants to remove that leader, He can do it. Think twice about conspiring to remove a leader whom God has not chosen to remove yet.

Os Hillman , Today God is First