george ramirez

COME HOME part 1

2012-01-08T15:51:00.006-06:00

Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
COME HOME

The Home that I am speaking of is our right relationship with Christ. Home is living right daily with Jesus. Home is our eternal hope in God. God is calling you home to the place that you know is where you belong.

Jesus is calling, are you listening. How does God speak to us?

* Look at your circumstances. What is you life situation telling you?
* Look at the Times we live in. What are signs that God is revealing to us. Can you see the Bible in today's headlines.
* Listen to the what the Spirit is saying to your heart. Open up your ears to the whispers of God.
* Look in Gods Word. I dare you to open Gods word and read it daily with a teachable spirit.
* Learn from people. God will use people to speak into your life. Be willing to hear the counsel and wisdom of others.

Don't wait for a wake up call to bring you out from where you find yourself. Don't be fooled that the answer is found in religion. God is calling us to relationship. Live your life and don't be caught in just business for the sake of being busy.

Come Home to that place that you have sought in other places. Come home to Jesus.

Success in 2012

2012-01-01T14:46:00.000-06:00

Genesis 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD said to Abram,
“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Every Christian lives by faith. We need to approach the new year believing God has deleted all of the junk on our hard drive. We must begin the year with the resolution that we have a new start. We must then ask for a fresh inpartation of God's Spirit. A new annointing. A fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit.

God is checking your pulse. What is your heart saying. God is poking you as a friend on facebook. What is God trying to say and do?

“The secret, for lack of a better word, for Abraham’s success, was moving from his will to God’s will. When the ‘you’ comes after the ‘I’ rather than before, we’ll guarantee our success,

“If you and I want the new year to be a success, let’s:
Drop our agenda … join His agenda
Get off our path … get on His path
Release our ambitions … embrace His ambitions
Ignore my will … live His will.”

Don't let anything stop you from becoming all that God has planned for you.
All things are possible to them that believe.

2012 Will Be?

2011-12-28T12:59:00.001-06:00

Nobody can't predict the future but we can invision what we believe it will be. What the year will be like will stem from what we will become. If we set our sights on becoming better at the important things than we can trust our year will be great. What can I do to make things better for 2012?

I will pray more. Prayer is the power behind getting the will of God in our lives. I will not just pray but I will circle my prayers and claim the things God has for me.

I will plan better. If you do not have a plan you plan to fail. We cannot hit a target if we have not placed it.

I will have greater passion. If we do not have a passion for what we are doing we are missing the fuel we need to get things done.

These are just 3 things that I can focus on to make 2012 a great year.

Jesus Came To Save

2011-12-25T11:29:00.000-06:00

Jesus is the Savior. What we could not do for ourselves Jesus did for us. We were lost and without hope but Jesus came to the rescue. What Love. What grace. What compassion. Jesus paid the price so that we could live in eternity with Him. Jesus took our sin so we could live life abundantly here in this life.

The greatest gift ever given was wrapped in cloths in a manger that Christmas night. The world would never be the same. Jesus Changed the world and Jesus has changed us. We have been transformed by the great power of God. The Holy Spirit has come to indwell every believer. God has given us his holy word to guide us down the highways of life.

Our Savior is with us always. He never leaves or forsakes us. We can always depend upon our Lord. In the bad and good of life he remains constant and faithful. Many things in life fail us but Jesus never fails.

The message remains safe and intact. Jesus came to save and I am so blessed that He saved me. Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord can be saved. Call on Him today and you will find the Savior.

Very Encouraged

2011-12-22T09:30:00.000-06:00

I have been extremely encouraged by the way the mission partners at the Springs have gotten behind our Christmas celebrations. We are having 2 service this year and that meant a 2 day committment during a very busy time of the year. I am also so blessed by the giving of God's people. People have donated alot of stuff to make our Chritmas celebrations a great success.

If we remember anything about Christmas it should be all about giving from the heart. The greatest gift ever given was our Savior Jesus. God's heart was moved by love as Jesus came to be our redeemer. "...the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

2012 is going to be an awesome year. I am sensing a huge anticipation in many people hearts as we enter into this new year. I am believing God for the greatest year of ministry in my life personally and the life of the Springs. I am also beleiving that Fellowship66 will see some great strides as in advances to plant more churches and ministries in San Antonio.

The need to get our churches growing with new souls is without question. We need to pray and work like never before. At stake in this spiritual battle are not only the souls of people but the need to advance to very truth of the Gods Holy Word.

In Christ,
Pastor George

Good Sunday

2011-12-18T15:04:00.000-06:00

This morning I was a part of the Ordination for some of the leaders at the Promise Center. I was reminded that God is still calling people to the ministry because God is still at work in big ways.

We had a a very good service at the Springs. We had a good attendence, first time guests and an awesome offering. God Is so faithful. Todays offering was the largest offering I have ever been a part of for one Sunday.

Tonight we have our Christmas party. I am looking forward to the fellowship and deeping relationtionships during this holiday season.

This week we get ready for our Christmas services. One friday and one on Christmas eve.

1012 is right around the corner. I really believe we are instore for some huge things this new year.

Have a blessed week and God Bless.

Pastor George

From the Heart

2011-12-10T10:06:00.000-06:00

Christmas is a season of the heart. Most people are still moved when they think of family and our close relationships. We all have people that are special to us. When God saw His world from begining to end he saw us and loved us. We are special to God. God wants the best for everyone of us. He knows the plans He has for us and those plans are awesome.

God wants to have one on one time with us. He wants some quality time with us. He wants to share His heart with us. When we think of Christmas we think of the people that God used to bring His plan to reality. Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds, The wise men and everyone before and after.

Not everyone is receptive to what God is saying. When Joseph and Mary got the inn there was no room for them. Many times people make no room for what God wants to say to us during this season. People try to X Jesus out of Christmas. Let me just speak from my heart.

* Let Jesus love you
* Let Jesus be born in your heart
* Let Jesus reveal His great plan for your life
* Let Jesus be your Lord
* Let Jesus bring His joy during this holy season

Have a great day. Gods greatest blessing to you and your loved ones.

Sunday Update

2011-12-04T19:34:00.000-06:00

Good Sunday...The weather kept a few people away but we still had a good group. I Preached the last message in my series LOST an FOUND. Using King David as an example we taught on how you can be lost and then found and then get lost again. David was lost in the crowd of his brothers but was found tending his fathers sheep when he was tapped to be the new King of Isael. Later as king, David lost his way by getting distracted and then losing sight of his position and purpose.

When David came to the realizaion of his waywardness he cried out to God and God came and restored David. David's story reminds us that when we truly are children of God we will return to the Lord. David called on God to be compassionate toward him and God responded by bringing him to the truth of Gods way. God cleansed him and restored his joy and life.

We can lose our way but God is faithful to finish His work in us. God will use the good and the bad to draw us closer to Him and His plan.

This week we have our 1st Wednesday gathering. We will gather to worship and encourage each other in Christ. Next Sunday I will not be starting a Christmas series but I will be preaching messages from the heart at Christmas. Christmas is a time to search our hearts. Christmas is a time to speak to the needs we all face.

God bless and have a great week.

Pastor George

Sunday Update

2011-11-27T19:08:00.000-06:00

We had an awesome Sunday at the Springs. We had good attendance and we had a good response to the message "LOST and FOUND" part 2. We saw a few new faces in the crowd and that was nice. I can't put my finger on it but the Springs is in a good place right now. There is a new unity and a grasping of the vision to be growing church. New leaders are emerging and people are calling the Springs home.

As we enter the Christmas season and as we approach a new year there is much to do and many opportunities to sieze. I am praying that we keep the momentum going.

Speaking of prayer, I beleive that 2012 will be a year of prayer. As Mark Batterson stated "Work ethic + Prayer Ethic = Miracles. Pray as everything depends on God and work as if everything depends on us.

I had an blessed time helping lead worship for the Exchange church. I love to worship the Lord. This week we begin preparing for our Christmas service. This should be fun and exciting. Parties and fellowships and meetings mark the Decemember calander.

We are blessed to celebrate the birth of our Lord. Jesus is worthy of all the praise and attention because of His great love for us. He is Lord and God of all.

Until next week

Pastor George

Thankful

2011-11-24T16:59:00.000-06:00

I am very thankful for my family. I have a great wife who makes our house a home. I have 3 awesome daughters that are such a blessing to me. I have 3 sons that I am proud of. I have 10 grandchildren that bring alot of joy to my life.

I have a great church family. I am blessed to pastor a church that has caught a vision of what God wants to do with us. The Future is bright for the Springs because we know that we serve a God who dares us to dream big.

I am thankful for our nation. America is the greatest nation on the earth today. We were established with Biblical principles and that is what has kept us strong. We need to pray for America. We need to pray for a revival in the church and for the lost of our nation. God wants us to be strong in Him.

What else am I thankful for:

The Bible
The Holy Spirit
The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ
Strong worship
Prayer
Fellowship among Gods people
The Blood of Jesus
The Strong Name of Jesus

and so much more

Be Blessed,
Pastor George
www.livingspringsa.org

Sunday Update

2011-11-20T20:26:00.000-06:00

We had a awesome day at the Springs this morning. 5 people gave their hearts to Jesus during our invitation. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Fellowship Lunch. We had great food provided by our mission partners. We tried out our new fellowship hall set up and it was a huge success.

I began a new series called LOST and FOUND. I am convinced that the message of salvation must be preached weekly. People need to have an opportunity to recieve there salvation through Jesus our Savior.

The Holy Spirit must be present in our services so that the convicting power of God will produce repentance and life change. I believe the Bible is Gods complete and trustworthy word. We can trust the Bible to be inspired of God and without error. I will stand on the Word of the Lord.

The Roman Road
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned"
Romans 6:23 "The wages of sin is death"
Romans 10:13 "Those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved"

Is your name in the Book of Life... Trust Christ today

Trusting God Through The Transition

2011-11-18T19:56:00.000-06:00

We need to keep believing
We need to keep praying
We need to keep attempting new ideas
We need to be positive
We need to keep working
We need to see the big picture
We need to encouarge ourselves in the Lord
We need to be listening to the whispers of the Spirit
We need to do the right things
We need to TRUST GOD

If I Could Do It All Over

2011-11-04T15:32:00.000-05:00

Billy Graham was asked what he would do different if he had the chance. Here is what he said.
I'd spend more time at home with my family
I'd study more and preach less.
I wouldn't have taken so many speaking engagements.
I would have steered clear of politics.

What about you? What would you do over? When everything is said and done what changes would you make? With a question like this the only one who can address it is you. So I begin. As I reveal my list think about your answers. These are not in any specific order of importance.

I would have applied myself to be a better student when in school.
I would have spent more time with my children when they were younger.
I would have taken more time off from working and traveled with my family.
I would have spent more time in prayer and in the word.
I would have built better relationships with people
I would have been more informed about money(saving and investing)
I would have been a better husband to my wife.
I would have taken better care of my health.

Now for the message in this message. Whatever changes I wish I could make I must not dwell on the mistakes but I need to take steps to improve the areas that I can still impact. As long as we are in this world we can try to make improvements.

Pitfalls to be Avoided

2011-10-29T09:38:00.000-05:00

We Learn from where others have already been. Paul was making the point in I Corinthians 10 that the people of Israel had traveled the road of life and had made some really bad choices and he has a warning for us. Just because we have trusted in the Lord to be our Savior we still have to make the right choices in our everyday walk. Here is a breakdown of the Pitfalls we should avoid.

We need to keep our lust in check. We all live in a tent of flesh and as a result we crave sinful things. To be tempted is not sin but to yeild to the temptation is. Everyone of us know what sinful things are and we need to keep ourselves away from these things.

Idolatry is anything that we exalt above God. If we put anything before God we have made that thing an idol. Attached to idolatry is worship. If we are not careful we can worship things that are inspired by the enemy. Clearly we are intructed to worship only God and God alone. Satan would have us worship him. Satan will try to decieve us into worshiping him. Rememeber he is the father of lies. Satan glories in anything that is false. Satan loves anything that is opposite of what God is. God is truth-satan is lies. God is holy-satan is filthy.

Nothing can effect us more than sexual sin. When we violate Gods word and act immoral we defile ourselves and become spiritually dull.

If we willfully act in disobiendence and throw it in the face of God we set ourselves up to suffer the consequences of our decsions. We will reap what we sow.

To complain that God is not enough reveals the true condition of our heart and that revelation of our lack of trust will open the door to defeat and compromise.

Clearly the Bible give us pitfalls that must be avoided. We must learn what must be avoided because we have a recorded history of the results of what we will go through if we do not heed the warnings.

Some Do's And Don'ts in Leadership

2011-10-26T08:09:00.000-05:00

Always believe in people and try to find ways to help them succeed.

Take risks when giving people opportunities even if you don't know how it will turn out.

Always follow your dreams even if others lose the vision. God will bring others to help you.

Don't second guess yourself when you empower people to do something and if you made a mistake in trusting somebody who proved they were not up to the challenge admit you blew it and move on.

If you know something needs to be addressed don't put if off. When we let things go to long we live to regret it most of the time. If you are on the right side of the issue act quickly because it may hurt at first but it will resolve itself quicker as well.

Don't respond to people who criticize you for things that you know have to be done. Accept the fact that criticism is part of leadership. Learn from constructive criticism and don't let words against you upset you. Most people who criticize in a negative way need our prayers.

Aways remember that God is in control of everything and He brings all things to light. What ever a mans sows that he will reap.

Overcoming Discouragement

2011-10-19T08:38:00.000-05:00

Life can be hard at times and sometimes the circumstances we find ourselves in can cause us to become discouraged. There are peaks and valleys in life and sometimes you find yourself in the valley “death valley”. Due to a lot of different reasons many Christians find themselves discouraged.

Spiritual low self esteem, feeling that our life doesn’t make a difference, finding ourselves very busy with little to show for it. These are a few reasons that set us up for discouragement.

I heard Robert Emmitt say in his message to the church leaders during our annual meeting that the biggest reason pastors quit the ministry is not the mishandling of money or even sexual misconduct but discouragement.

There is a fable that the devil decided once to have an auction. He decided to go out of business and sell his tools. The auction day came and a great crowd of people gathered. He placed all his tools on a red plush mat. The tools were envy, jealousy, greed, vengeance, resentment and hatred- all of them. Off to the side he had a silver wedge. Someone asked him what it was and he said, that’s a silver wedge. See how bright and shiny it is? I use it all the time. It is the best tool I have. I put it over there because it is the most valuable. It is worth more than all the other tools put together. They asked how do you use it? Satan answered “that’s the wedge of discouragement". You take the finest Christian, one who has received Jesus Christ into his life and who is trying to serve Him, and drive the wedge of discouragement into his Christian work and wreck his usefulness. I can drive that wedge in and pry open a door, and all the rest of my cohorts can go in. I can breakdown that life down with discouragement.

As a pastor what concerns me most about God’s people is that having been in the Lord for 3, 4,5 years many have lost their song. There is no fire, excitement, no joy , no hope, they are not using their gifts to the fullest, they are discouraged and defeated.

If we are going to have growing Christian lives, growing churches and growing ministries, if we are going to win the world to Christ we have to realize it will not be done with disheartened, defeated Christian’s. We must recapture our enthusiasm. We must sing a new song.

2 Timothy 1:6 says “Stir up the gift of God which is within you”. The word “stir” in the original language means to “fan again the flames”. The picture is a fire that once burned bright, has gone out. But underneath the dull gray ashes there are still some hot coals capable of bursting into flames again if they were just stirred up, if they were fanned.

If discouragement has set into your life here are some things to remember and consider.

1. Remember the laws of God- The law of the harvest teaches us “not to grow weary in well doing because in due season we will reap if we faint not” Gal 6:9.
2. Remember the Promises of God- The blessing of God come to the obedient but we must stay faithful and engaged.
3. Remember the Love of God- While we were still sinners Christ loved us and gave Himself for us.
4. Count your blessing- Don’t focus on what’s wrong but on what’s right. Look at the things God has blessed you with.
5. Tomorrow is a new day- The mercies of God are new every morning.
6. Your best days are ahead of you- He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.
7. God is with us- Who can pluck you out of His hand? If God is for you who can be against you? He said he would never leave us or forsake us.
8. All things work together for the good- God takes the good and the bad and works it on our behalf because we are his and He has a plan. We serve a God of purpose and destiny.
9. Jesus sits on the throne- God is in control of this universe and He is Lord over all. Every power and dominion is under His feet.

Encourage yourself in the Lord my brother and sister. Don’t allow the devil or the circumstances of life to rob you of God best for your life. The Joy of the Lord is your strength. AMEN

Awaken

2011-10-12T21:29:00.000-05:00

A new definition of insanity- “keep doing the same things over and over again and expect different results”.
Unfortunately that is the story of many Christians today.
When we peek into the lives of people it is like watching the reruns of your favorite sitcoms. Everything stays the same, nothing changes.
We find the same hang ups, problems, patterns of life mixed in with a few good days. Is it any wonder why people are so frustrated with the lack of progress in their lives.

When you read a message like this you might think that the call is for radical and immediate change but that is not the reality we are seeking. This call is more about challenging people to take personal leadership to start turning around the ship that is your life.

One of the problem we face is about change. People don't like change and resisit it when possible. We like our little clicks in life. We like our small thinking. It has been said "Little thinkers are the big stinkers". People are hesitant to bring real change in there live because we have tried to make changes. We try but then fall back to our old ways. Because of this we become gun shy of change and those who propose it.

This tension brings me to the purpose of the message. How can I wake you up. How can you awaken from you daze and apathy. How can the dawn of a new day be a new start for you? It is a given, if you keep doing what what you've always done you will keep getting what you've always gotten. Change then is essential to progress. So how do we change things to take us foward?

Take pride in who you are through Christ. Ask the the Lord to restore the joy of your salvation. Return to your first love. Start a spirtual makeover. Make renewed commitment to the spirtual disciplines. Get involved in the ministry of the church. Start to pray for people. Help someone in need. Ask God to put a new spiritual spring in your step. Stop and smell the roses. Start to care about the things that are really important. If people know that you care it will make a huge diffrence.

Planting-Watering-Growing

2011-10-08T11:26:00.000-05:00

As we began our church conference I was reminded about the process of God. God calls us to do the work(holy sweat) and leave the results to Him. I heard a preacher say "leave the size of the church up to God". Three things we should keep in mind as we plant and revitalize churhes.

1. Remember the Law of the Harvest- Gal 6:9 says that we should not grow weary in doing good for in due time we will reap a harvest. Keep serving, keep working, keep on keeping on. The bumper sticker said "Jesus is coming, look busy". We don't need to be self decieved. If we trully are in the field and laboring we can expect a harvest. If we are just going through the motions nothing will come of it.

2. Measure Accordingly- Results should not only be based on numbers. Numbers are good and a good measurement but sometimes other things must happen before we see the numbers(numbers represent people and people count). Facility upgrade is a measurement. Developing new strategies and implimentation of new systems are in the mix of growth. Developing new leaders, small groups, mission giving, giving increases and things like these help spell out progress as well.

3. God is Still God- In the scope of everything growth God remains on his throne and there are factors that He calls us to consider. A new church in a growing suburb of a major population area will have different results than a land locked urban older congregation. Each of these church must approach ministry in a different context but each can be successful in there setting. Trust God for whatever situation you find yourself in.

We must make sure we are doing our part because God is always ready and more that able and willing to do His.

Vision Again?

2011-10-02T21:00:00.000-05:00

It seems that you have to go back to vision everytime you are taking the church foward. Warren Bennis stated that the single defining quality of a leader is vision. A leader is one who is in tune with the future, who knows where God wants him to go, a person who is focused on a clear purpose. As one person put it, a leader sees more than others, farther than others, and before others. Someone said "Our preachers aren't dreaming. That's why the church is such a nightmare." If our churches are asleep, we are the ones that need to wake up and start dreaming. Nothing happens unless it's first a dream.

Everybody has a story

2011-09-25T08:20:00.000-05:00

The Gospel is a true story about how God came to earth and gave His life to save mankind from sin. Every Year we tell the story of the birth of Jesus because we celebrate the power of God's love for us. That almighty God would leave heaven and come to earth opens the door to the greatest story ever told.

When we read the Bible we are reading about the lives of people that God used in many ways. In the Bible we read the stories about how God was involved in the lives of Men.

What is your story? where have you been? Where have you come from? What is happening now? Have you stopped to reflect on all that has happened in your life?

Can you pick out the God momments in your life? Can you put into simple terms what God has done for you?

I recently attended a conference in Houston. One of the speakers was Drayton McLane Jr. Mr. McLane is the billionare owner of the Houston Astros. When he gave his talk it was one story of the successes and faiures of his life. It seemed that everything that had happened to him was a lesson about what his purpose was.

Now as a man in His eighties he was sharing with us the tapestry of what he was. If you have ever seen a tapestry it a beautifully woven picture on the front side but in ther back it is a mess of string seemingly without purpose.

What is your story? It is time to tell someone, any one what God is going in your life.

Taking A Really Good Look

2011-09-21T07:54:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you have to take a really good look at what your doing and ask if it is making the differnce you are wanting it to. An honest set of fresh eyes on your current situation might hurt when you have to face the truth but in the short and long run it will make a huge difference.

In Ministry we must be willing to re-evaluate everything we do because we need to be effective in all we do. We don't want to do anything just to do it. Here are some of the things I have been doing:

What is happening from 11am to 12pm @ the Springs? Are we doing our best to give God our best? Is this hour during the week making a diffrence in the lives of those who take the time to attend. Are we truely hospitable? Are we striving for excellence? Do we have first time quest every Sunday? Do we have a system in place to connect people to what we are doing as a church? Is there a spirit of excitement and expectency in the hearts of God's people. Is life change taking place?

These kind of things start during the week. Are we praying, planning and preparing to make good things happen on Sunday.

Healing

2011-08-28T07:50:00.000-05:00

Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’

A man has been beat up and placed in a pit…a man comes by and delivers him from the pit but the man remains busied inside and out. He must be healed. The story of the Good Samaritan is the story of Jesus. Jesus found us by the side of the road and picked us up and now is making sure we are being healed.

The heart is desperate and wicked who can know it…The deepts of sin..how far can we fall.
You have to articulate where you are…you must get in touch with yourself.
We can be delivered but not healed. There is process to some things that need healing in our lives.
We must allow the sword of the Lord to pierce our wounds and allow the poison that is sickening us to be realeased. Hebrews 4:12 says "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
Everybody has a secret…a need for healing that must take place.
Confession is good for the soul. Who do I talk to?
We must be renewed in our minds
God respects our intellectual abilities because He wants to bring revelation to us.
Reconciled to God /then to self/ then to my surroundings(others)
You know what you have gone through so don’t let anybody devalue that.
God uses imperfect people to help perfect people.
How can I say that God has forgiven me if I haven’t forgiven myself?
God speaks to my spirit and my spirit speaks to my mind.

Our God Heals

2011-08-22T16:50:00.000-05:00

Some of the things we go through in life damage us. We become wounded by events that we bring on ourselves or that others bring on to us. God does not want us wandering around as wounded warriors. God wants to heal our hurts and wounds and make us whole.

The blood of Jesus can bring healing to us if we ask God for that healing. To many times we do not want to deal with the hurts in our life but that denial only stops us from being free to be all that God has called us to be.

Over the next few weeks I will be sharing how we can recieve healing in our hearts from all of our hurts. Stay tuned.

Asking some Big Questions

2011-07-31T21:45:00.000-05:00

Does Jesus make a difference in the life of a person? Does Jesus make the difference in the life of a person? Does a person with Jesus in there life live a better life then somebody without Jesus? Is Jesus the ultimate difference maker? If I invite someone to trust Jesus in there life am I saying I guarantee your life will be better? Am I making a guarantee that they will live there best life if they live for Jesus?

Is Jesus the savior of the world? Is Jesus the only Savior of the world. Is there another way to heaven. Is Jesus the only way to the Father. Is accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior my only hope?

Looking Back-Moving Forward

2011-07-22T16:13:00.000-05:00

I remember serving on a comittee that was asked to write a history about the journey of the unification between two conventions of churches. As comittees do we chose a chairman and off we went. We did research, shared our thoughts and we left the writing to our chairman. The finished product was one mans version of events and the people that where significant in his experience. Needless to say I came away from that project with the understanding that people can see history through different lenses and come to different conclusions. These thoughts and conclusions are mine and may not reflect the reality of others but here goes.

In the late 1980's and early 90's there was what some have labeled Post Denominationalism. Post denominationalism was a movement of some who were serving in churches of denominations and left them due to doctrinal reasons, polity reasons and others for personal reasons. The non denominational movement continues today and networks of churches have emerged as a result.

It is no secret that mainline churches are declining(with the exception of the Assemblies of God). Southern Baptist have been in decline for several years in a row. At there last convention held in Phoenix some of the new leaders even questioned the validity of current numbers.
(more coming...to be continued)

Thoughts on a Random Sunday

2011-07-10T16:09:00.000-05:00

We need to learn how to operate at the limits of what we are capable of delivering.
Breaking the piggy bank is a picture of our inability to living steady
We need over the top commitment
RESET!

To stand out from the Crowd we need to:
Do different things
Do things differently
Stir emotion…spread happiness
Be consistent

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great.

Weak men wait for opportunities, strongmen make them.

Light the fire!

one of the worst mistakes anybody can make is to bet against the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer

2011-07-06T15:18:00.001-05:00

Unoffered Prayers
I think it was FB Meyer who said the greatest tragedy when it comes to prayer isn’t unanswered prayer. The greatest tragedy is unoffered prayer. I’m more and more convinced that prayer is the best and highest use of our spiritual energy. We certainly need to work like it depends on us, but it’s the “pray like it depends on God” part that makes all the difference in the world.
It’s all about the power of a single prayer. It can change anything. It can change everything. I think the next year of our lives should be dedicated to personally practicing and teaching people how to pray for their goals, their families, their jobs, and most importantly, the promises of God.

All for the Lord

2011-07-03T17:15:00.000-05:00

Today I had an awesome day of just letting God use my life. Here are some of the highlights.

Got up early and had my morning cup(s)of coffee while watching Fox and Friends. I love that early news show and I love how coffee kicks me into gear early. I went over my note for todays messages.

I got to church early and got things ready for the day. Did some last minute things to get the building ready(the day will come when someone steps up to take that job from me, but until then what an honor to make sure things are ready.

I was able to help Pastor Herbert Halbeisen of the Exchange Church today. Brother Jon was ministering at a youth camp so I helped lead praise and worship. I love leading praise. Pastor Herbert was on call all week while at the same time working 8-5 and then preaching Friday night to a youth camp in Buda, Texas so I felt honored to fill in for him today and preach the morning message. I preached on leadership princples found in 2 Kings 6:1-8. Very awesome new church with great people.

Before the service started at the Springs Sister Debbie informed me I would be playing the drums for worship. Wow! that was a nice challenge for me and the people who had to listen to it. Literally I was making a joyful noise unto the Lord.

I brought the message Transformation bring Transparecy and God really spoke to all of us. We had a great altar call.

After Service we had our monthly dream session and it was great to see the cooperation from our partners. We had another round of gifts come in for our worship center expansion.

After service we went to lunch with Elder Paul Taylor and family. We had great fellowship. I think I found someone who like chips and salsa more than me.

Came home and caught the interview that we did with the Nehemiah Initative called Urban Missionaries.

So glad that I live i America. Thankful for my family and friends. Thanks to all the comments made on facebook about todays sermon.

Well its time to kickback and enjoy the rest of the Lords day. God Bless.

Transformed by what we Believe

2011-06-30T08:36:00.000-05:00

Here are 7 questions to consider when asking yourself about your belief system. We all have a worldview. The question is what determins what you believe.

Transformed By What Believe
James 2:14-26
We have a lot of questions posed to us by this issue
1. Is saying we believe in something transforming? Or are we transformed by what we believe
2. Who determines what you believe?
3. Do you think what you believe makes a difference?
4. What determines what you believe in?
5. Is it possible to believe in something that is false?
6. Is it possible to believe in something, but not really believe it?
7. We cannot dictate what others believe - we can only have the conviction to believe something that will make others ask what it is that they believe.

Big Day Ahead

2011-06-17T10:17:00.000-05:00

When do you plant a shade tree? You plant it today! On September 18th, 2011 we are going to have a Big Day @ the Springs. We are going to blow away our highest attendence day ever. On this day we will have over 150 in worship attendence and one of the greatest services ever at the Springs. Why? Because we want to see the lives of people transformed by the power of Jesus Christ who is able to save, heal, deliver, restore, do miracles, move mountains and anything that needs to be done. When you jump over a hurdle you always take a running start and that is what we are doing this summer at the Springs. We are praying, we are planning, we are preparing to make the Springs the Church that God has called us to be for this hour in our city. The partners of the Springs are on mission to be a growing and effective ministry on the border of the NW and the SW corner of 1604 in San Antonio, Texas. Make your plans to be a part of a historic and significant day @ the Springs. We have some exciting news to unfold along the way so stay tuned.

The Springs has begun its worship center expansion project so we ask for your prayers and patients as we will have dust on our pews over the next few months. In the mean time join us every Sunday at 11am and ever 3rd wednesday during the summer months as we continue to be "A Gathering of Transformation"

Mission Partners

2011-06-12T16:55:00.000-05:00

Today at the Springs we did away with church membership and started mission partnership. What is the difference and why even address it? Here are some of the reasons.

We have become so comfortable with the term "church membership". And after all, isn’t the idea of “church membership” biblical? Paul does say ”so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Rom. 12:5).

Despite it’s historic use and traditional use I think its time for a shift. In fact, I think churches would benefit changing the terminology of “church membership.” I recommend the change for one purpose: to make the mission of Jesus for His church more clear and concrete in the hearts of our people.

Here are five reasons to start. You help me build the list!

#1 Membership is culturally hijacked terminology by its use from country clubs to platinum cards. Partnership is a term that carries less baggage and brings new Biblical clarity

#2 Membership may emphasize privilege to the neglect of responsibility. Partnership emphasizes both.

#3 Membership could bring deeply rooted assumptions about church in general that are no longer valid for your church. Partnership creates an opportunity to reset expectations.

#4 Membership is a static. Partnership brings a sense of both action and direction.

#5 Membership is a relatively small portal for vision-casting.
Partnership opens a dynamic way to express impact, togetherness, adventure and risk-taking. It captures the “sentness” of a missional reorientation.

3 Ways to Take Up Your Cross

2011-05-19T16:38:00.000-05:00

I have thought about how some live Christianity as a competition. Some use there faith as manipulation of others. The Bible says we are to die to self. Here is a great blog about taking up our cross.

This is From the Blog of Mark Batterson

3 Ways to Take Up Your Cross
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34-35

This may be the most important description of what it means to be a follower of Jesus in the entire gospel, yet most of us have no idea what it means. We understand the imagery, but we don’t know how to live it out. What exactly does it mean to take up your cross?

First, it means self-denial. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t want to experience self-fulfillment, but the only path to self-fulfillment is self-denial. There is no other way. While self-denial may sound miserable, it’s actually wonderful. We simply deny ourselves those things that are temporarily pleasurable but eternally painful. We deny the desires of our flesh. We deny the temptation of sin. We refuse to settle for anything less than the best which is God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will.

Second, taking up your cross means torture. And we wince at the thought, but stop and think about it. Any great achievement requires torture. Athletes torture their bodies. Thinkers torture their minds. And we get that on the physical and intellectual plane, but wish there was another way on the spiritual plane. There isn’t. Just like the physical realm: no pain, no gain. Are you willing to suffer temporal pain for eternal gain? That’s what it comes down to.

Finally, it means death. You have to die to self everyday. How? By allowing your circumstances to help you become more like Christ–especially the circumstances you don’t like. Anytime you feel the pain of an insult, disappointment, suffering, physical challenge, failure, injustice, or trial–it’s an opportunity to die to pride, die to ego, die to sin, die to self. And if you keep dying to self, you’ll come alive in ways you never imagined. In fact, you’ll live forever.

We worry about all the wrong things! You only have one job and it’s this: take up your cross. That is your portfolio as a Christ follower. You simply need to deny yourself, endure torture, and die to self. If you do that, God will do the rest. If you do it everyday, you have all of eternity to look forward to

Keeping things Clear

2011-05-10T08:01:00.000-05:00

Clarity is important if we want to see the results we are looking for. Just exactly what are we going to do to achieve the results we desire. Do you need money to expand? How are you going to bring that money in? Do you want more people? What are you going to do to get those first time guests? Do you want people to commit to the ministry? How are you going to make that happen.

To help with clarity keep things simple. In ministry sometimes we equate business with progress. We can spread ourselves so thin that we become ineffective. We must learn how to devote ourselves to those things that are helping us fulfill the vision. Here are some of the things we are doing over the mext 6 months to give clarity to the vision of The Springs.

THE SPRINGS=TRANSFORMATION
Our emphasis over the next few months is GOING BIGGER GROWING DEEPER.

We want to go bigger so we need more sanctuary space. Our plan is to improve and inlarge our worship center space. We need money so we are going to have a vision banquet to raise the money to make this happen.

We want to go bigger so we are doing everything we can to make our Sunday morning service a destination for people who need to take there next step toward Christ. We have committed to 3 summer events to expose people to the ministry of the church. That means putting our mid week gathering on hold until September 2011 to focus on these events and make them our focus. We have entitled them the 3rd Wednesday.

We want to grow deeper so we are planning to provide a summer devotional series for people to do at home through a worksheet or online. We are going to encourage people to spend time in prayer through providing a weekly prayer list and specific times of prayer before service on sundays.

Our mission is to see transformation in the lives of people. We want to help people experience life change that can only come through an encounter with Jesus Christ.

On September 18th, 2011 we will have a big day to fill our new worship space with 150 people and then in December we will have 3 Christmas services with a total attendance of 200 plus.

The Great Commission

2011-05-01T17:47:00.000-05:00

Jesus made it crystal clear that He wants us to reach the world with the God News of Jesus Christ. The Church needs to enlarge it's circle and the church needs to grow deeper. The Great Commission gives us these 2 important mandates. When a church starts to get serious about going bigger and growing deeper it will face challenges. The challenges the church faces will come in many different faces. Sometime a church will have to look at what it is doing schedule wise. Sometime programs will need to be reevaluated or even eliminated. Parking will always need to be addressed. Space issues are always a concern. Worship space, Children and nursery areas will need upgrades. Bathrooms are key to maintaining larger crowds.

Now is the time for the church to take to heart the great commission. Now is the time for the church break down walls and fear not the unknown. Our God is able to provide for every need. Now is the time for us to seriously reach out to a world in desperate need for a savior who transforms us with His great power. We must pray. We must study. We must work. We must give. We must go bigger and grow deeper.

Go Bigger Growing Deeper

2011-04-25T11:19:00.000-05:00

There is a tension between numerical growth and Spirtual growth in the church. We know it is Gods will for the church to grow numerical but it is equally essential for the church to help the body grow spiritually. As we reach out to the unchurched and the drop out church member we need to make our message meaty enough to spur the believer to greater maturity.

During the month of May here at the Springs we are going to be adressing this issue with the goal of challenging the church to go bigger and grow deeper. I am excited that our church is growing and I want to make sure that we help all people saved and unsaved take that next step to Christ and in Christ.

Breaking Barriers

2011-04-17T17:55:00.000-05:00

Today at the Springs we broke a barrier that helped to see ministry in a totally different light. Today our church opperated at a different level because the more people you minister to more must be done. Here are several things we have to keep in mind.
* Parking needs will always need to be adressed and thought through. You need to have a parking plan. You can't grow with out a good parking plan and
room to park.
* You need volunteers to help greet people joyfully and give directions.
* You need people willing to help bring and serve snacks and drinks to the guests.
* You need to make your church facilty as nice as you can with what you have.
* You need to put your best foot forward in providing children's ministry
* You need good music
* Your message must speak to the needs
* You must be mindful of the time. If you say 1 hour than 1 hour. state your time of starting and ending.
* Let people know how much you appreciate them being there.
* above all put your whole ministry in the hands of God and trust Him to the work only He can do.

You can learn alot by setting goals to break barriers but it is worth it. When we break one barrier our faith grows and we know we can through the help of the Lord we can do all things through Christ.

That My House be full

2011-04-15T09:30:00.000-05:00

Luke 14:23 teaches us that God desires a full house. God wants as many people in house as possible. A full house is a house full of possibilities. A full house is a house full of potential. A full house is a house filled with promise. God loved the world so much that He gave us His Son Jesus. The world is a big place filled with billions of people that need transformation. People are lookinbg for life change because what they are doing is not working. People are looking for meaning in life and for a cause bigger than themselves.

God has plans for people and He wants to get people in a position to get those plans. The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is Gods instrument to help people find Gods plan. God wants a full house because that means people are in a place to find a great life.

April 17th, 2011

2011-04-01T13:24:00.000-05:00

Breaking barriers is huge. We are going to break a barrier here at the Springs on April 17th, 2011. The barrier we are going to break is about people. This barrier is about changing our culture to one that values reaching as many people as possible for the Glory of God and the expansion on His kingdom. It is our hope and prayer to have over 100 people in our worship service on April 17th, 2011 at 11am. This has never been done in this church.

LCD- Several months ago we put into place our LCD plan. This plan is simple

L=50
C=100
D=500

We wanted to have a consistent 50 people in our worship service and preach transformation of people, culture and attitude. Thanks be to God we have seen this. Now it is time to challenge our selves to the next step. 100 people in worship with a transforming message of life and growth.

Join us and make HIS-STORY on April 17th. Everyone is invited to help us smash this growth barrier and never look back again.

Church Growth Conference

2011-03-23T22:00:00.000-05:00

Why have a church growth conference? Creating a culture of growth starts by being intentional. We want to be a growing church. We want to lay the foundation that we are interested in lost souls. We want to lay a foundation that says we want people growing in there faith.

When a church grows is is not an accident. Churches that grow plan to grow. Churches that grow have a strategy. Churches that grow are making a difference in peoples lives.

Jesus said He would "build His Church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it". The right vision with the system with the right effort equals results. It is Gods will for His church to grow. Lets join Christ in His mission.

Whats in a Name

2011-03-07T05:52:00.000-06:00

This week Living Springs Church made a decision to start and use the name The Springs to represent the ministry. Why? We wanted to have a name that was easy to use and to remember. We wanted a name would say we are here and ready to meet the challenges of our times. The Springs is a place to find life and to be refreshed. People are not looking for religion they are looking for relationship. We want our church to be atractional and purposeful in it's attempt to help people find new life in Christ.

Update

2011-02-14T11:02:00.000-06:00

We have had 2 great Sunday's in a row here at the Springs. We are seeing alot of new faces and reconnecting with some friends. This Sunday we began to promote our Breaking the 100 barrier for April 17th, 2011. We are using the next 10 weeks to lay the ground work for what it will take to have a 100 people in attendance for worship on a Sunday morning.

I am very excited about how people are believing God for great things for our church. We are going to concentrate on the children's ministry (nursery)
and student ministry. We are going to focus on our worship service and our follow up execution.

The foundation for this goal is not the number but the people. We are looking for life change. We are praying for the transformation of lives by the power of God.

Great Day

2011-01-24T17:42:00.000-06:00

We had our highest attendence since I have been at living Springs this Sunday. The worship was great and the passion of the people was evident.
We began some fundraisers to help a young missionary get to Australia and we heard a good testimony from him as well. God is good.

God is doing some great things in the lives of His people. God is doing some great things in the life of His Church. This week our message was "The Greatness of God".

Living Springs Church UPDATE

2011-01-17T14:37:00.000-06:00

2011 has already been a great year in the making. I can see God is working in the lives of people and that is what really counts. I have made EXECUTION the key word in my life for 2011. I am convince that execution is what i need to key in on for the progress of life and ministry.

I have 3 areas that I will be focusing on for 2011 for living Springs Church

1. Good First Impressions/ doing our best to let people know we care for them enough to have them in mind when they take there time to be our guests.

2. Good Delievery of our message/ Making sure that we have done everything we can to prepare our greeters, teachers, preachers and workers in general to deliever the right message to all who take there time to be our quest.

3. Good follow-up of our quests and members/ taking the right amount of time to let those who have taken the time to be our quest that we are there to serve them in away we can. To not forget the needs of those who are a part of the church family.

I am really looking forward to a great year of making a difference in peoples lives.

Helping fill heaven in 2011

2010-12-17T17:14:00.000-06:00

In 2011 we are going to do all we can to reach as many people with God News of the Jesus Christ. We want to "Help Fill Heaven in 2011". 2.7 billion people haven't even heard the story of Jesus. San Antonio is a great mission field and we must let as many people know about what Jesus came to do.

Several thoughts:

We must embrace eternity. If we live our lives in view of eternity we will be reminded of the urgency to help other find Christ.

We must reach those closest to us. We need to be those strong testimonies that will demontrate the power of transformation

We must be bold in our outreach events and services. Peoples souls hang in the balance and we must do all we can to present a clear message.

We must pray as if everything depends on God and work as if everything depends upon us.

Today is the day of Salvation!

Weekly Reflections

2010-11-15T16:41:00.000-06:00

I am very excited about what God is doing at Living Springs Church. I like how Rick Warren puts it "You always reap what you sow...You reap more than you sow...You reap in a different season than you sow...Plant good seeds".We had a very good service this past Sunday. We saw alot of new faces and we had a great attendance and response. I am looking forward to finishing out 2010 with a blast and starting 2011 with great excitement about what God is doing and will be doing.

The Fellowship 66 youth gathering is going great under the leadership of youth pastor Jessica Rodriquez. They are planning some great stuff for the next few months.

I will be preaching about the Biblical subject of thankfulness this Sunday at 11pm. We will have a fellowship meal after this Sunday's service and everyone is invited.

Reflections from this past Week-end

2010-11-01T17:22:00.000-05:00

I attended the Fall Festival of The Exchange Church. They had a 2 great bands playing praise and worship and they had games, food and stuff for the kids. From my vantage point they had a great trurn out and they had people from the community in the crowd.

Fellowship 66 sponsored this years Harvest fest on Holloween night. Living Springs Church, The Exchange Church, The Connection Church(formally Dominion CC) and Southwest Community Church were all involved in this out reach and we had a great time of fellowship and ministry.

Sunday morning at Living Springs was really good. We had a good attendance and a great spirit of joy as we worshiped and preached Gods Word. I showed a video clip off the internet without viewing it completely and at the very end of the clip the guy said a curse word. I'm thankful everybody was a good sport about it. I must remember to view all content completely before showing it.

Random Items

2010-10-27T11:40:00.000-05:00

The Hereafter
This Sunday I will be teaching on "The Hereafter". I am dealing with this subject for 2 reason. First because it is Holloween and people are thinking about death and second because I saw the movie that came out this week "The Hereafter" with Matt Damon and it is obvious that people have questions about it. I am going to use the Bible to explain what happens after we die.
Harvest Fest
We will have our anual Harvest Fest this Sunday starting at 6pm. The purpose of this festival is to be light on a day when people are thinking about dark things. It is an event to present the gospel to people period with no apologies. We will have food, candy, games, a drama presentation and live Christian Music.
The Kidz Zone
We need to upgrade our children's ministry and so we are going to create a kidz Zone that will be an area to reach children for Christ. Pray for us. We need more workers and more money to make it happen. Kids are important and we need to focus our attention on them.

Weekly Reflection

2010-10-05T17:00:00.000-05:00

I began a new series entiltled "THE KINGDOM". The Kingdom of God is a powerful place for it is the realm of God. We as His children are honored to live in His light. We have made a choice to follow the King. Before salvation we were in the kingdom of satan and darkness and we were led by our fallen nature. Satan has no rules but his road leads to death and destruction. Jesus has principles to live by that lead to life. Here is some of sunday's message.

The kingdom is about living rightly. It’s about ethics. It’s the Sermon on the Mount.
1.Love your enemies. 2.Forgive those who sin against you. 3.Don’t be judgmental. 4.Give to the poor. 5.Don’t commit adultery. 6.Welcome the outcast. The kingdom of God does mean living a certain way and enjoying a peace and harmony and justice that only Christ can bring. But that’s not all that the kingdom brings.

The kindgom is about what's in your heart. To receive the kingdom of God you must be like a little child (Mark 10:15). 1.Be humble. 2.Rely on God.3. Have an inner experience. 4.Get in touch with your spiritual side. The kingdom of God is about changed hearts and humility and experiencing the love of Jesus.

I'll be preaching part 2 this next week.

We are getting ready for our Harvest Fest October 31st from 6-9pm. I am looking forward to a great harvest of people.

This week the churches of Fellowship 66 welcomed our new youth pastor Jessica Joy Rodriquez. I know God is going to use her in a great way.

Sunday reflections

2010-09-19T19:30:00.000-05:00

Today we had a great service at living Springs. My message today was "It's all about Jesus" Here are some of the main points.

The Jesus we serve and live for cannot be a concept of Jesus but the true presence of the living Lord.
1. We Need to walk along side the Jesus Who transforms and brings life.
2. We need to be in love with Jesus not a concept
3. We need to be concerned with becoming a growing Christian

You cannot explain away how Jesus works in places and in people we would never expect He would. The reason for that is because Jesus shows up when people truly believe and love Him. AMEN

We are planning our Harvest Fest and we are expecting some great things to happen.

I am still amazed at how 4 different churches share the same space week after week. For example on Friday the Excahnge Church had a worship night at the facility. On Sunday the Exchange met at 10am and Living Springs and Southwest Community met at 11am. Dominon Christian Center met at 3pm.

We continue to move forward.

Sunday Reflection on Monday

2010-09-13T17:45:00.000-05:00

I preached a message entiled "The Process of a Dream" and used the life of Joseph as the example. Sometimes the message is for the preacher and this one was for me. Joseph had a dream that sent him into a process of some really rough times. From being pampered at home to going into a pit was a real shock to Joseph. Little did Joseph realize he was in for more grief and heartache. It all started because not everybody was a fan of Joseph. God had His hand on Joseph but people were not on board with Gods dreamer.

From the pit to problems. From problems to prison. From prison to the palace and the realization of the dream. Not an easy road but a needed road.
The process of the dream is part of Gods plan and we must embrace all of it.

We had a good service yesterday. Still trying to fiqure out a few things and there needs to be some real improvements in alot of what we are doing.

Just a reminder for those who may be going through a little bit of criticisim.

*usually the bark is bigger than the bite.
*Tomorrow is a new day.
*always take the criticisim and exam it with an open mind.
*Remember it is God who is in control.

I am looking forward to next week as we continue to cast vision and create a cuture of growth for this church.

Until next time

Sunday relection on Monday

2010-08-30T17:05:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I preached at the Exchange . This Church is getting ready for a great growth sprirt. They have some really passionate people and they have a great vision.

We had a great day at living Springs Church I preach on the words of Jesus to his disciples in Matt 28.
Here are some of the highlights:

.Jesus started with 12 disciples and after 3 years of powerful ministry He had 11. The first church had a decline before they saw some growth.
.Jesus told his disciples to go to the designated place and there they worshipped Him. Sound like Church. I believe that the local church is Gods designated place for every believer. If you love Jesus you will love the local church. If you serve Jesus you will serve through the local church.
.The mountain top is good but its only for a moment. The valley is where the ministry is.
.Some worshiped and some were doubtful.Not every one buys into the vision right away. Some will doubt. That's OK because power is on the way. Transformation makes doubters into believers.

We are having our Vision Banquet this Wednesday. I am super excited to remind people why we can continue where we are and why we need to get to there.

God has me into alot of different things right now. One of the exciting things is Fellowship66 (a network of church using the66 books of the Bible as our guide to healthy ministries. Here is the web site fellowship66

Sunday Night Reflection

2010-08-22T18:00:00.000-05:00

.Very good service today at Living Springs
.We had some friends visit today that I have not seen in awhile. I could not beleive how big those kids got haha.
.I preached a sermon on "where our treasure is that's where are heart is".
Here is the outline:
He wants your Heart-
“for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matt 6:21

Talent- Discover- Use- Develop…. Many don't know there gift so they don't use it. People never develop their gift because they don’t understand that the way you develop is by using your gift.
Time- Realization- Purpose- Eternity…We have to ask ourselves is what I am using my time on impacting eternity.
Teasure-Give- Save- Live…Most people reverse the way God intends for us to use our money…we spend, maybe save, and then give. Jesus calls us a fool for doing it that way. We need to give first then save then spend.

.Going to do a Jericho March around our church campus and property this Wednesday at 7pm.
.The vision Banquet is September 1 at 6:30pm. We are going to talk more about why we can't stay here than where we are going.
.We need to get everyone in the right seat on our bus. It is our time and we will see God move.
.We prayed for every empty seat in our sanctuary. We prayed for every seat to be filled for not 1 service, but for 4 services. "Ask and shall be given."
.We are starting our after school program this week. I am thankful for this program for several reasons. It really does meet several important needs.
.Until next week. God Bless

What Jesus said about Prayer

2010-08-17T07:48:00.000-05:00

When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray he said "pray like this" and then proceeded to give a model for prayer. I don't believe we should just have vain repitition of any prayer but I do believe we can use the model prayer as a springboard to pray more effectively. What do I mean. As we spend time in prayer we can quote the model prayer ,and as we do, we can allow the components of the prayer to make the prayer ours. So we start buy reciting the model prayer and then as we come back around to the begining wecan focus on the parts of the prayer that will act as a focal point. "Our Father who is Heaven" O how thankful I am that you my Father are so far above anything a man can even imagine. Your greatness surpasses all power and glory. How long can you park on that that statement and just give God the praise and honor due His name. One part of the prayer that has helped me is when Jesus says "and lead not into temptation but deliever us from evil". Here we can spend time asking God to head temptation off even as it will make its way to us during the day. We can thank God before hand that we will not allow temptation to creep up on us because we have asked for supernatural strength before hand to overcome. We can place a shield of protection around us when we ask to be delivered from evil.

The model prayer can help us pray strong everyday. We should use the words of Jesus to help us pray everyday. When you don't know what to prayer go to this prayer and use it as a jump off point to get you in the Spirit of prayer.

Sunday Night Reflection

2010-08-15T17:50:00.000-05:00

This morning we had a guest speaker at Living Springs. Don Baily is a Biker preacher(He goes to Sturgis and Daytona bike rally's). Brother Don also sings Christian Country music. Bottom line about this preacher is he loves Jesus. Don is the guy who preaches where ever the door opens. Most weeks you will find him in a nursing home and out of the way places preaching and singing for Jesus. Brother Don loves lost souls. Brother Don loves people.

It was good to see new faces in the crowd this morning. I am praying for the day when the crowd become the core. Rick Warren says like this:
The community becomes a crowd, the crowd becomes a congregation, the congregation becomes the committed and the committed become the core.

We are getting ready for our Vision banquet. It is necessary to continue to cast vision. We need to revisit vision often because vision leaks and people forget. The main focus will be the urgency of why things cannot remain the same. We will talk more about the here than the there.

Living Springs cannot not stay where it is because we will miss the greatest opportunities to reach its community. Everything is on the table but the greatest obsitcle we face is ourselves. The status quo is safe. Cruzing is optional but not acceptable. We cannot, we will not remain where we are. It is time for "Carpe Diem" "seize the day".

Measuring Growth

2010-08-12T19:11:00.000-05:00

Sometimes in church work we measure growth by numbers. How many members. How big is the offering. Things like that. In a church that is being revitalizing I think we need measure things by other criteria as well. Most Churches that are in need of revitalization have lost there way in terms of vision and effectiveness. How long does it take to get a church turned around. In my experience every church will be different. A church in revitalization is doing other things that are measures of growth. Creating new space from old space, remodeling, training leaders, preaching about change,vision casting, helping the conformed deal with new ideas, putting out fires and creating small victory's like special events and projects.

When churches are in transition people leave when change begins. New people are hard to impress when you are in between here and there. How do you measure growth in the transition process. You have to get people to buy into the new vision. You have to get things going in the right direction and if you can do that you are growing.

Sunday Night Reflection

2010-08-08T17:39:00.000-05:00

I was very happy to be in the morning worship service of the Exchange church because they dedicated Liv my newest granddaughter to the Lord. Pastor Herb did a great job.
I was also nice to see some friends from the past back in San Antonio for a visit. It is always nice to see people succeeding in life.

We had a good service at Living Springs. We saw some new faces in the congregation and that's always nice. I preached on "What did Jesus Say" The teachings of Jesus.
My 2 main points were on what did Jesus say about the scripture? all I have to say is "IT IS WRITTEN". The 2nd point was what did Jesus say about why He came to earth. "Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost". So simple but yet so transformational.

I attended the service at Dominion Christian Center this afternoon. Pastor Phil invited a 90 year old women evangelist to preach. Talk about being bold. What stayed with me was her testimony about her calling. She felt God calling her to preach in the 1940's. The church back then would not let her. God reminded her of the calling He gave her years before and she has recently launched out to begin her ministry. God is opening doors for her. WOW! How old is to old and can a christian leader really retire?

I attended the Global Leadership Summit put on by the Willow Creek Church this past week. San Antonio is a city filled with great churches. Some of the most innovative and growing churches are right here among us. Here's a list. Grace Point, Oak Hills, Westover Hills Assembly of God, Harvest Fellowship, Community Bible Church, Bandera Road Community Church, Castle Hills First Baptist and the list goes on. From Mega to mini San Antonio has great leaders and churches.

I am still dreaming big dreams for Living Springs and the Fellowship66 network. I have a crazy thought in my brain that I am praying about. The one thought that has kept coming to me is about Resurrection and new beginnings. How many things will God allow us to have a hand in? As many as He wants us to handle. It's time to rethink what the norm is.

Sunday Night Relections

2010-08-01T18:48:00.000-05:00

I preached for Pastor Herbert and the Exchange Church this morning. I really like the group of people God has brought together for this church plant. I see great things in store for this church. My Message for them was to remember that they are investing not just participating. Everything that they do must be viewed with the future in mind. Laying the culture for there church will allow them to do all that God has called them to do.

We had a good service at living Springs. We saw some new faces in the crowd and we had a good worship time. We start VBS tomorrow at Living Springs. We are looking forward to ministering to the children this week. On Friday we will have parents day. We are praying to start some relationships with the unchurched that will show up.

I presented a growth plan for the next several month for the Church. Here it is:

Growth Agenda for Remainder of 2010

*Conduct Growth Campaign
Invest/Invite/Ignite
*Work on meeting environments
*Work on indoor and outside signage
*Vision Banquet to be held Wednesday, September 1, 2010
*Have 3 outreach events from Sept-December 2010
*October 31st Harvest Fest
*December lights for Jesus

I am really excited about our vision banquet. I am going to challenge the church to a greater commitment .

keep the faith!

It's Game Time

2010-07-19T09:54:00.000-05:00

Foregoing my Sunday reflection for this post. Believe it or not I once coached 6 man high school football. I will not reveal my record as a coach only to say I had alot of fun. One year the guys used to huddle before the game and someone would say "what time is it?" and all the team would say "it's game time". In sports you have spectators and you have participants. In sports there are the stands and the field of play. My question to everyone of is are we in the game or just watching? If you are in the game then my next question is "are you in it to win it"? Here are a few thoughts about these questions.

Who is calling the plays for your life?
Do you know your position?
Are you prepared to play the game?
Even golfers and tennis players have a team around them
Is your head in this thing?
Is your heart in this thing?
Are you seeing the bigger picture?

The game I am referring to is your Christianity. I am referring to the game we call life. The stakes are very high and many don't understand the importance of it.

To many people just sit in the stands. We need for people to wake up, get up, suit up and get in the game. IT"S GAME TIME!

Sunday Night Reflections

2010-07-11T21:46:00.000-05:00

We had a good service at Living Springs today. I wish I could say our attendance was good but it wasn't. Met with our leadership team this morning before church to throw out some thoughts about what steps i think we need to take in the next several months.

The Lords supper is always a great time to draw closer to God. We gave communion today and we challenged the people get things right with God. We had our monthly business session after church. Not always my favorite time but needed for the sake of accountability.

Had lunch with the Paul Taylor family. This family is a huge blessing to me and to the church. These people do it all for the sake of the Kingdom.

Yesterday I was in Dallas for my daughter Sandra's graduation from college. She received her BS degree in human services and management. Very proud of her. Cowboy stadium is an amazing structure. The jumbo tron is sick. I need to go see a game there.

Church on the Road continues this week. VBS is coming August 2-5. lots of work to do.
Until next time

sunday night reflections

2010-07-04T20:58:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th of July. We had a great service this morning at Living Springs followed by a All American Cookout...Burgers and hotdogs...We were joined in fellowship by the Southwest Community Church.

This week we will continue with Church on the Road...We had a great time last week at the Flagg family...this week we will be with the Sapp family.

Vacation Bible School is coming up August 2-5...we are hoping for a good response. This year we will have big pizza bash to end our school on friday with family night.

I am very thankful for our great nation and the freedom we enjoy...I am also thankful for our great God and the freedom He provided through His son Jesus.

I will be in Dallas this friday and saturday to attend the graduation from college of my daughter Sandra. Very proud of her...

I am in the middle of fliping a Manufactured home that was given to us. Our plan is to remodel it and then sell it just to do it again. I have been learning alot about contruction and have really enjoyed it.

Have a great week.

Sunday Night Relections

2010-06-27T21:11:00.000-05:00

We had a good day this morning at Living Springs Church. I taught on healing and then spent some time praying for those in need of healing. Physical, emotional and spiritual healing were all addressed. "If any one among you is sick, let them call for the Elders of the church to anoint with oil and be prayed for.

1. Our God is a God of great compassion.
2. We must ask God for what we need
3. We must stand upon the authority of God's word.

We baptized 2 people this morning in the service. Baptism is an outward expression of and inward experience. Jesus becomes our Lord and Savior and then we follow in obedience and are baptized in water. Baptism does not save us but in calls us to make a public stand for Jesus. When we are transformed we want to do all that Jesus asks of us.

Quantity vs Quality is always on the table as well as Quality vs Quantity. We need to recognize that both of these tensions are valid and needed.

This week we take our midweek gathering to the home. I am very excited about getting out of the 4 walls and into the neighborhoods. The goal is to expand our small group ministry to the homes of people. While this is the practice of many churches it is a new thing for Living Springs.

We celebrated my son in laws birthday tonight. He turned 30. Herb is a great guy. Herb pastor's www.theexchangesa.com He is really emerging as a great leader and for that I am so proud of him.

Sunday Refelections

2010-06-06T13:47:00.000-05:00

This morning we had Teen Challenge with us in our service. The testimonies were a reminder of God's power to change lives. It is powerful the way God can take people at there worst and make them us new creatures. As I fellowshiped with the ladies who came to minister I was reminded that we are all a work in process and progress. The key to steady discipleship is staying focused day to day.

recent people of encouragement

2010-06-03T15:42:00.000-05:00

On July 10th, 2010 my daughter Sandra Juanita Ramirez Halbeisen will receive her college degree as she walks the stage at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas. WOW! Sandra finished her last courses while 9 months pregnant, raising a 3 year old, helping her husband start a church, having the baby and all that goes with a newborn.
To say that I am impressed is an understatement. I am extremely proud of my little girl because it proves what I have always known, Sandra has a big heart and big dreams for her life. Her drive has encouraged me on a lot of different levels and I thank her for that.

On June 2nd Ted Haggard told the world that he and his wife were starting a new church and getting back into the ministry. Just as Ted Haggard admitted 3 1/2 years ago that he had fallen into sin he was now getting back to what God had called him to do. Before Ted's fall I attended his church conferences and followed his church. I am encouraged to see pastor Ted in ministry again. I am encourage that leaders who are casualties of spiritual attack and downfall can rise again to be used of God. I believe pastor Ted will minister in a different vein because of his experience. I totally understand where pastor ted is coming from.

Sunday night reflection

2010-05-30T22:01:00.000-05:00

Starting all this summer of 2010 I am going to do a Sunday night Reflection mainly just to have a record of things that are happening and for those who follow my ministry blog. Here goes.....

We had 2 people give there hearts to Jesus this morning. We also had several rededicate their lives to the Lord.

We now have 4 churches that meet at Living Springs Church. Southwest Community Church now meets at 11am in the fellowship hall. The exchange Church meets at 10am. Dominion Christian meets at 3pm and Living Springs meets at 11am in the sanctuary.

It is possible to have 6 churches meeting at our facility by the end of the year. We still have Saturday night and Sunday night as possibilities.

Kicked off "Taking the Church on the Road". We had 5 families open up there homes for a Bible Study and fellowship. I am hoping to have at least 10 by the end of the summer tour.

We are going to have the women of Teen Challenge with us Sunday, June 6th. I have always liked to have Teen Challenge in our church because they represent a ministry that really demonstrates life change.

Have a great week!

Confession

2010-05-18T16:57:00.000-05:00

We have stated that the biblical formula for salvation is conviction plus confession plus conversion equals salvation. Simply put the design of true salvation consists of conviction leading to confession followed by conversion. When the Holy Spirit begins to deal with us He starts with convicting us of our sinfulness. He causes us to see our sin for what it is and how it separates us from God. When we are convicted we must then deal with that conviction through confession. Without conviction, confession would be meaningless. Without conviction without confession is useless. The two primary passages in the word of God that deal with confession are Romans 10:9-10 and 1 John 1:9. One primarily deals with confession in relation to salvation, that is becoming a Christian, a child of God, and the other primarily in relation to sanctification, living as a child of God. Both, however, have application to every single one of us. Remember, as I have said, the pattern conviction plus confession plus conversion is for both salvation and sanctification.

What does it mean confession of sin?
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." If we Confess – if we acknowledge and assent to our sins - denial of sin protects, preserves, perpetuates that sin!
Confession is not merely a mental understanding of the fact that a sin has been committed that is being asked for - even the demons understand on some level that they have violated God’s commands (they just don’t really care). Confession is not just a mental assent to having sinned or acknowledgement of your sin. Confession does not mean rendering lip service, or mouthing deeds with vain repetition. It means calling sin for what it is – sin. Likewise confession is not an announcement. It is easy to say "I have sinned but…" and then seek to justify or whitewash our sins. Consider Adam and Eve in the garden after disobeying God. God confronts Adam who basically states. "I sinned. I disobeyed. But it’s not MY fault; it’s THAT WOMAN YOU gave me." God turns to Eve who says, "Yes I sinned and dragged Adam into it; but it’s not MY fault. It was THAT SNAKE in the grass." Confession of sin means owning up to it and seeing it as God sees it. A true confession is a complete admission of guilt. No rationalizing, no blaming. It should be further noted that in 1 John 1:9 the plural "sins" indicates that the confession is to be specific as well as general. Confession is necessary for fellowship. Sin builds a barrier between us and God. Confession puts us on the same page with God about our sins. Proverbs 28:13 (MKJV) "He who covers his sins shall not be blessed; but whoever confesses and leaves them shall have mercy."

Conviction

2010-05-02T21:33:00.000-05:00

A Look @ Salvation Again

1.BEFORE A PERSON CAN BE SAVED THERE MUST BE AN AWARENESS OF SIN.
A. Before a person can come to Christ he must have an awareness of his sinfulness and his lost condition.
b. The natural response when someone confronts us is to deny the sin and to be angry at the accuser. As long as we are ignorant of our sin, excuse our sin, call our sin a disorder, weakness, or syndrome we will never find resolution or deliverance.
c. Do we recognize sin as sin in our lives? We need to recognize our sin. But mere consciousness of one’s sin is not conviction.
2 Corinthians 7:10 "For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world works death."
Two biblical examples are Judas and Peter –
• In Matthew 27:3 when Judas saw Christ taken, bound, tried, and condemned, he was overwhelmed with disappointment, sorrow, and remorse. He felt guilt and sorrow but not godly conviction. Overwhelmed with remorse and the vast guilt, he commits suicide.
• In Matthew 26:74-75 when Peter denies the Lord for the third time great guilt overwhelmed him with the remembrance of Christ’s words, and it pierced his heart through with many sorrows. Peter’s remorse brought bitter tears of sorrow and repentance leading to restoration.

2.WHAT IS CONVICTION?
John 16:8 "When He has come, He will convince the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment."
The word "convince" is used seven times in NT. This word (convince) is key to understanding conviction. One who is convicted is convinced of sin or error. In its simplest meaning, a conviction is something about which we are convinced. In most of the cases where convince is used in the Bible, it is used as synonym of the word convict and deals with those who are convinced of sin.
Oswald Chambers: "Conviction of sin is one of the rarest things that ever strikes a man. It is the threshold of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict of sin, and when the Holy Spirit rouses the conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not his relationship with men that bothers him, but his relationship with God."
Conviction is a work of the Holy Spirit & comes only through the power of the Holy Spirit. Conviction comes through the proclamation of God’s Word. The Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to reveal sin in a person’s life, which will bring conviction. When Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, they that heard God’s Word were pricked (convicted) in their heart: (Acts 2:37)

Hebrews 4:12 "For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
The Holy Spirit shows us in our mind and hearts, that we lack true righteousness, the quality and condition of life necessary to live in God’s presence. God convicts us we have nothing inherently within, to commend ourselves to the holy God of eternity. This conviction comes upon us in the form of a sense of guilt, remorse, uncleanness, unworthiness, and ungodliness. Conviction is not sorrow for personal hardship brought on by sin, but rather remorse over the hurt he has caused a loving, forgiving God.
2 Corinthians 7:9-10 "Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world works death."
Too often we try to do the work of the Holy Spirit. Conviction is not the persuasive work of an eloquent preacher or personal worker.
1 Corinthians 2:4-5 "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: [5] That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." (An prime example is the preaching of Jonah – emotionless and matter-of-factual – yet God’s spirit brought conviction and repentance.)

III. CONVICTION PRECEDES SALVATION AND/OR REVIVAL.
It is conviction that causes one to realize that he or she is separated from being in a right relationship with God.
Unless a sinner repents, he will stand condemned before God and lost forever. Luke 13:5 "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
Before there can be true repentance, a sinner must have an understanding and acknowledgement that he is guilty of sin accompanied by a godly sorrow.
Conviction of sin brings a man to an awareness of this hopeless, helpless condition.
There are two types of biblical conviction. The (1)conviction of the lost and the (2)conviction of the redeemed. In the conviction of the lost the Lord draws them to the foot of Calvary.
The difference is that the lost benefits, when he responds, by receiving salvation, while the believer regains fellowship with the Lord.
The Conviction of the Redeemed draws the believer back to Calvary.
Revival always includes conviction of sin. In a true revival, Christians are always brought under conviction seeing their sinfulness and separation from God.
Isaiah 6:5 "Then said I, Woe [is] me! I am undone; because I [am] a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."

CONCLUSION: Conviction is an awareness of your sinfulness, of God’s righteousness and the great gulf that spans between the two. Conviction cries out as those who listening to Peter on the day of Pentecost were pierced through to the heart with conviction, "What shall we do?" implying an apprehension of one’s peril and a sense of guilt but also a readiness to yield completely to the claims of God. To which Peter’s reply is repent and come to Christ! Respond to God working in your heart today!

the Fruit of love

2010-04-29T09:21:00.000-05:00

As you will see in the Scripture – there is one very special incredible verse that will tell you that God the Father wants to transmit and impart 9 specific fruits of the Spirit. God wants all of us to enter into a sanctification process with Him so that He can begin the process of molding, shaping and transforming us into the express image of His Son Jesus Christ. He wants to make us into a better and more holy people. He wants to transform us by the renewing of our minds. He wants to put right thinking into our thought process.
It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that this sanctification process is done with you in this life. However, you will not be a passive robot in all of this. You have to be willing to work in cooperation with the Holy Spirit once He begins to start this process within you.
Your job will be to get into the Word to find out exactly what it is God is going to want to change about you. You will need to find out exactly what qualities God will want you to try and “put on” into your personality and what qualities He will want you to try and “put away.”
When God the Father purposely isolates and spells out 9 specific qualities that will be coming direct from His Holy Spirit – then He is really letting you know the extreme importance of these 9 specific fruits.
These 9 fruits are major fruits and qualities that are coming direct from God Himself – and every Christian should do the best they can to work with the Holy Spirit in getting all 9 of these fruits worked into their personality.
Here are the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit listed one right after the other in a bullet point format:
• Love
• Joy
• Peace
• Longsuffering
• Kindness
• Goodness
• Faithfulness
• Gentleness
• Self-control
Now here is the specific verse from Scripture where these 9 fruits are being given to us by the Lord:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)
Before I get into the appropriate commentary on each of these nine fruits, note the following:
1. The word “Spirit” is with a capital “S” – which means these 9 fruits are coming directly from the Holy Spirit – not from us.

2. What this means is that God’s love, God’s peace, God’s joy and God’s goodness can start to be transmitted up into our personality. These are His attributes and personality qualities that will start to flow and mesh into the core of our personality. Think about the ramifications of this – that God the Father Himself is allowing us to share in a part of His divine nature by allowing His Holy Spirit to transmit and impart these nine divine qualities right up into our soul and personality!
This is why God the Father is specifically telling us in this verse that these 9 fruits are coming directly from His Holy Spirit – so that we can all fully appreciate the magnitude of such an experience.
Jesus has already told us that He is the vine and we are the branches. The branches draw their life from the vine – not vice versa. Just as the branch draws its life from the vine, so too must we draw our life directly from Jesus. Jesus will release His life into us through the Holy Spirit in the exact same way that the vine will release the life of the tree into the branches.
In one short, but incredible powerful Scripture verse, God the Father is giving all of us an incredible revelation on what can go on behind the scenes in the spiritual realm for those who are willing to work with Him in this sanctification process.
Now I will go on to describe what each one of these nine fruits are all about and give you definitions from some of the different Bible dictionaries and commentaries, thereby making it easier for you to work with the Holy Spirit once He starts to move in on you to try and impart some of these divine qualities and attributes into the core of your personality.
1. Love
If I had to rank all of the above fruits in their order of possible importance, the quality of love would have to be #1. And this is why it may have been listed as #1 fruit in the above Scripture verse.
Here are some of the different definitions on what love is from the different Bible dictionaries and commentaries:
• Unselfish, benevolent concern for another; brotherly concern; the object of brotherly concern or affection

• The self-denying, self-sacrificing, Christ-like love which is the foundation of all other graces

• Unselfish, loyal and benevolent concern for the well being of another

• The high esteem which God has for His human children and the high regard which they, in turn, should have for Him and other people

• To love, to have affection for someone; to like; to be a friend; the love of brothers for each other
One of the main messages that comes through loud and clear from studying our Bible is the extreme importance that God the Father is placing on that everyone learn how to love Him, love ourselves, love one another, and to even go as far as to be able to love our enemies and those who will try and hurt us.
However, our abilities as fallen humans to love one another is very limited. This is why it is so important for each and every Christian to work very closely with the Holy Spirit to get this fruit worked up into the core of our personalities. It is only when the love of the Holy Spirit starts to flow and enter into our personalities can we even begin to love God, love ourselves, and love one another to the degree and to the intensity that God would like to see from each one of us.
To those of you who will be entering into this sanctification process with the Lord – this quality should be listed as the #1 quality you should really attempt to put on into the core of your soul and personality. The Holy Spirit will be moving on you very early and very quickly to get this quality imparted into your mind, soul and emotions due to the extreme importance of it in your walk with the Lord.
You can be the greatest man of God and have some of the greatest gifts of God flowing through you – but if you are not walking with all of this in the spirit of love and humility, it will have all been for naught.

A Reminder

2010-04-26T13:30:00.000-05:00

The only one who forgives and forgets our sin is Jesus. The power of the blood removes our sin as far as the east is from the west. Even when you move on in life and make changes people never forget and especially never forgive. Jesus is so faithful and loving. Jesus truly is the Lover of our soul.

3 things to remember

1. Walk in your forgiveness. Don't let your past mistakes hold you back.

2. Be a forgiver. Don't ever hold on to the past sins of others.

3. keep moving forward in the improvements you are making. don't live in the past

4 important principles to remember about the Holy Spirit

2010-04-19T21:11:00.000-05:00

1) The Holy Spirit is God, but He is a Person, not a force
2) What is the mission of the Holy Spirit? To reveal Jesus. What is Jesus mission…to reveal the Father. What about the Father…to send Jesus and the Holy Spirit so we can come to Him. Perfect Harmony. They never had a crisis management meeting in Heaven. They never tried to sit down and work things out. They never had a power struggle amongst themselves.
3) The Holy Spirit gives gifts for use in ministry and empowers effective ministry
4) The Holy Spirit is a distinct Person within the Godhead, not a force, a thing, or an "it"

6 things the Holy Spirit does

2010-04-18T14:55:00.000-05:00

1) He teaches you things about God and yourself. John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
2) He tells the truth. John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
3) He guides. John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
4) He convinces. John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
5) He prays for you. Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
6) He commands. Acts 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

Message on the Ascension of Jesus

2010-04-12T07:22:00.000-05:00

1. THE ASCENSION WAS AN ANSWER TO JESUS’ PRAYER
John 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. Jesus left all the splendor of Heaven to live as a lowly man upon the earth. At His ascension – He returned to His prior glory

2. AT THE ASCENSION JESUS RECEIVED HIS KINGDOM
Daniel 7:13-14 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. Daniel foresaw the ascension of Christ to the Father (“Ancient of Days”) He saw that at this time Christ would receive a kingdom
Acts 2:30-33 – Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.Peter affirms that Jesus reigns upon David’s throne, being exalted to God’s right hand

3. THE ASCENSION WAS A VICTORY PROCESSION FOR JESUS
Ephesians 4:8 “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”Colossians 2:15 –He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.. At the cross (and subsequent resurrection and ascension), Jesus triumphed over all the forces of evil and making “a public spectacle of them”

4. JESUS ASCENDED IN ORDER TO MAKE ATONEMENT
Hebrews 9:24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.Jesus entered into the true Holy of Holies to offer His own blood to God
Having finished this priestly work, He “sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3). He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (priests always did their work standing)

5. JESUS ASCENDED TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR US
John 14:2-3 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. If we would have that home, we must follow the “way”. Jesus is the way – John 14:4-6
We are not left “on our own” to find that way . . .

6. JESUS ASCENDED SO THAT HE COULD SEND THE HOLY SPIRIT
John 16:5-7 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. The Spirit (the Helper) guided the apostles into “all truth” (John 16:13) That truth is recorded for us on the pages of the NT

7. THE ASCENSION OF JESUS WILL BE FOLLOWED BY HIS RETURN
Acts 1:9-11 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Remember John 14:3, Jesus said, if (or, since) I go away, I will come again

8. THE ASCENSION OF JESUS PRE-FIGURES OUR OWN ASCENSION TO MEET HIM WHEN HE RETURNS
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. The faithful dead will be raised to join the faithful living as they ascend into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Remember, John 14:2-3, Jesus will take us back to that place He is preparing for us.

CONCLUSION:
Did you realize that the Bible has so much to say about the ascension? Because of the ascension, we may rest assured: That Jesus made full atonement for our sins. That He is now reigning as King of kings and Lord of lords. That He is preparing a place for us. That He will come to take us back to that heavenly home, at which time we will ascend to meet Him.
Are you ready for that day?

The Amazing Presence of Jesus

2010-04-10T07:33:00.000-05:00

Jesus was an amazing man. The Bible clearly teaches us that when he spoke people were in awe at the authority He commanded. His miracles were beyond belief. His compassion for the lost sheep of Israel was without question. His disciples witnessed it all. In that little barn in Bethlehem God became a man. In the tomb that first Easter morning a man shed His humanity and took up His full divinity.

It was one experience to hear the eternal words of the son of man but can you imagine hearing the words of the resurrected son of God. For 40 day after his resurrection Jesus spent time with His followers continuing to enlighten them about the Kingdom of God. Talk about 40 days of purpose.

Jesus had a plan for the personal empowerment of His disciples. The Ascension was strategic because now the Holy Spirit of God could descend into the hearts of every believer. Now the power of God would be personal and effective in His church.

It's Not Over Yet

2010-04-05T08:53:00.001-05:00

After Jesus arose from the dead He still had a few things left on His agenda. Jesus was going to make appearances for the sake of the faithful and He still had a few things to set in order before His Ascension. His encounter with Thomas was classic and His words to Peter were penetrating. As Jesus made His preparation to leave the earth realm we are reminded of the eternal plan of God. Jesus was not leaving just to leave. He was leaving because He was thinking empowerment. Jesus knew that His departure would set in motion the coming of the Holy Spirit. Please review the following sequence.

Jesus...Is God...revealed in Old Testament...born of virgin...lives a sinless life...cucified on the cross...dies on the cross...taken off the cross...buried in the tomb...is raised from the dead...on the earth 40 days...Ascends to heaven...sends the Holy Spirit...is coming again!

Sunday's Coming

2010-04-03T19:51:00.001-05:00

The enemy thought they had won. The son of God was dead. Crucified and buried on Friday. For some just another Saturday but in heaven the waiting was about over. God's eternal plan was about to have it's greatest event in recorded human history.
The power of God would bring back to life the dead corps of Jesus the Christ. The raising of Jesus from the dead shook the earth and shook mankind.

Every year we celebrate this great victory. Every year He shakes the world and mankind again with the unbelievable claim that Jesus lives. I believe not because I have seen but because through faith I have been transformed by the blood of the lamb.

Sunday is coming again and so will the power of God.

Getting Ready For Easter

2010-03-31T07:28:00.000-05:00

Easter is a huge deal for the church because it allows us to focus on the resurrected Savior. We can do that anytime, but when the whole world is focused on it, we can make a greater impact. The resurrection is a not only a great event in the history of the world but a dynamic doctrine that the church must teach on. The resurrection must be made applicable to the everyday lives of people.

Over the next few blogs I will be teaching on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 28:2 "And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it."

Do we really need to be reminded about the ongoing battle between the good and evil, light and darkness, God verse the devil. On that first Good Friday when Jesus gave up his Spirit and died the devil thought he had won. All throughout the earthly journey of Jesus angels were always present to attend to the business of the God of Heaven. They were there at His birth, after the temptation, after his time of prayer in the garden but they were absent as He hung on the cross. Even the Father turned away as Jesus became sin for us. But on the the third day the angel descends because the King is back from the dead. One again the host of heaven is present to serve the creator of all things.

More to come...

Making Sure It's For Jesus

2010-03-29T10:45:00.000-05:00

I came away this week after hearing 5 different messages at our church conference with these thoughts. 1) We need to make sure that everything we do is for the sake of the gospel and done out of love for our savior Jesus.2) We must remain open to hearing where other leaders coming from and recieve what they say in love. 3) We need to depend on the Holy Spirit completely to speak to the hearts of those in attendance.

Everything must be about Jesus, to glorify Jesus and to grow in Jesus.

It’s not about the downturn or the upturn. It’s about your turn

2010-03-21T16:41:00.000-05:00

The tendency during crisis is to panic but for the one who has put there faith in Christ we need to remember who are God is.

They say a rising tide lifts all boats, but many miss the opportunities that are ours for the taking especially during crisis because we don’t understand the mindset of prosperity. Basic Biblical life fundamentals have not been followed and are waiting for people to embrace them in order to prosper.

1. Growth-growth doesn’t just happen. It’s the result of disciplined planning as well as innovative insights. Discipline is key to prospering- Finding ways to keep growing spiritually is vital. We have a tendency to miss the signs of a platitude life.

2. Efficiency- Focus on doing more with less. The keeping up with the Jones has led us down the road to debt. One area in which "living above one's means" has caused negative social effects is that of credit card usage. In the first quarter of 2002, total credit debt was $660 billion. By 2005, the total credit card debt had increased to $735 billion. America's average credit card debt in 2007 was $8400 per household. By the end of 2007, consumer debt in America had risen to $2.5 trillion. According to the Federal Reserve, over 40% of households spend more than they earn

3. Use your Faith- don’t be afraid to step out in faith if God directs.

4. Keeping things right with God- The life blood of a spiritual life is obedience.
Living right before God will bring spiritual prosperity to your life.

7 Thoughts on making an Impact

2010-03-18T08:51:00.000-05:00

The church is called to make an impact in the area in which it ministers. People can drive by our buildings and never know we are there. To make an impact in our communities we need to realize that we are not talking about making a splash or even being a flash in the pan but about making a difference in the lives of the people around us. Our vision in making a difference should be about reaching people where they are. Here are some things I think we should be thinking about.

1. We need a grass roots movement that involves meeting people on a personal basis. We cannot expect people to walk through the doors of our church without an intentional attempt to start the process with relationship building.

2. We must have ministries in our church that are intentional. We must be willing to lay to rest any ministry that is not meeting a current need. We must be willing to add ministries that make a difference in the lives of people.

3. We cannot be effective without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and everything that we do must be done with the direction and strength of Gods power. The keys will always be prayer, Biblical foundation and right relationship with God in our personal lives.

4. We can study what others are doing but we must get Gods personal direction for what we must be doing.

5. We must start where we are. If we have 5 people we must start there. If we have a small building we must start there. If we have 0 money we must start there.

6. We must have the attitude of Jesus and go after the 1 who has left the fold. And we must also have a vision to make sure that those in the flock are being fed and cared for.

7. We need to remind Gods people that sheep reproduce sheep and that God has no grandchildren only children.

How to live positive in uncertain times

2010-03-15T21:36:00.000-05:00

Living Positive in uncertain Time
Romans 12

5 Steps to remember

1. God is in Control- He knows your beginning from your end
2. Life is short make the best of it- if life gives you lemons make lemonade. you only get one shot at a lifetime
3. Focus on what is important- family, faith, live in the moment
4. Find ways to make a difference- the only thing you take to heaven are others,find a need and fill it, when it is all said and done what?
5. Follow the life principles found in the Bible- be lover, be a giver, be a learner, know the word!

It's Time Conference

2010-03-09T07:46:00.000-06:00

I wanted to encourage everyone to attend the "It's Time" Conference on March 26-28. Here is the schedule of events:

Friday-March 26th
6pm Registration
coffee Shop opens for coffee and snacks
7pm First Session
Speaker- Pastor Jorge Zayasbazan of Baptist Temple
Speaker- Pastor Herbert Halbiesen of the Exchange

Saturday-March 27th
6pm coffee shop opens for coffee and snacks
7pm Second Session
Speaker- Pastor Luis Rey of Origin Church
Speaker- Dr. Roland Lopez of San Antonio Baptist Association

Sunday- March 28th
10am coffee shop opens for coffee and snacks
11am Session Three
Speaker- Pastor Roderick Barnes of Alamo Stone Church

What is the Conference about?

The local church has always been Gods Vehicle for advancement of His kingdom on the earth. This conference will address the areas of Church revitalization, Church Planting, Gods calling into ministry and encouragement for all workers in the Body of Christ.

We will have a time of Praise and Worship and a special Youth music video drama will be presented on Sunday morning.

This Conference is being hosted by Living Springs Church. Living Springs Church is a Church in transition that is committed to revitalization and revision. This small congregation is making strides to impact its community with authentic ministry and the positive message of the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Fireproofing our Families

2010-02-28T15:57:00.000-06:00

When there is an earthquake in Chile it can cause a tsunami in Hawaii. The same holds true in life concerning our families. The shaking in some ones life can cause problems with every one else.

To fireproof our families we must consider the following realities

Life can become overwhelming
Realize that there is an enemy who wants to destroy your family
God has a better plan

How to fireproof

Get close to God and stay close to God
Follow the directions of the Bible
Be aware of the seasons in life
Keep your eyes on the big picture (Eternity)

6 thoughts and 3 things about criticisim

2010-02-27T09:17:00.000-06:00

Build positive relationships
Become a mentor for others
Don’t travel with friends who desert you at the first signs of danger
“even the lone ranger didn’t do it alone”
It’s lonely at the top
Choose to embrace criticisim

3 things about criticisim
Criticisim comes with success
Constructive criticisim is a gift
Criticisim is a learning tool

Things to Remember About Adversity

2010-02-22T09:32:00.000-06:00

1.Realize that adversity is short term
2.Don’t panic, freeze and stop when adversity hits
3.Don’t spend your time looking for someone to blame

When your in the thick of the storm remember these words “This to shall pass”

10 more Things

2010-02-21T21:18:00.000-06:00

1.Have the courage to persevere
2.Hang in there long enough to win
3.Make a decision
4.When you reach a roadblock don’t give up
5.Failure is a learning tool
6.If you want to win stay in the game
7.Success is not forever and failure is not fatal
8.Choose the right attitude
9.Keep your eyes on new opportunities
10.Be easy on yourself and everyone else- we are works in progress

10 More Thoughts

2010-02-19T08:42:00.000-06:00

1.Stay on course
2.Surround yourself with the committed and passionate
3.Clarify your commitment- what do you want to accomplish in 2 years using 20 words.

4.There will be enemies for many reasons
5.No need to create enemies they will surface on there own
6.It matters whom we hang with
7.You cannot please all the people all the time.

8.Success relies on integrity
9.Guard your integrity
10.There are no time outs with your integrity

10 thoughts for today

2010-02-15T09:46:00.000-06:00

1.Are you driving or just a passenger?
2.How do you respond to the unexpected?
3.Being a victim and the excuses we make.
4.Learning to move forward, now matter what.
5.Not everything bad that happens is our doing.
6.We must take ownership

7.Expect the unexpected.
8.Look for alternatives.
9.Spend your energy looking for solutions.
10.Don’t allow the fear of failure cause you to fail.

small beginings

2010-02-13T06:27:00.000-06:00

The Concept for Southwest Airlines began in a San Antonio hotel club on a napkin with 3 drawn circles and the cities of Dallas, Houston and San Antonio written in the circles. Lines were then drawn connecting each circle. The concept, a low fare commuter airline connecting the major cities of Texas with affordable air travel.

The rest they say is history. And bags fly free. WOW!

Small beginings

2010-02-11T08:43:00.000-06:00

If you think your to small to have an impact. Try going to bed with a mosquito in the room.

The first night of Fed Ex operations in April 1973, 14 planes in 14 cities all landed in Memphis to count the 12 packages they were delivering that day. 12 packages for 14 planes. It was a long night. Things were so tough in the early day of Fed Ex some of the pilots used their own credit cards to fuel the planes they were flying. Today with 300,000 employees and revenues of 50 billion those early days seem along way off.

You have to start somewhere. Start today!

The Fip Side

2010-02-10T08:06:00.000-06:00

Every coin has two sides. While there are some alarming shifts in the way things seem to be heading in the church world, it is also true that the church is poised for some of the most amazing growth in its history. The best days of the church are right ahead of her. We are seeing some very innovative ways that people are being engaged to hear the gospel.

Twitter, Facebook and video are exposing people to the good news of Christ daily. Teaching, preaching and worship are readily available online. I am excited about all the possibilities that are before us. The key is to capitalize on them.

The Unsettling Shift Part 2

2010-02-08T15:59:00.000-06:00

We live in a world that has lost the meaning of loyalty and that same mentality has entered the church. It has become increasingly difficult to get a true commitment from believers. In fact in is not uncommon for a person to belong to several churches at the same time. The sad truth is many Christians do not see the missional importance of the church and have a lone ranger attitude. It is true to say that some of the blame goes to the church for not discipling believers about the mission of the church. But every christian should understand the importance and the purpose of the church.

There is a blurred vision when it comes to understanding how to reach those around us. Most leaders and churches are in the dark when it come to reaching this generation (I include myself). We must commit ourselves to change. We need to change our methods.

The Unsettling Shift (part 1)

2010-02-04T08:32:00.000-06:00

It is clear that a shift has taken place in the Christian World that I have known. This shift is still in process and I don't know when it will settle and then stabilize. The shift that I speak of is listed.

The vocabulary(use of words)of Christians is no longer considered. Terminology is no longer tempered and slang is now the norm for the family of faith. It seems that even sermons are peppered with words that at one time were deemed "worldly". Some of the young leaders in the church today are calling this shift into question and maybe we will see a move back to the middle for a balanced vernacular.

The embracing of a "whatever you believe is fine mentality" is taking the place of a firm Biblical based set of beliefs. This shift is causing believers to incorporate non Biblical doctrines into their own world views. In the "seeker driven" world of of church growth churches are now backtracking to a better follow up process for new believers. The question is how do we challenge the unfocused belief system of the Oprah Church.

more to come...

When You Get Knocked Down, Get Up

2010-01-31T20:04:00.000-06:00

How many times have you heard someone say, Life is not fair!? It is not about whether life is fair or not; it is about the reality of what has happened. Life may not be fair, but life is life. Things will happen without your permission. You will find yourself in situations you didn’t plan on being a part of. Yes, you will be handed a left turn when you had planned on going straight.

Reality is in life you will get knocked down. There will be times and situations where your life will take a left turn without your permission. When it happens, it will be a wake up call. You will open your eyes and find yourself standing in an emotional field you didn’t anticipate. Here are some principles to help you get back up when you get knocked down.

Principle #1: Don’t deny what is happening in your life.

Principle #2: Be honest about how you got knocked down.

Principle #3: Don’t be afraid to ask the right people for help.

Principle #4: Find the lesson that goes with the fall.

Being knocked down doesn’t mean being knocked out. It is simply a pause in your journey that provides you with a test of commitment, character and confidence.

It's Time Part 1

2010-01-24T13:59:00.000-06:00

"THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD."

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me- My personal walk, is life change happening, am I walking in empowerment, am I being used of the Lord.

Because He anointed me to preach the Gospel- The message, am I staying on message?

Tom Rainer writes: We have the greatest Hope in the world. We have the promise of the resurrection. We have Jesus. But we know the story. In too many churches minors become majors and focus is lost. Critics outnumber the messengers of hope. And “that’s the way we’ve always done it” becomes the death cry of too many congregations. People are looking for hope.
The Church must be the messenger of Hope. Time is too short. It’s time for hope.

Mark Batterson writes: The only applause we are meant to seek is that of nail-scarred hands. It was so inspiring and so convicting. We care so much about our reputation. We care so much about our approval ratings. We care so much about what people think. But we need to die to those things. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but we don't really care for people until we don't care what they think. We can't really help them until we've been crucified to their opinions. Only then do we preach with an anointed boldness. Am I saying what God wants That is the only litmus test when it comes to preaching. Was God pleased with my message? Unfortunately, many of us measure our messages by human applause. May we be deafened to human applause. After all, the only applause we are meant to seek is that of nail-scarred hands.

The poor…the captives…the blind…the oppressed- The people, finding ways to reach the people, having a heart for those in need.

An Alarming statistic- only 13 churches out of 300 hundred in our association grew in the last 10 years. Do we have a whatever it takes mentality?

To proclaim The Favorable Year of the Lord- Your decision, will you claim this to be your year. Will you

God didn’t put you hear to build a steeple,
God put you here to plant a cross.