HOW TO RECEIVE INSTRUCTION

1 Timothy 1:5
The purpose of my instruction
is that all the Christians there
would be filled with love
that comes from a pure heart,
a clear conscience,
and sincere faith.



There are two distinct ways to receive instruction. The first way is to receive it gladly as Proverbs 16:20 teaches us that, “Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be happy.” The second way to receive it is to mock or reject the instructions as Proverbs 9:8 shows us, “Don't bother rebuking mockers; they will only hate you.” A Sunday school teacher taught her students to keep quiet during the church service and one of the children asked, "Why is it necessary to be quiet in church?” One observant little girl replied out loud, "Because people are sleeping." We go to church to learn and receive instruction from the word of God. Be wise to follow the Lord's instruction and certainly, you shouldn't fall asleep while He's giving you instructions that could change your life.

THE NARROW GATE

John 14:6
I am the way,
the truth,
and the life.
No one can come
to the Father
except through me.



Matthew 7:13 teaches us that, "You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way.” This doesn’t mean to imply that it’s difficult to get to heaven, but it simply clarifies the cloudy impression that there are many ways into heaven. People have used religion, good works or money to try and carve their way into heaven. All these ways can be deemed as easy because they’re all human acts. Being allowed into heaven, however, requires an act of God. After all, since no human ever descended from heaven, it begs the argument that no human can ascend to heaven on their own strength. There is only one way to make it past the pearly gates as far as a God is concerned: the narrow gate of Jesus. It really is quite easy, isn’t it?

IN ALL FAIRNESS

Matthew 7:12
Do for others what you would
like them to do for you.



A story has it that King Philip of Macedon fell asleep while hearing a case, and that as he suddenly awoke without having all the facts of the case together, the king passed an unjust sentence upon the man who was on trial. Shocked by the sentence, the doomed man cried out, “I appeal!” Philip became upset and asked him, “And to whom do you appeal?” The man replied, “From the king who was sleeping to the king who is awake.” The king was so moved by the man’s logical appeal that he reversed the judgment. None of us are perfect or all knowing. We all make mistakes, so always be fair when dealing with people and what you might deem faultiness. Let God be your influence to be fair and just.

BROTHERLY LOVE

1 John 4:21
God himself has commanded
that we must love not only him
but our Christian
brothers and sisters, too.



1 John 4:20 teaches us, “If a man say, I love God, and hate his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” The first brothers of the Bible, Cain and Abel, weren’t exempt from sibling rivalries. The foundation of their rivalry was envy, and Cain even went as far as killing his Abel because of the envy in his heart. There’s a story about a man who met two travelers along a road. One was greedy and the other was envious. When the three men came upon a crossroad, this man told the two travelers that he would grant both a gift before they parted ways. The gift was this: whoever would make a wish first would have his wish granted, while the other man would get a double portion of the wish. The greedy man knew what he wanted, but didn’t wish it because he didn’t want his traveling partner to have twice that of his own wish. The envious man was also unwilling to wish first because he knew he’d be envious of the greedy man having twice that of his own wish. Each waited for the other to wish until finally the greedy man took the envious man by the throat, saying he would choke him to death unless he made his wish. The envious man said, “Alright, I’ll make my wish. I wish to be made blind in one eye,” and immediately he lost sight in one eye – and his companion went blind in both eyes. Are you interested in a cure to envy, greed and rivalry? You’ll find it by sincerely loving God and your Christian brothers and sisters.

A PERSONAL PRAYER REQUEST

THERE'S A PARTY IN HEAVEN



I wanted to let all of you know that my 93 year old grandmother passed away on Sunday evening. She knew Christ as her Lord, and I'm certain that while her friends and family are sad that she is gone, the heavens are throwing a big party for her recent arrival. She was a major factor in my salvation and my becoming a pastor. Please pray for my wife and I as we travel to the Philippines this evening for this family emergency, and for my children who will be apart from us and staying with close family and friends in the Metropolitan NYC area. Blogs will be posted as usual everyday at 7pm. Be sure to forward postings that have moved you in some way to your friends, and to add yourself as blog follower.

Blessings to all of you,
Pastor Jundy Bautista

THE MIDAS TOUCH

Philippians 4:19
But my God shall supply
all your need
according to his riches
in glory by Christ Jesus.



The legend of King Midas says that Midas asked for and received from the mythological Greek gods, the gift of having everything that he would touch turn to gold. At first King Midas was delighted as he saw his riches grow. However, Midas quickly ran into difficulties when because the moment he’d touch his food it would turn into gold. The irony, of course, is that there’s poverty in riches and riches in poverty. The best riches are those that God supplies to a person who wisely asks of Him. Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 5:19, “it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life – that is indeed a gift from God.” So what should we do? We should ask for untapped riches from God Himself and the enjoyment and acceptance of His gift, whatever it may be.

FIND OUT WHO YOU TRULY ARE

Proverbs 24:12
Don't try to avoid responsibility
by saying you didn't know about it.
For God knows all hearts,
and he sees you.
He keeps watch over your soul,
and he knows you knew!
And he will judge all people
according to what they have done.



For seven years, eight months, and twenty days, Lawrence Bader became John “Fritz” Johnson. As Fritz Johnson, Bader was promoted up the ranks at KETV-TV in Omaha, Nebraska, eventually becoming KETV's sports director. He even got married and had two children in Omaha. A Bader family friend spotted "Fritz" at a sports show in Chicago and alerted his family in Ohio. Fingerprinting confirmed that Bader and Johnson were one and the same. Bader had apparently disappeared into Cleveland, OH after heading a small boat out into storm-tossed Lake Erie and was presumed drowned when he didn’t turn up. He plead that he had no knowledge of his past in Akron, Ohio, where he was the son of a prominent dentist and the father of four children. Despite the fingerprint evidence, Bader insisted that he could not remember his old life. The Bible teaches us in Psalm 139:13, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.” God already knows who you are; we just have to allow Him to help us find out who we truly are. Certainly, you don't want to find yourself running away from who you truly are.

POWER FOR YOUR LIFE

2 Corinthians 12:9
My gracious favor is all you need.
My power works best in your weakness.



2 Corinthians 12:10 says, “Since I know it is all for Christ's good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” In Besier’s play The Barretts of Wimpole Street, the character Elizabeth asks her husband, “O Robert, how can you love me when you are so strong and I am so weak?” Robert answers, “Elizabeth, my strength needs your weakness just as much as your weakness needs my strength.” Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t need our weakness, but we certainly need His strength. Well, if that’s the case, be more than glad to boast about your weaknesses because the power of Christ is going to work through you because our weaknesses are God’s opportunities to show His power in our lives.

YOU'VE ALREADY WON

Romans 8:31
If God is for us,
who can ever be against us?



1 Chronicles 22:13 says, “Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or lose heart!” There’s a story about a Marshall that was reporting in to General Napoleon saying, “I fear the battle is lost.” Napoleon very coolly looked at his watch and replied, “Time for another battle. Call for the army to a fresh charge.” Napoleon never lost heart during military battles. Winston Churchill once said in one of his memorable speeches, “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, and we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender.” Be strong and courageous – in Christ we already have the victory.

NO LOOKIN' BACK

Luke 9:62
Anyone who puts a hand to the plow
and then looks back is not fit
for the Kingdom of God.



Many people that followed Jesus during His ministry wanted to be disciples, but most of them had demands that needed to met before they would commit to following. Jesus told them that if they wanted to follow Him, they’d have to take up their cross. The "cross" that He was describing wasn’t just an object – it was a destiny. Jesus knew that His destiny was to bear the cross of everyone's sin and He took his destiny head-on. I'm reminded of a silly story about a young Sunday school student that was listening to the story of Lot and his wife "turning" into a pillars of salt (Genesis 19:26) as they turned and looked back. The boy very excitedly interrupted his teacher saying, "My mother looked back once while she was driving and she turned into a fence post." The funny thing is that when we turn our eyes from God’s plan for us, we usually do crash. To be fit for the Kingdom, you’ve got to keep your eyes on the prize and remember, don’t look back.

BITE YOUR TONGUE

Proverbs 13:3
Those who control their tongue
will have a long life;
a quick retort can ruin everything.



So often we forfeit the blessings that are meant for us because we can’t control that little sliver of meat in our mouths: the tongue. I’d read a funny story about an elderly man that had a very serious hearing problem. The man went to his doctor and was fitted for a hearing aid. After a month the doctor told his patient, "Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again." The old man retorted, "Doc, I haven't told my family. I've been sitting around just listening to their conversations and it's made me change my will five times already!" Look, if you just can’t control your tongue, learn to keep your mouth shut! It'll all be for your own good.

PROMISES, PROMISES

Genesis 9:13
I have placed my rainbow in the clouds.
It is the sign of my permanent promise
to you and to all the earth.



Do you keep the promises that you make? Genesis 9:13 tells us, “I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my permanent promise to you and to all the earth.” Rainbows are beautiful natural works of art, aren’t they? They have a full spectrum of colors that will mesmerize anyone that should gaze upon them. This promise is symbolic of the beautiful and full extent of God's faithfulness that 2 Timothy 2:13 speaks of: “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.” Here’s a very personal story for you. Very soon after my wife and I were married, we wanted to start a family. Just 3 months after our wedding day we learned that my wife was pregnant, but that excitement ended just one month later as she miscarried. The news was devastating, but it was during those days that God’s sweet presence assured her with words from Hebrews 13:5: “Be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never forsake you.’” In keeping with His promise, God has given us two beautiful children and we are always reminded when we see them that He is a Promise Keeper. Just like the spectacular rainbows, promises that are kept are always beautiful.

A LIFE IN LUXURY

Hebrews 13:14
For this world
is not our home;
we are looking forward
to our city in heaven,
which is yet to come.



A military officer and his family were forced to live in cramped quarters at a hotel because of a housing shortage at their assigned base. He overheard one of his six-year old daughter's friends telling his daughter, “That’s too bad that you don’t have a home.” His bright little daughter responded quickly by saying, “Oh, we’ve got a home; we just don’t have a house to put it in.” Wouldn't it be nice to have a big and fully furnished home just like one right out of the pages of a fancy living magazine? Sometimes, however, we struggle just to get by, let alone to strive forward. Because of this, Jesus taught us in John 14:1-4, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” In the meantime, refrain from envying those that seemingly have more than you at this moment. Keep in mind that your all-powerful Father in heaven has big plans for you and that he's got a mansion waiting for his obedient children.

PLAN FOR SUCCESS

Proverbs 19:21
You can make many plans,
but the Lord's purpose will prevail.



Have you made plans for your life? Check out Thomas Jefferson’s 10 Rules for Living:

1. Never put off ‘til tomorrow what you can do today
2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself
3. Never spend your money before you have it
4. Never buy what you don’t want because it is cheap
5. Pride costs more than hunger, thirst and cold
6. We seldom repent of having eaten too little
7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly
8. How much pain and evils have cost us that have never happened
9. Take things always by the smooth handle
10. When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, count to one hundred

I believe that when you fail to plan, you’ve planned to fail. These plans, however, must be guided by principles of the Word of God. Therefore, take your plans and principles, and align them with God's purpose for your life.

SPEED DUMMIES

Zechariah 4:6
This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel,
saying, Not by might, nor by power,
but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.



What do you do when you see a road sign that says “Slow Down” or “Reduce Speed”? Why is it that when you’re in a hurry, it seems like slow drivers and obstacles just randomly crop up? My wife and I would laughingly say that every slow driver on the road was traveling to our destination. I believe slow drivers serve a purpose as God-sent obstructions meant to slow us down because when we do things our own way, we often endanger ourselves or others. There’s a psychological technique used in Japan to slow down speeders where the police place dummy cops near intersections and in the bushes along country roads. The police claim that motorists slow down when they spot the dummies. Whatever you do in life, there’s going to be a time for slowing down. These speed reductions weren't instituted there to stop you from getting to your goals, but rather to bring you to your destination safely. Always remember that the hand of God is orchestrating your life and His timing is perfect.

PRESSED DOWN AND SHAKEN TOGETHER

Luke 6:38
If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return
to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together
to make room for more, and running over.
Whatever measure you use in giving – large or small –
it will be used to measure what is given back to you.



What kind of information do you base your decisions on? Matthew 10:16 teaches us, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents.” When my family and I initially emigrated to the U.S., I knew that God brought us to a new place to start a new life. At first, life felt very demanding, and the culture seemed very fast paced. It seemed like everyone was moving as fast as they possibly could to catch the proverbial "American Dream." That said, my family and I made a decision to offer my entire first paycheck to God. Sounds pretty risky, right? I knew, however, that in order to succeed in a new country and culture, I’d need to do the wisest thing possible and be obedient to God. Today, we’ve been provided with everything a family needs and we have it to the fullest. I never complain because there’s nothing to complain about. I know it might feel risky at times, but if you work on being obedient to our Creator, His blessings for your obedience can be so abundant that they'll literally feel pressed down and shaken together.

THE HEART OF THE PROBLEM

Jeremiah 17:9
The human heart is
most deceitful and
desperately wicked.
Who really knows
how bad it is?



Jeremiah 17:9 should be a real an eye opener for just about any reader. I know a lot of people who’ve raised their eyebrows upon reading it, but let me also share Proverbs 23:26 with you, "O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes delight in my ways of wisdom." God is asking us to give Him our hearts, the symbolic seat of our emotions. When we rule in that seat, it’s only as good as us; but when we allow God to sit there, good things begin to happen in our lives. I once heard somebody say that, "the heart of the problem, is a problem of the heart." Jesus responds to this challenge of our in Matthew 12:35 when He teaches us that, "A good person produces good words from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil words from an evil heart." If we would truly give our hearts over to God, our deceitfully wicked hearts would become good hearts producing good words and blessings all around. I don't know about you, but I like the idea of blessings all around my life.

PRIORITIES

Mark 12:17
Give to Caesar what belongs to him.
But everything that belongs to God
must be given to God.



What do you spend your money on? I’ve personally seen people go literally from rags to riches. There was a man that I knew who was bankrupt that began praying for God to bless him in some way. He began serving the Lord through his church becoming part of all the church activities. Because of his faithfulness, the Lord started to pour out blessings onto this man. Later on, however, because of time constraints from the blessings upon his businesses, he began retreating from his church responsibilities, activities and ministries. It’s just like an old story I'd heard about a little boy that was on his way to the church with two nickels – one for the Lord and one for himself. On the way to church he accidentally dropped one of the nickels into a sewage drain and said, “Well, there goes the Lord’s nickel.” Sadly, this seems to be a typical human response. It seems that the Lord’s share in our lives is always the piece that's at stake when we become busy with the blessings He bestows to us. Be blessed and get your priorities straight. Give to God what must be given to God – His fair share.

SOULFOOD

Psalm 59:16
But as for me,
I will sing about your power.
I will shout with joy each morning
because of your unfailing love.
For you have been my refuge,
a place of safety
in the day of distress.



Morning ought to feel fresh because a new day has arrived. For the most important meal of the day, we eat "breakfast" because we're "breaking the fast" which occurred overnight to physically feed our bodies. Some folks start their day off with a simple hot coffee and a newspaper. While breakfast feeds our physical bodies, we often neglect our spiritual selves by not having any spiritual food. I’d once read story about a grade school teacher that asked her class if there were any students who hadn’t eaten breakfast. A 9-year old boy raised his hand. The teacher asked the boy why he hadn’t eaten and the boy replied, "In our home we don’t eat ’til we've eaten spiritual food, so I was late getting up this morning and I had to leave right after the spiritual food, so I haven’t had any breakfast.” Make time for yourselves everyday to get some spiritual food into your systems. Just having that short time with God could make all the difference in how your day goes.

DON'T MISS THE MIRACLE

John 5:10,11
So the Jewish leaders objected.
They said to the man who was cured,
"You can't work on the Sabbath!
It's illegal to carry that sleeping mat!"
He replied, "The man who healed me said to me,
'Pick up your sleeping mat and walk.'"



How do you look at the challenges in life? The focus of John 5:10-11 is a man that had been crippled for 38 years. He would sit beside a pool where an angel would come and stir the waters. The first person that would go down into the water after the stirring would be healed, but since this man was crippled others would always pass him by and go before him. For 38 years he was there hoping and waiting until Jesus came with a compassionate voice asking the man, “Do you want to get healed?” The man immediately replied, "Yes," which prompted Jesus to reply, "Stand up, pick up your sleeping mat, and walk!" Now that’s a miracle! A cripple waiting next to a pool for 38 years was now walking! The Jewish leaders of the day, however, told him, "You can't work on the Sabbath! It's illegal to carry that sleeping mat!" Hang on a moment. Did they miss the fact that the crippled man was actually walking? Some people choose to only see the bad in people and situations, and they end up missing out on what may obviously be good. Put some real effort in seeing the good in people and situations. After all, you wouldn't want to miss a major miracle because you we're busy thinking about a minor rule.

SPEAK IT. LIVE IT.

Job 27:4
My lips will speak no evil,
and my tongue will speak no lies.



Almost every word that comes out of our mouths comes from the heart and manifests who we are. The Bible says that as a man thinks, so is he. Well, there was a minister who had a friend that was an actor who was drawing large crowds while the minister was preaching to just few congregants in the church. The minister asked his actor friend, “How is it that you draw great crowds, and I’ve barely an audience at all? Your words are total fiction while mine is the unchangeable Truth.” The actor gave the simplest of replies: “I present my fiction as though it were truth while you present your truth as though it were fiction.” Christians, do you want to know how to influence many people? Just present the truth as the truth by speaking and living the truth.

BELIEVING WITHOUT SEEING

John 20:29
You believe because you have seen me.
Blessed are those who haven't
seen me and believe anyway.



I read this funny story about a clergyman who was giving his parishioners a sermon on the Gospel, and he mentioned how in Matthew 14:21 our Savior fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two small fish. Instead of saying five thousand though, he said five hundred. One of the altar boys told him after the service that he had made a mistake because the Gospel says five thousand. The clergyman said to him, “Be quiet – they’re already having a hard time just believing in five hundred.” We can all identify with that at some level, can’t we? Reading a story about a miracle is one thing and living out your life believing in miracles is another thing entirely. A lack of faithful belief is why miracles don’t happen to many people. The bold truth is that miracles really do happen... if you faithfully believe.

LISTEN UP

James 1:19
My dear brothers and sisters,
be quick to listen,
slow to speak,
and slow to get angry.

Matthew 15:11
You are not defiled by what you eat;
you are defiled by what you say and do.



We were probably given two ears and only one mouth because God knew that listening would be twice as hard as speaking. It may also mean that listening is twice as important as talking. Imagine the negative possibilities of what might happen if we had two mouths: we could very well destroy ourselves in an extremely short period of time. I found this joke in Reader's Digest about listening: A police officer in a small town stopped a motorist who was speeding down Main Street. "Officer, I can explain", the man said. "No explanation needed!" snapped the Officer. "I'm going to let you cool your heels in jail until the chief gets back." The man tried again. "But Officer, I have to tell you something." "Just keep quiet! You're going to jail and I'm not interested in what you have to say!" the Officer said as he grew angrier. A few hours later the Officer looked in on his prisoner and said, "Lucky for you the chief is at his daughter's wedding. He'll be in a good mood when he gets back." "Don't count on it," answered the fellow in the cell. "I'm the groom." If only we would all be willing to listen. Please, take the time and work on being willing to listen.

COMPASSION OF THE BELIEVER

Jude 1:22
And of some have compassion,
making a difference.



Do you want to make a difference in the world? Try being compassionate. So many times, Jesus had compassion for those in need and he made a difference in the lives of people by healing them, forgiving them and performing all kinds of miracles. To Him, those actions probably didn’t feel like miracles, but rather they were just regular actions mirroring what Jesus had in Him for others. We don’t need to offer products or services to others to make a difference. After all, we’ve already got something in us that others don’t have. Whenever we extend a Godly compassion to people, it’s a miracle for anybody that receives it. Have you shown how compassionate you can be today?

BE A TRENDSETTER

1 Corinthians 15:33
Bad company corrupts
good character.



Who do you spend time with everyday? I’m sure we've all heard at least a few of these sayings: “Birds of a feather flock together”; “Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are”; “He that goes with wolves learns to howl”; or, “He that lays with dogs gets fleas”. These pearls of wisdom were gained by people through their personal experiences. Face it, your friends can either lead you to something bad or something good. It’s been storied that President Ulysses S. Grant was to be entertained at a banquet in Houston and that all of Texas’ distinguished men and women were present at the party. After everyone had taken their seats, the headwaiter approached President Grant’s table, and just as he was about to pour out the first glass of wine for the Guest of Honor, Grant reached forward and turned his empty glass upside down as a rejection of the alcoholic beverage. With the true spirit of Texas pride, every person present reached forward and turned their glass upside down; that night a distinguished dinner was served without a drop of alcohol being imbibed. You too can set new trends as choose your friends carefully.