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NEWSLETTER WEDNESDAY EDITION
March 7, 2012 |
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Join Us
at the MEN'S BREAKFAST MEETING
Saturday, March 10, at 8:30 a.m.
Fellowship Hall |
Greetings!
"For everything there is a season." (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT)
Even in our humanity, there are seasons that come to us, not in any specific order, perhaps, and not with any particular logic either, about how long or how deep or how wide that season is going to be. Just the same, we do experience such personal seasons and how we deal with them is what matters.
We read and hear about our church's mission and vision, but what is our personal life mission? Do we have a dream or a vision for ourselves, or for our families? How do we intend to share the Good News that we know -- in the marketplace, in our places of work and business, with our friends and neighbors, and with other family members?
When do we till the soil? When do we plant? When do we cultivate, fertilize, prune or trim? When do we harvest? Whatever season your heart is in, there may be hidden opportunities. You might want to prune back unneeded responsibility. There might be the burden of useless activity that you can exchange for simplicity. Or, there may be things to cut and burn, and use the ashes to make the soil richer. Still, you might find things to graft on to what you already have, to make them "take", grow and bloom.
Let's rethink our spiritual lives from the perspective of seasons, and do what's appropriate for each season that comes our way.
The Church Staff |
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FELLOWSHIP DINNER
Third Tuesday of the Month 
Get ready! Get set! Our monthly fund-raising fellowship dinner is about two weeks away (March 20). The venue has not been set as yet, but it won't be long before it's time to go, again.
Please make your reservations with Johnny or Nellie Chua (909-228-2162). And again, please invite others to come with you! |
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CALLING ALL MEN The Older Ones, the Not-So-Old, the Young!
Our Men's Breakfast Meeting is going to be this coming Saturday morning, at 8:30 a.m.
We've had great meetings the first two times we had them. Let's make this third meeting just as good or even better!
All our men, young and not-so-young, are welcome. Fathers, bring your male children with you. Our invited guest had to make a non-scheduled trip to Taiwan but we will do something else. If you have an experience or a short story or anecdote to share, you may do so at our meeting.
Bring your favorite breakfast item(s) with you as you have in the past. We'll all have a good time for fellowship and bonding. |
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YOUTH CORNER Fun Things Ahead Our young people will resume their LOL (Living Out Loud) activities this Friday coming up. They are back exploring the "Keys to the Kingdom" series. The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m.
Pastor L J announced more details about the Jesus Culture phenom to be held at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on August 2,3, and 4. Although geared towards the youth, all are invited. He indicated that if a group from Gospel Life would like to go and be seated together (as this program will have assigned seating) you'd bring your $85 ticket fee for the three-day event this Sunday and let him buy the tickets for the group.
Make preparations, too, for the young adult retreat in January, 2013, at Lake Arrowhead. The expenses will likely be about $125 per person. Pastor L J is working on the details.
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EASTER IS COMING
Prep Progresses
We'd like to see our Easter Program on Sunday, April 8, to be well attended and significant for those who will come.
Preparations are in progress for the program and practice will be held Sunday afternoons till Easter. There is a need for more Easter Choir participation especially for the men. More male voices are needed.
Please make it a point to bring a visitor or two with you on Easter. If each one does this, there will be no reason not to double or triple our attendance on that day. Not only will we have many present, but we can truly make a great bridge event of our Easter program. That's one day we can bring the community into our campus!
All four lunch groups will pool their resources together for the Fellowship Lunch on Easter. |
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MARKETPLACE MINISTRY
Spiritual Strongholds
"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." - 2 Corinthians 10:4
One of the great discoveries I made in later years in my walk with God has to do with living in victory over generational strongholds. The Bible speaks of punishing the children for the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generations. (See Exodus 20:5.) The only way out of living under the curses of generational strongholds is to acknowledge them before the Father and repent of their reign in our lives. This breaks the curse's future effects.
A stronghold is a fortress of thoughts that controls and influences our attitudes. They color how we view certain situations, circumstances, or people. When these thoughts and activities become habitual, we allow a spiritual fortress to be built around us. We become so used to responding to the "voice" of that spirit, that its abode in us is secure. All of this happens on a subconscious level.
As a businessman, I discovered that I had been influenced by a generational stronghold of insecurity and fear that was manifested in control. This subconscious fear motivated me to become a workaholic, to seek recognition through activities, to control others' behavior to avoid failure, and to have a relationship with God that was activity-based instead of relationally-based. One day God brought about a number of catastrophic events that forced me to look at what was behind these events. I found that the influence of these strongholds was at the core of these symptoms. The Bible speaks of this war on our souls.
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ( Read 2 Corinthians 10:3,5-6).
The steps to freedom for me came when someone shared that these were sins that I was harboring, and in order to walk free of their influence, I needed to repent of them. It was through the power of the cross that I no longer needed to be subjugated by their presence. Once I took this step, I began to walk free of their influences. Besides salvation, this became the most important discovery in my entire Christian walk. My relationship to Christ changed immediately. I began to hear God's voice. I began to trust Christ in areas I never thought possible. I could truly experience the love of Christ for the first time.
This knowledge helped me in business as well. One day I was in the middle of a contract negotiation with another Christian businessman. A lawyer had jumped in the middle of the negotiation. My friend began to surface many old feelings that were a source of pain from his past. When I perceived that a stronghold of insecurity and fear was at the core of his response, I interrupted his argumentative discussion with me and said with a very forceful tone, "I am no longer going to listen to the spirit of insecurity that is speaking through you right now! If you don't refrain from this, I am going to leave!" My friend was taken back. He looked at me quite startled. After a few moments, he agreed with my diagnosis. We talked through what he was feeling and completed our negotiation without further incident.
What are the true motivations of your heart? Have you ever looked deeply at these motivations? You might find that these subconscious motivations may be preventing you from experiencing the fullness of Christ in your life. Ask Him to reveal these and then surrender those strongholds to Him. Let Him take care of them.
(Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.)
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CHURCH GREETERS' SCHEDULE
March 11 - Ruby & Ding Dijamco
March 18 - Linda & Danny Santos
March 25 - Vonnie & Tito Cabrera
April 1 - Penny & Conrad Miranda
April 8 - Eunice Alinsod
April 15 - Lelit & Tony Luciano |
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COMING UP
Wednesday, March 7, 7:30 p.m. - Intercessors' Meeting - Fellowship Hall
Friday, March 9, 7 p.m. - LOL (Living Out Loud) - Pastor L J Dijamco
Saturday, March 10, 8:30 a.m. - Men's Breakfast Meeting - Fellowship Hall
Sunday, March 11, 10 a.m. - Praise and Worship 11 a.m. - Good News Hour - Pastor Hansel - "Personal Dreams" 1:30 p.m. - Practice for Easter Program - Natalie Orzame
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MAILING ADDRESS:
436 Crestwood Lane
Walnut, CA 91789
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| MEDITATION |
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Dear Lord, I am your servant. This world is not my home and I look forward to the day when I am no longer held by the chains of human frailty and earthly concerns.
Thank You for allowing me, while I am still on this earth, to be free from the strongholds that threaten my Christian life and testimony. Destroy all of these strongholds, Lord, even those that I may not know about.
Guide and direct me in everything, and keep me from harm and evil. Thank You for reminding me that the Holy Spirit lives within me, that You have overcome for me, that I might be a blessing to You and to those around me. In Jesus' name, Amen. |
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