If Only Churches would Unite...

I believe with all my heart God desires to change the northeastern United States like never before. Places like New York, Boston, New Jersey and all our major cities. From Bridgeport to New Haven and all the way to Hartford but yet ONE thing stands in Gods way...I wont be too popular after this but here goes....CHURCHES!!!

There is a total lack of unity in the body of Christ. In Genesis when speaking at the tower of Babel God declared there is NOTHING man can not do when they are united!!!! Never before especially in this city of Bridgeport has there been so much spiritual disunity, Churches speaking against other churches and Pastors having grudges towards other Pastors, Christians misrepresenting their churches and gossiping about people in others it’s atrocious. Churches all on the same street all with a different vision from "God" for the SAME street and yet nothing happens but we want a radical move of God? If the Holy Spirit hit Bridgeport in full strength many in the churches would perish. It is by God's mercy we have not experienced an outpouring because his outpouring would demand holiness (Lev 20:26).

We are divided by beliefs, denominations (demonizations), racial and ethnic backgrounds, and the list goes on. This church here don't like this church, these 2 pastors have bad blood, this church is too liberal, this church is too legalistic, this churches music is unholy, this Pastor is too young, I heard this about him I heard that about her, this organization believes Jesus only but this church believes in the trinity etc....When will it end?!!!!

When will churches finally get together to promote Christ and not their organization?! From Genesis to Revelation you will never find a demon fighting a demon or a principality of Satan going against another evil principality or a witch fighting a witch  for as Jesus declared when accused of using Satanic power to cast out a demon "A KINGDOM DIVIDED CAN NOT STAND!" (Luke 11:17) It is only in churches that we fight and are in disarray and the Kingdom of God suffers because it's "citizens" are fighting one another!

It is estimated there are over 400 churches in Bridgeport alone! That is a lot but yet the city is getting no better. So many churches and so many different visions and yet none are really changing the city and don't get me wrong i know we all do our little part and we all have successful events but yet where is the dramatic change? In cities all around the U.S. churches united and REVOLUTIONIZED their city and even got Jesus back into the schools because it made such a difference...

Where is the unity? Unity is a weapon! It is a tool! We lack it. No churches want to follow. NO pastors desire to submit to a citywide agenda...25 churches in Bridgeport of the same denomination all in competition and none having an impact. All struggling financially and none saying "hey there are more than 50 churches from our denomination within a 20 mile radius why don't we get together and have the areas ONLY mega church?! Then, all the bills could be paid, all the pastors can be paid and be full time, we would have more people for all the functions we are doing and we could hit the streets and really win souls for God and not just attract church hoppers!!!" Please, I implore you if by this point your offended don't be...I only desire to point to the obviousness of our dilemma in the north east. It is a spiritually dry place and this is why...churches have not allowed God to operate and everyone wants him to start it with them and if it doesn't start there, they will speak against it, boycott it, bad mouth the leaders of that church and more.
Read this short story and then I will continue this topic:

Growing Good Corn  Author Unknown

There once was a farmer who grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won a blue ribbon.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors.

"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.

"Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn."

He is very much aware of the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor's corn also improves.

So it is with our lives. Those who choose to live in peace must help their neighbors to live in peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others to find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all. The lesson for each of us is this: if we are to grow good corn, we must help our neighbors grow good corn. 

I heard this story while working retail as a Store Manager for CVS/Pharmacy. This story really challenged me and really inspired me to help the other stores in my area do better so we all as a company could have a better reputation.

Realize it is not ALL bad news. At the heart of this blog is a call for unity, a call for the surrender of our individualized church visions and a war cry for people with a heart for the city to unite. Who cares if you’re black and I'm Hispanic. Who cares if you’re white and the people next to you are Asian...aren't we all Christians?

The key is to sow good corn. If we as churches would speak life to each other and not give the public a bad taste towards each other in an effort to boost our own numbers, people will see genuine Christians. We should be excited that other churches are growing and not jealous! We should share all our best practices. What worked for you and what didn’t? 

We should share ideas, seminars, worship tips, musical styles, help build musicians in EVERY church, help get all our IRS 501c3 paperwork together so we are legal in the eyes of Uncle Sam. We should help each other get incorporated and structured. We should be sharing accounting practices and counting practices. Curriculum's and teaching materials should flow from church to church in an effort to join the city in one mindset to educate God's people. I don't care how elaborate your church vision is portrayed isn't the bottom line the same for EVERY church? TO WIN SOULS AND DISCIPLE THEM! That is the goal!

There should be a constant fellowship of believers and leaders. Pastors should sharpen other pastors not dull them. We should constantly continue to keep blessing other churches and seeing how God blesses them should excite us! Growth should be in every church. God is OBSESSED with growth...the first thing he made was a GARDEN! If a church isn't growing it has an issue because if you read scripture God is obsessed with the growth of man and the church! In Acts 2 the church grew DAILY! Not just on Sundays or Wednesdays...EVERY DAY folks came to God because the city was UNITED!!!! 

What would Bridgeport look like if we all fellowship together? What would our streets look like if we pulled all our resources together and had a united front against sin, crime, and more. What would happen? Revival would happen...Renaissance would take place...if only we would unite.

We should be sharing our seed with churches around us in order to grow better corn! In order to gain better ground against the enemy we should be helping each other out for there is no competition in the kingdom!

We shouldn't be afraid to share what is working in our churches to other churches for it is written:

It is possible to give away and become richer! It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. Yes, the liberal man shall be rich! By watering others, he waters himself.

Proverbs 11:24-25

 I pray we don't wait until it is way too late and we have lost the opportunity to see God move...Bridgeport needs to unite. Kids are dying, people are going hungry, crime is rampant and so much more...With over 400 churches there should be something happening but there isn't....Unity is needed and it will bring an anointing to this city...I don't want to upset you but rather implore you to unite and to get your churches involved...talk to your Pastors and lets change Bridgeport for real!

Ps 133
133:1 A song of ascents. Of David.

How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron's beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.
3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.
NIV

Feel free to FB me or tweet me!
I’m not here to be popular but rather, obedient.
More to come.......................

Religion vs Relationship Pt 2

Luke 11:46 “"Yes," said Jesus, "how terrible it will be for you experts in religious law! For you crush people beneath impossible religious demands, and you never lift a finger to help ease the burden.”


I have come to realize religion in many ways has made us think we have to be fake with God as if He doesn't know everything about of us. We come to church acting as if we are all put together, as if all is well. We pretend we are doing great and we are loud and smiling in church and we come faithfully so isn’t that what matters? We put our fake smile on and greet everyone as if we are just peachy when in reality many times it’s a lie.

The bills are piling up, your dealing with a broken marriage or a painful relationship. Maybe your kids are acting out or you’re addicted to pornography and at night you do things that you don't even desire to do any more. You find yourself in a vicious cycle of swearing and cursing, never praying never reading your bible, never showing people the real you! Never showing people you doubt God and you don't know what to do. You came home late from drinking and you’re at church bright and early and the list goes on.

We have erected a facade. It's a fake. Because of all the religious rules and regulations it's almost as if you can't be real anymore! You act fake and pretend it is all ok. How about we just be real?! These days the reason people don't tell their leaders they slipped up is because then they would be put on religious discipline. Kicked out of the choir or they can't usher and the list goes on. We make people think they have to act perfect to serve God and to serve in the church. Peter chopped off some guys ear while they arrested Jesus, denied Christ 3 times and the third time he hauled off cussing and swearing and going nuts and a few weeks later he led 8000 people to Christ. According to church rules he would have had to sit down for 6 months then be restored. Should sin be openly accepted in the people working in the churches and participating in the worship teams...NO! But just because someone makes a mistake doesn't mean they are to be sat down. There is a difference between a lifestyle of sin and when we fell into a temptation.

Think about it...if your a Christian and serve in your church chances are if you told them you were having a struggle with something they just might sit you down...the bible tells us we should restore them in love...BUT that is religion...it makes us be someone we are not.

In a relationship you can't hide who you really are./ After a certain amount of time it will come out! Your friends will know you’re a prick. Your spouse will find out you are a cheat or a liar maybe even a sex addict. You can try to hide it but in the end 9 times out of 10 because of the love you have you open up. You get intimate. Not sexual intimacy but emotional intimacy which is more powerful then sexual intimacy.

Relationship makes you open up! I went to my wife and as we got closer I opened up! Hey I honey I have an eating disorder for 3 years now. I purge 90% of all my meals since my father died and it’s a method of coping. What happened? She took me to the doctor (found me a doctor because I had none and made me go because she loved me), got me to see the damage I was doing, prayed for me, cried to me about how it hurt her and you guessed it I WAS FREE OF THAT DEMON SPIRIT! I can go on and on but my point is the intimacy of relationship drew me to my healing. In many churches those confessions could have gotten me kicked out of ministry but not to God!

He cares not for religion but a relationship! HE desires to LOVE you, CARE for you PROVIDSE for you and so much more! God loves you! He wants a relationship! He wants you to be real. Take off the mask. What if you dressed how you felt spiritually...I bet many of you would be a total mess...God wants to fix all that. He loves you and cares for you more than you know.... Give him a chance...

Religion vs Relationship Pt 1

So many times you hear someone say it's not about religion it's about relationship! Well...what exactly does that mean? I want to share few thoughts with you whether you’re a believer or someone whose fallen away maybe even an individual who isn't in church or never has been this one is for you.

Chances are when you think of church you think of what you can't do if you started coming to church. You might not go because you don’t have "church" clothes. (What in the world are “church" clothes?) You can't drink, go partying, you can't have pre marital sex, and the list goes on. I know churches where you can't wear makeup (the devil is a liar lol) you can’t go on dates, (foolishness), you can't wear pants (show me this one in the bible), you can't shave, you can't wear jewelry, you can't go to the movies, and the list goes on! I can go on for days. I believe what scares many people away is all these regulations and rules some of which are great and others that are utterly man made and completely unbiblical! If you want to get technical I can show you a few scriptures where it mentions men of God who wore nose rings lol! It's all there read it!

So many cultural rules in churches and so many people telling you want you can and can't do! All these legalistic churches and movements that come along and if you do go to a church wearing pants they look at you as if you had ten heads and they run to you covering you with a blanket or telling you to leave for you are inappropriate etc...Is that God's LOVE?!

1 John 4:7-8
 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love .
NIV

God is love...he wouldn’t run me out of church because I wore an earring...God wouldn’t cover my wife if she had pants or makeup. Those are Man made rules and yes they will point to the Old Testament in Numbers where it mentions painting your face but in reality they know no the context in which the verse was speaking but will twist and contort it to suit there needs. Rejecting people because they don't fit their model of what a Christian is...We have become more concerned WITH THE EXTERIOR RATHER THAN THE INTERIOR! God told Samuel concerning David’s brothers that he doesn't examine the exterior he looks inside. I can just imagine Jesus telling me to leave because I'm wearing a chain on my neck...right.

That is RELIGION! As defined by Webster’s dictionary:

re·li·gion

1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.

3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.

4. the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion.

5. the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith

This is not Gods goal. God doesn't want you not to sin because you will go to hell or your Pastor will embarrass you NO! He wants you not to sin because you LOVE him! God does not want you to attend church because if you don't people will talk about you! No he desires you to go because you deeply in love with him. He desire for you to pray not because you’re told to but because you desire to communicate with your creator.

Understand this, when I was single I acted SINGLE. Went on dates, hung out with girls I thought had potential, did all sorts of "SINGLE" things. I flirted, I look at all women around me to see if they fit my "type" and so forth. BUT when i found my wife, EVERYTHING STOPPED! Not because she made me but because I love her. I won't disrespect her because I lover her. I won't look at other women because it would dishonor my wife. That’s a RELATIONSHIP! Not that there are rules, but rather there are just KNOWN things that are unacceptable! And furthermore many things I changed that I found out she didn't like...why? Love drove me to.

When I came to God I stopped sinning because I didn't want to hurt him the same way I didn’t want to hurt my wife. I stopped drinking, smoking cigarettes, smoking weed, premarital sex, clubbing, swearing, lying and the list goes on. I stopped because I desired to represent God the best I can! It was NOT because of a list of religious rules. God is not interested in rules he wants LOVE! He doesn’t want your respect because your afraid of him but because you love him. 

I realize that besides being Pastor Luis I am Yesenia’s husband (love you boo). I carry her name even though she carries my name. If I were seen out with another woman and someone saw me they would say OMG look at Yesenia’s Husband...I would be dishonoring her...it's the same with God...that's why people say "and they are supposed to be a Christian..."

Religion has built up all these beliefs and things you can and can not do but in reality Christ goal was not to start a religion but to open a door for you to be able to become part of a BODY of believers that are in a committed monogamous spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior! Religious beliefs condemn us but relationship draws us closer to God. Religion tells you how unworthy you are but relationship tell you how much you are loved by this great creator...He just wants us to love him back in this relationship.

Matt 22:35-39
 36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'   38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
NIV

It's not about religion...I'm a Sr. Pastor of a great Church and I am NOT religious...I’m in a RELATIONSHIP...(more to come on this topic)

Purpose

Every day I awake, I am plagued by one overwhelming and truly perplexing thought..."What is God's purpose for me today..." Truth is told there are days I am so sad because I felt as if I couldn't find my purpose! Days have come where I was to the point of tears due to the fact that I felt as if my purpose was clouded and I couldn't get a grip on it.

I wonder EVERY day WHY AM I HERE?! I don't know about you and I can only speak for myself but the dominating thought in my life is what did God create me for? God told Jeremiah in Jeremiah chapter 1 "before you were in your mother’s womb I knew you..." That’s amazing! Put it like this...

Before time ever was, before the universe was birthed from the mouth of God, before the foundations of the earth were ever laid, even before the sun was birthed on the 4th day of creation before Father God directed the currents of the ocean and prior to him deciding the strength of earths gravity...before I was in my mothers womb growing and even before my DNA structure was determined and being written, God KNEW MY!

I don't want to bore you with Hebraic terminology so I won't go too deep but that word "knew" in Jeremiah 1:5 where God declares he "KNEW" Jeremiah is the same word used in Genesis 4:1 to explain how Adam "KNEW" Eve and she gave birth. This word means to have and intimate relationship. It is used throughout the bible to tell us of someone’s intimate actions and here God says he knew us. He was intimate with us not sexually but spiritually. He knew us!

So the question that really changed my life was "What motivated God to create me?" While you read this, have you ever had this thought? Why am I here? What did God create me for? What motivated him to form me and fashion me the way he did what was it?

This very question eats away at me daily! I can not escape it and surely I do not desire to for I have a deep longing to have a purpose far beyond just the regular hustle and bustle of life. I know my design is intricate and phenomenal and I have a purpose and so I question my life daily and ask myself "Luis what motivated God to make you?!" What is your purpose? Webster’s Dictionary defines Purpose in the following capacity:

pur·pose:
1. The reason for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc.
2. An intended or desired result; end; aim; goal.

Wow...that definition in my eyes is breathtaking. What is the reason for my existence? Why was I made? What am I supposed to be doing? How about this one...What was God aiming at when he made me?! These are questions I would challenge you to ask yourself.

You were not created to work a 9-5 job doing something that has no eternal value! Wake up and realize you have a GREATER purpose!!!

Jer 29:10-11
 11 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.
NIV

I love this scripture! God declares HE has a plan for YOU! they are good plans! But as I read this it hits me...why is God telling me he has a plan for me...probably because someone else has plans for me too. Listen, there is no grey area. Either you serve God or you serve the devil...whether willingly or not those are the only two and there is no in between. Whose plan are you living in? What is your purpose?

Listen to what Solomon says:

Prov 19:21
21 Many are the plans in a man's heart,
but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.
NIV
You may have many plans and ideas for your life but God declares that His purpose for you shall prevail! If God made you for a reason I bet it's a really good one! Stop wasting time in your life trying to follow hopes and dreams that have no eternal value. Yes we all want a comfortable happy life with good things and there is NOTHING wrong with that trust me God has blessed me but in the midst of it I am serving my purpose!

I realize when God made me he knew my father would die at the age of 51 while I was 22 and God knew He needed me to lead a small church and take it from being so small to being so large. I realize God has gifted my words and my mind and I see he has blessed me with leadership qualities to guide his people and I know he has called me to change the world I live in and it is my PURPOSE!!!

I had many plans...many desires...but when I got a glimpse of God's desires for me...I put mine to the side in light of how many people would need me. I saw the masses of souls God would speak to through me and I was humbled that he thought so much of me and I will never be the same. Many were the plans in my heart but it was the purpose of God that prevailed!

So I ask you this...what is your purpose? What did the creator of all that we see and know, what motivated Him, to create you?

I pray you soon find out and waste no more time living without a God purpose!

Faith Beyond the Facts

Heb 11:1
11:1 NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].
AMP

Have you ever got tired of believing God? If your not a regular church goer this might be easier to answer than if your a church regular. If you do attend a church regularly don't be super spiritual...Just get to the reality that at times it is HARD to believe God.

We are expected to simply have this total unwavering faith in something we can't see! It's kind of like asking you to jump out of an airplane and tell you not to worry because you have been equipped with a weightless, strapless invisible parachute that has artificial intelligence and is pre-programmed to deploy exactly when you need it...right...good luck with that. If your honest, that is sometimes how we feel with believing God's word or even believing in a God at all.

But, in the spiritual, that is exactly Gods expectation for you. Total trust in God. It is so hard at time yes I know I have been there many times. But yet I realize God spoke into nothing in order to create everything. I understand the complexities of the human body are so numerous that it is not by some mere big bang, or evolutionary process that I have been created but rather it was by design. I look at a tree and I realize without them we couldn't be alive! Not only do they create oxygen which is necessary for life but they also absorb carbon dioxide which is poisonous to us. Just take a look at the sun moon and stars, take a moment to marvel at the magnetic poles God created within our planet in order to keep the ocean currents circulating around the globe and take a moment to marvel at the vastness of all the universe and how we are uniquely placed just far enough from our sun in order to sustain life and we can even look at the 4 seasons and how the earth rotates in such a way that it keeps it all in sync. Friend, take a moment to marvel at the concept of gravity that as the earth spins at thousands of miles an hour you aren't toppling over or falling down...It was a moment like this that kind of did it for me...

If this God of all creation can maintain all of that, he can take care of me. I'll believe in him blindly and boldly. I won't ask why I will aske when! I will believe in him and all he has for me! I will abandon my life to live his plan for me for as he plotted out the trajectory of the earth's orbit around the son I do believe he can plot the course of my life!

Faith is believing in what I can't see. As the above scripture notes from the amplified version, faith, is the TITLE DEED to what God has for me! In other words it is my deed of OWNERSHIP. When I paid off my car, the bank sent me my deed. I own it outright. When Jesus died he paid the price for my salvation, so he owns it outright. When i choose to believe God for all his promises and his plan and I exercise it through faith, I OWN IT OUTRIGHT!


I have seen God's provision for me and he never lets me down. Financially, emotionally, materialistically, and even spiritually God always provides! My faith grants it to me! This is what all the men in the Bible were commended for. Their faith. Their ability to believe God without knowing everything. You need to know everything or you won't do anything but God says just listen to me!

Faith says its real even when everything around you says its not. Your 5 senses cant pick it up. You cant see it touch it feel it or anything else but you KNOW God said it so believe!

Abraham was told to just start walking and he walked. God never said walk here or walk there but rather he said go and I will lead you to where your going and Abraham went. Today God might be calling you to believe him in whatever your situation may be. Trust God! No matter how bad it seems. These are some of my definitions of what faith means:

Faith is what you need to accomplish the impossible.

Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof

Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation.

Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time

Faith does not ignore the facts, it ignores the power of the facts

Faith is the title deed of ownership for the believer.

It is what guarantees the accomplishment of the impossible if you would just believe…

I know you might be facing some impossible looking situations…

You might have a few Goliaths in your life…

Maybe its in your finances or in your home…

In your heart or in your marriage…I know some might be struggling with sins and it seems impossible that you could ever let it go but with faith I came to tell you today you can achieve it.

Maybe your spiritually stagnant not even caring about growing anymore…just glad your not going to hell…but today God wants to awaken you no matter how impossible it seems…

I know God is challenging many more to take enormous steps of faith in your personal life and others he is beckoning you towards ministry…it seems impossible…but just have faith…

Look to Him…look to the author and the finisher of your faith! He will complete that which concerns you…

Ps 138:8
8 The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.
KJV

I'm Lifted Up By Going Under

 So many times in our human nature we look to find meaning and recognition in many things we do. Whether consciously or subconsciously it is something we all do. For who doesn't like just a little bit of recognition? Don 't you desire a promotion on the job or a raise in pay for what it is you do? Many times our quest for recognition produces an air of pride and arrogance in ones self based on their own estimation of themselves.

Now I realize by this point your thinking to yourself, well this devotional/blog post isn't for me but I would challenge you to read on!

So many Christians are missing the most fundamental aspect of their life in order to be Christ Like. We should strive and look everyday in how we can imitate Christ. The aspect so many are missing is an attitude of Humility. Yes Humility is an ATTITUDE.


Growing up I would hear my parents say "You've got an attitude Problem and I will fix it if you don't!"
Many of us have been there (LOL). I always had an attitude1 Whens the last time someone said you have a good attitude problem? How is your attitude?

Your attitude is the gauge by which the world measures what Christ is doing in you. They can't see the interior so they judge what they see on the exterior and rightly so. If all they see is a bad attitude then what does that say? So how should our attitude be and what should it say about God in our lives? Philippians the 2nd Chapter says this:

Phil 2:5-11 
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
NIV

So yes I added some emphasis on one word did you happen to see it? Jesus had an attitude and it was one of Humility. Yes Jesus had a real big attitude! A big attitude of HUMILITY! Humble is the way!

This scripture speaks of how Jesus saw himself and how he considered himself lower than all those around him. Yes I could go into a very profound explanation of how he left all his majesty and abandoned his deity for you and I and I could potentially write page after age of how this mighty, unfathomable, all powerful, all knowing, omnipresent, omnipotent and wonderful God lowered himself beneath even you and I but I rather just sum it all up in a few words like this:

Think of Everyone as better than yourself and that's Christlike. Humility doesn't mean a lack of self esteem or confidence but rather it screams the opposite! your to be so sure and positive about who you are in Christ that NOTHING anyone says can affect you and so you think of yourself as less than them and never elevate yourself in your own eyes.

If you elevate yourself than what is left for God to do? Leave the elevating to God. Jesus was exalted and lifted up because he HUMBLED himself. Don't seek recognition or let pride and arrogance into your heart but rather let God speak for you when others speak against you and let God fight for you! No one is a better strategist than God and he can do things you could never do so let him defend you.

You want to be lifted up? Do what the apostle declares in this next scripture:

1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you,

7 Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.
AMP






Man I love this scripture. Its a recipe for success and elevation! whats the recipe? HUMILITY! Humble yourself under God so he can lift you up.

Wait let me get this right...I get UNDER God so he can ELEVATE me? You mean I get up by going down? That's AWESOME!

God desires to get you into higher places but not on your time. The scripture above says in DUE time. When it's DUE! Not when YOUR ready but when GOD says your ready!

So how do you start being humble? here's what I am doing...I'm being grateful. I show myself how much God is doing for me and BAM I feel so indebted to God that I can't be arrogant if I wanted to. I thanked him for everything all the way from my toothbrush to my wife and suddenly this shrinking feeling came over me and I felt so small in comparison to this mighty God and I realized my gratitude showed me I was nothing without God and so who was I to look down on anyone from the murderer to the pedophile and from the lawyer to the drug addicts I realized I am not above any of them and with that knowledge I realized Humility was finding a home in my heart.

Being humble is rewarding and builds confidence and authority in your spirit. It leads to being Christlike and helps you in your everyday Christian life. Isn't that what we need? Strength to make it through everyday?

So until the next time, BE HUMBLE, BE GRATEFUL and you will BE CHRISTLIKE! Elevation from others is useless when God desires to lift you higher than any man ever could!

Be Blessed,

Pastor Luis

God is Covering You!

Jeremiah 5:22
Do you not fear and reverence Me? says the Lord. Do you not tremble before Me? I placed the sand for the boundary of the sea, a perpetual barrier beyond which it cannot pass and by an everlasting ordinance beyond which it cannot go? And though the waves of the sea toss and shake themselves, yet they cannot prevail [against the feeble grains of sand which God has ordained by nature to be sufficient for His purpose]; though [the billows] roar, yet they cannot pass over that [barrier]. [Is not such a God to be reverently feared and worshiped?]

Amplified Bible

God Bless You! I'm so encouraged to read this scripture. I am not one to say i have a favorite scripture but I do have a few that truly encourage me and this is one of them.

In this scripture God is speaking through Jeremiah to his people. God is questioning their fear and respect towards Him. He really is asking them why don't they fear him. Why do we not fear or respect God? Why do we not always have his will and desires in the forefront of all we do? Why is God not number one in our lives? That's a topic for another day but so many times he is last on our minds. We should live to please God. The bible declares in Hebrews 11:5 that Enoch was taken to heaven and never faced death because he PLEASED GOD!

What intrigues me and encourages me in this scripture is the time God takes to explain his utter greatness. He declares in power and authority that it was Him who placed the sands as a perpetual barrier in which the sea shall never pass it. God declares he made a decree for all of time that the seas may not cross the sand. 

Maybe for a moment or for a day but they always go right back with the tide and never cross it completely. I relate this to the everyday cares of life. The issues we face and the hurts we experience. No matter what happens there is a barrier in you named JESUS that can never be crossed by any devil in hell let alone any issues you face today. No demon can cross it and no sickness can overcome it. No circumstance can make Him crumble and no situation can surprise Him.

God declared that though the seas make shake the sand they can never prevail! God has got you covered! God is covering us and though we may be shaken we are never broken. Though you may feel the waves of the ocean called life crashing at your shore it can not overcome you for if God is for you who can be against you? None.

Be encouraged! God has also raised a barrier around you called the church to keep you from being overcome. I love how the Amplified Bible declares how feeble and weak a grain of sand is but yet God made it enough to stop he oceans. Hasn't God made the smallest of things sufficient to protect you? I tell you the truth, God has got you covered. Sometimes people around you seem weak or even insufficient but yet God will cover you in everything.

For that reason is not God worthy of praise? For that reason he deserves our faithfulness! In everything you do he covers you. In your weakness God protects you and shelters you. In your mistakes he forgives you and in your failures he accomplishes a work in you. God has got you covered. Stay faithful and stay true!

Pastor Luis

Check Out My New Website!

Hey everybody! I just launched my churches new website GVAtoday.com.

We here at GVA are really excited to see all that God is doing! This new website has access to all our information including dozens of sermons that you can listen to or even download for your listening. Stay blessed and come visit our website!

One Small Step

One Small Step for a Man,  One Giant Leap for Mankind

In the course of your life you will face small steps that will have the capacity to change the landscape of your life and these are steps that define where you go in life.

These are steps that make you grow in God and make you much stronger in Christ...you will be faced with tough times that will help you increase your faith as a Christian.  One of the greatest scriptures I have come to know that help me with these steps is John 16:33.

33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." 

These small steps make big impacts on YOUR life...but then their are steps that have an affect on the people that surround your life. These are the challenges God puts before you to change your family and your community. To change your neighborhoods and to impact your city and although still small their affect is great.

July 20, 1969 one man taking one step...changed the world...he with one single step gave vision to the entire globe and showed anything was possible...he uttered the famous words while he took that first step...One small step for a man...one giant leap for mankind...and with that Neil Armstrong took the first steps ever taken by humans on the moon...he changed history with one step...and so can you...with a step of faith...

Matt 14:25-33

25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." 

Lets Analyze this very briefly:

Late at night...the fourth watch is the ending of the night right before dawn...Jesus came trotting along on the water...

Late at night when its at its darkest...but yet a new day was coming ...it was about to be dawn...new light was coming.

You might see darkness now but oh just let me tell you new light is coming into your life! new hope is rising in you! When it looks the darkest here came Jesus.

Midnight might be our darkest time but oh just let me tell you it marks a new day!!!

The bible tells how the disciples saw him and thought he was a ghost...this shows how superstitious they were...they were still learning...they still believed in mythical things and had superstitious fears but here came Jesus just trotting along...

There's going to be times in your life where you are going to see God move and your going to be afraid.

Gods going to say preach and your going to be afraid. Gods going to say sing and your going to be afraid. Gods going to tell you open a church and your going to be afraid. Gods going to tell you to put some extra money when your super stretched in your finances and your going to be afraid to trust it's him not realizing the devil wouldn't tempt you to bless god.

God's going to come when your at your worst, when your stress level is maxed, when it seems you cant take anymore and your world is going to collapse.

When your bills are backed up  and your kids are going wild, when your husband or wife is talking about divorce here comes Jesus calling on you to get ready to do Gods work.

It's never going to be your time! In your time you would be ready and then you would have glory but in God's time you wouldnt be ready and it's his glory...

God's calling you...take courage!

In the middle of your dark time when you think it cant get any darker...here comes Jesus...

Is someone tonight facing dark hard times in your life whether personal or family...work related or church related...spiritual or physical...Take courage...

Constantly God reminds us to be courageous...God told Joshua 8 times be strong and courageous...4 from Moses and 4 in Joshua 1...

I always wondered if God knew who Joshua was...maybe he forgot Joshua wanted to fight the Canaanites from jump street...maybe he forgot Joshua jacked up the Amalekites...

Did he not remember Exodus 24 tells us Joshua actually went up the mountain with Moses and saw Gods glory while everyone else waited...did God forget Joshua...he had seen Gods glory and was a might man of war...he was brave and courageous yet God told him take courage...

I dont care how tough you think you are or how spiritual you think you are...there is a move of sin and a move of holiness sweeping this country and you are going to get caught in the crossfire...so mighty man or woman of god be courageous take courage your about to be in the fight of your life and you need to find God in the storm....

It just might get darker and scarier before it gets better but take courage it's for your step of faith God is calling to you take courage...

This nation is in a moral down spiral...the enemy is flooding us in this fourth watch of our nations history...the bible says when the enemy comes in like a flood God will raise a standard! 

So are you a part of the flood or the standard...are your small steps going to ruin your spirit or are they going to change the world...

So now...we begin to talk about the man of the hour....Peter...

28 "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."

So realize this...they are all in disbelief...they are afraid and stunned...so the only bold one of the bunch speaks up...Peter said...OK man...Jesus if that's you call me to come...

You need to understand Peter...he's not normal...he's got head issues...he talks before he thinks...he's the one who told Jesus he wasn't going to get crucified as long as he was around...

Peter was a thug...probably grew up in the Bronx...he was a rough kind of guy a real mans man...he was the fighter of the bunch...he was the one most liable to punch people...

He must of had some PR in him (just kidding)...in the garden of Gethsemane he pulls out a sword and hauls off and chops some guys ear off! He seen Jesus whipping folks in the temple and now he's carrying a knife...this guy wasn't playing!

Peter was reckless and wild...he carried knives and a desert eagle 45. caliber pistol...OK maybe not the DE...

Peter loved Jesus! He made it clear he would do anything for him!

So he says if that's you then tell me to come...Jesus didn't tell peter to come first...Peter had the God idea...

You need to call unto God and start taking the faith steps...steps that will change perception in your life and bring change...

Tell your neighbor take a step! so Jesus replied...

29 "Come," he said.

Man Pete must have been like...oooooooo....hmmmmmm....about that....he opened his mouth...now he had to man up...the other 11 disciples are watching him he's like OK it's now or never...do or die time...the next piece of scripture is the greatest part of this story...

Then Peter got down out of the boat,

He lifted his leg over the edge of that boat and stepped out of the boat...that boat was a sure thing...that boat was solid but yet he chose to take one small step for a man that would help change the world...with this story I know i can do anything in Christ...

His small step of faith was not walking on water it was crawling out of that boat...his knees were probably shaking his heart was beating a mile a minute...he must have been anxious and slightly afraid but a step of faith drove him overboard...

So many time in life were afraid to go overboard...we think we might drown...we think we might fail and be useless to God...but Jesus calls to you today and says COME!

It's time you came to God...it's time you came to see god in His glory...it's time you stepped out in faith...steps of faith that will change the people around you.

Imagine the other 11 disciples shock and awe...Pete what are you doing? You sure?

Pete don't go...but once they saw him I know that I know they were inspired in their hearts as i am...we all look at how he sank when he took his eyes off Jesus but i focus on him putting that first leg overboard and just trusting Jesus...

Are you willing to trust Jesus tonight?

Trust him with your life...trust him to answer the call...trust him to go take small steps of faith that equal giant leaps in spiritual growth for the kingdom of God!

Take a step tonight! a step of faith...peters step was one small step for a man but one giant leap for mankind spiritually...

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Now...I'm not a scientist but you can't see the wind...I spoke on this once in my church and it became a joke that when someone over analyzed something we said they saw the wind...Peter didn't see the wind..he saw what danger he was taking...he saw how what he was doing could hurt him...

So many times we take a step of faith but begin to sink because we think to much about whats next...I can imagine Peter walking on water and realizing he had nowhere to go but back to the boat and he grew afraid...he began to sink when his eyes shifted from God...

Church the things of this world glitter...they shine at us and call us...keep your eyes on Jesus and when you feel yourself sinking call on his name...

 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"  32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Immediately God will rescue you...why do you doubt God...climb out of your boat today...He will save you when your weary....

Jesus said to Peter oh ye of little faith...

Many can say its a derogatory remark but I see Jesus smiling saying oh man Pete that was just a little faith and you defied gravity what can you do with great faith...

Church what can your small steps do with great faith?

If he can walk on water with little faith...you can change lives with great faith...it's time you lifted your leg over the side of that boat and stepped into the world of great faith tonight...