WEEKEND SUMMARY

Pastor John completed the series on the church being a Transformation Community by speaking on "Kingdom Economics" yesterday, explaining "the system by which God provides the resources to sustain His Kingdom on earth."

He pointed out that God promised to give us the necessities of life, prosperity for sharing Kingdom business, and the resources for advancing His kingdom on earth.

Towards the end of his sermon, after relating the Bible experiences of the widow of Zarepath who shared her last meal with the prophet, the woman with the last two mites who gave them as her offering at the temple, and the boy who gave his two fish and five loaves of bread to feed the five thousand, all that they had, he challenged the congregation to take a leap of faith to empty their pocketbooks to support a couple of church building projects in Davao and in Cebu, Philippines.

On another front, the Lion's Den School completed its second week of classes. There are several more than the original twelve who signed up initially, and from reports we hear coming from some of the participants, it has been a week of victories, transformation and of things unexpected.

Meanwhile, the youth group for whom the Friday evening LOL (Living Out Loud) program is geared towards, went to the beach this past Friday to have fun and just to hang out.  They WILL NOT meet this coming Friday because of the July 4th weekend coming up.

Most of us are familiar with our First Sunday program.  We have the Praise and Worship service at 10:00 a.m. followed by the 11:00 a.m. service where there is no regular preaching but where our congregants get to share their stories and their talents for God.

If you did not sign up to become part of the program and would like to participate, please call Pastor L J as he is the one in-charge this coming Sunday..  Please give him a call at (626) 833-7314 or email him at LJDijamco@gmail.com.

....to say " I'm sorry" it may be helpful to you to share this burden of guilt with someone you trust, such as a counselor, your pastor, or your spouse.You will need to be specific and completely candid.  Pray with that person about this burden. In such cases prayer and the presence of an understanding, affirming individual will provide the relief you desperately need.

Think about the Israelite Uriah, Bathsheba's husband, whom King David indirectly murdered to perpetuate his adultery and hypocrisy.  The King's guilt was enormous, and about a year after Uriah's death, he caved in, he broke down and turned to Nathan the prophet to pour out his soul. He confessed, "I have sinned..."  Nathan quickly reminded him that "the Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die."

Death or geographical distance can disrupt the critical act of reconciliation between two people, but God's grace is even greater.  If your conscience burns over an apology never offered or forgiveness never extended, it's NOT TOO LATE to bring it to God and find peace.

Moving Ahead of God 

"The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her" (Gen 16:2).

 

 Have you ever felt that you were supposed to receive something from God but it just hasn't materialized? You wait and wait until finally you decide that maybe God wants you to help out the situation. This is exactly what happened in the case of Abraham and Sarah.  

 

God had promised them a son, but as years passed by they were still without a child. They took their eyes off the One who had made the promise and decided to take matters into their own hands. So, Abraham lay with Sarah's maidservant, Hagar, and she bore a son, Ishmael (see Genesis 16). The son of promise, Isaac, came later through Sarah, just like God had promised. However, the modern day conflict between the Arabs and Israelis is the fruit of this act of disobedience that occurred centuries ago.  

 

I recall a time when I launched a business enterprise only to fall on my face. It had all the hallmarks of a Godly venture, but I was premature and guilty of presumption instead of faith. The resulting financial losses are lasting reminders of a decision that was based on a horizontal choice instead of a vertical dependence that required patience until God said, "Go."  

 

The way to avoid making "Ishmael" decisions is to seek God fully on the matter in prayer, be in an accountable relationship with your spouse and close associates who know you well, and gain agreement through two or more people. The Bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"(Jeremiah 17:9).  

 

Whenever we want something strongly, it is a dangerous place because we no longer look at the matter objectively with a willingness to change our viewpoint. We have to approach a matter as being "dead" to the issue in order to fully see God's perspective.   

 

(Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.)