A Part Time Brother’s Keeper

This is a true story, happened a couple of years ago:

A man’s car is unable to start due to a dead battery he asked a UPCI minister for a jump start, without missing a beat the minister refused. The reason? He refused on the grounds that the man’s Toyota may actually kill all of  the electronics in his fairly new 2006 Acura. The minister gave the man a ride home but he had to leave his car behind.

Need I say more.

And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother?  And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?

- Genesis 4:9

In Regards To The Subject of Truth

We all know that art is not the truth, art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.

- Pablo Picasso

I love art, those of you who know me to any extent know about my fascination with photographic art. I love the works of some very well known & not so well known photographers but I’m not limited to just photography I also admire the works of Rembrandt, Van Gogh & a list of others. Truly fascinating works of art have been the center of discussion for hundreds of years. Mankind’s ability to create art is without boundaries it seems.

Which leads us to a question, was Picasso speaking truth as he knew it when he quoted that famous line or did his philosophical thinking get the best of him? There are times I believe that too much knowledge can hurt an individual.  Knowledge has a way of separating you from reality. I mean really? Is art truth or not, is it a lie or is it just art?

According to good ole Pablo art is not truth. He then goes on to state that art is a lie that makes us “realize” the truth. This raises another question, if art is not yet created how could it possibly be a lie, we therefore must come to the conclusion that art in its uncreated state is & must be truth, is it not? Or maybe he was speaking of uncreated artwork (the lie) becoming realized (truth) in its finished state. Blah, blah,blah,blah…my brain hurts now.

At any rate I had an interesting thought on the subject of truth, if a Christian speaks truth about a matter to a man of  God & that truth is somehow construed as “your truth”  by that minister, is it still truth or does it become just your assumption? If the preacher then chooses to bring his  lawerly,  scholarly thinking into a matter as a means of bringing about a godly ” resolution” in which he chooses to downplay truth to the point that it covers up a lie & then bases your truth on assumptions, how then is a godly decision made? But notice I did not say he brought the word of God into the matter, he brought his carnal, human, lawerly, scholarly thinking into the matter, is this important. Yes! Does it change truth? No! But it will certainly determine how any given situation is handled.

Ah! But we then have the dilemma of two truths, or make that three truths, yours, the other persons & Gods. So what then is truth? Truth is everyone has truth, but when you align your truth to God’s truth there is then harmony in your walk with God. Truth matters to God much more then truth will ever matter to a man, even a preachers assumptions against truth hold no water. The fact of the matter is God will vindicate an honest person & expose lies. I believe this not because God hates the liar but because hates the lie. There is justice in this life & there is justice in the life to come.

I guess in some ways truth has the ability to run circles around every man, to the point that you may even start believing that truth has no relevance. We can all attest to the fact that the subject of what is true is broad & deep, the bottom line is when it comes to truth everyone & their dog has an opinion. But truth still stands. Everyone may have an opinion about this that & the other but there is still this matter of  truth. We should seek after it, its a nagging that never seems to just go away. What matters most is how does God see your handling of the truth that has been given to you? What does he see in you? What is in you?  The book of Psalm has a verse that states the following:

Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.  – Psalm 85:10

How poetic, mercy & honesty are together, righteousness & peace have kissed.

Until next time.

Carlos

On Being A Friend

A recent string of situations have occurred that have puzzled me. In fact they have out right bothered me. I’ll deal with one here. I heard a recent ” leader” mention to a church youth group that they were leaders & not their friends. This inconsiderate comment almost knocked me off of my seat. Mind you this was brought up after the youth group was asked by this leader how they can better help them.  One of the youth mentioned that they wanted friendship. With a response like that, no wonder youth & people in general don’t want to be part of a church. I reckon that anyone with that mindset has the wrong thinking on leadership & anyone that is teaching leadership with this type of thinking also has the wrong mindset.

Thing is I don’t believe this is being taught outright to some of these youth leaders but its a form of subliminal teaching that some of these youth leaders are somehow picking up on from other more seasoned church leaders. For the most part people in church leadership mean well, I mean don’t they always? People attend church for the sole purpose of worship, friendship & to be part of something greater than themselves. But sometimes the underlying feeling is that leadership is just that…leadership!

After all from my short experience as a Christian I can honestly say that this is my perception. There is you the congregation & there are the leaders! Over the years I’ve made plenty of loving friends in the church & as hard as I’ve tried, in some cases some people in church are not the friendly type but you love them anyway, right?

A few questions come to mind, one of which is what is the definition of Christian leader? Are Gods leaders just that? Are we to have a relationship with God leaders or is there a supernatural mystical separation between leaders in the church & the people that sit in the pews? Are the people in the congregation so full of sin that your required to separate yourself from them? The way some of these leaders behave towards people in the congregation you’d think this is so. But nothing can be further from the truth.

According to Christ, leadership is not so much about leading but about being a servant, period. And yes that includes the youth group. How can anyone even proclaim to be a leader when they can’t even befriend people in the church? These leaders walk around as if the license they carry is what gives them their stature. No, I believe that true leadership coupled with the love of Christ builds friendships not dictatorships, servants or slaves. The way some people in church are treated you’d think they were slaves or second class citizens. Mind you this doesn’t go unnoticed by God.

If you can’t befriend anyone in church there is something wrong with you…I’ll say it again, if you are in leadership & you can’t be a friend to the Christian people in that church there is something wrong with you! And if this is the case you need to go & reevaluate your walk with Christ. I’ll also throw this in for good measure if you can’t so much as befriend a Christian brother or sister in the house of God, than there is truly something wrong with you both emotionally & spiritually, and you need to make it right.

A true leader never has to ask for people to submit to “authority” instead of asking for people to submit, what you need to be doing is re-evaluate the reason as to why your having to ask people to submit.  Ask yourself why? If you have to periodically remind people from the pulpit that they need to submit to your so called “authority” than there’s obviously something wrong with your leadership. People don’t follow leaders they don’t know! Would  you follow someone you don’t know? Even Christ proclaimed that. I can honestly attest to the fact that there are a few church leaders I don’t know. It’s the weirdest thing really. But its the truth! I don’t follow people I don’t know, never have never will & neither will people off the street.

The first time I heard that a Christian was required to “submit to authority” was in an UPCI church.  I thought the request was odd. Then a couple of questions came to mind as I thought on it, “was the person requesting submission an insecure leader or a cult leader seeking a following? I still hear it periodically, thing is I never see anyone following this person. My experience has been that one particular leader lets his congregation know from the pulpit that he is not perfect as a ruse to continue to justify his jerkish behavior all the while asking for submission. What a hypocrite! What a jerk! Sad thing is they know their hypocrites & will tell you so from the pulpit.

On any given Sunday people, leaders will stand there with their hands in the air singing “I am a friend of God” tears coming down their faces but when it comes down to it, some don’t befriend anyone! How superficial! How fake! And even sadder is that it makes a mockery of Christ’s true example of love, compassion & friendship toward His creation.

So how does one befriend a person? How do you befriend another Christian in the church who is in the body of Christ, leader or not? Easy you love them with Christ’s love. True love befriends others, true love does not keep others at arms length & still expecting them to follow your lead when your a stupid jerk! If a following is what some of these leaders are wanting than maybe they need to go to Hollywood not the church of the living God. The pulpit is not your forum to seek groupies or dispute your grievances in a “spiritual manner” my brothers.

God Bless!

How To Get Devoured

My Younger Brother Praying - He had not stepped into a church in over 18 years.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8

As most of you know I love many types & styles of photography. I was viewing photos on Pbase, it’s a site that hosts all types of photo galleries & I came across this one gallery where a pride of lions devoured this zebra in under an hour.

The photographer claims that the zebra came down to the river to drink some water, I suspect that the zebra either did not pay attention to its surroundings or either didn’t notice all the lions in the area, either way one thing is clear. The zebra had separated itself from the rest of the herd & in so doing became an easy target for the lions.

Have you ever heard the term “There is safety in numbers”?  Let’s assume that the zebra would’ve walked up to the river with a few of its pals & that their combined instincts would have made them all more aware of all that was taking place around them. Would the zebra have been an easy target? Would it have turned itself into an all you can eat buffet? I’d like to think not.

But you see there is an analogy & a bit of wisdom to be gained from the demise of the lone zebra. In many ways this applies to Christians who for some reason or another make a decision not to be a part of a church body or associate with like minded believers; this is not to say that being by oneself will cause you to be devoured by Satan but my sense is that being by oneself exposes you to even more spiritual danger & increases your chances of being spiritually devoured. The word devour means, to eat up greedily, to destroy, consume, or waste, to take in eagerly.

The bible describes Satan as a roaring lion. Lions by nature will always look for the weakest & loneliest animal in a herd; they are always searching for an easy meal. They are opportunistic creatures. Satan is the same exact way; he will search for a weak Christian & calmly wait for the right moment to attack. A Christian can make a decision to go off by himself, but who will be there to help him get up if he falls? Who will come to his aid?

In Ecclesiastes we read the following scripture:

And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. – Ecclesiastes 4:12

It basically states that being alone and apart you will be broken, united & combined you’ll be able to withstand an adversary. A group of praying believers are more powerful than one praying believer. There is safety in numbers friend!

Allow me to share a thought or two.

I completely understand why non believers don’t associate with Christians or even bother getting near a church. You can’t blame them really. What I find more disturbing is when you have Christians not wanting to associate with other Christians, than you know there are bigger underlying issues within the body.

Apostolic Christians can sometimes be some of the worst people to deal with & I mean that. Maybe you’ve been hurt by someone in a church. I’ve only been a Christian & a part of this thing for about 8 years & in those years I’ve experienced some of the downsides of being a Christian. Yeah! There’s downsides did you know that? For example when I first started attending church I was called a backslider by a minister in the church & for whatever reason he felt the need to call me out in front of the whole congregation. I guess he felt the need to finish off my testimony & give his version of it or maybe he wanted to take it upon himself to feed me a slice of some humble pie or maybe even remind me of where I came from but wait I thought that was Satan’s job.

Sadly, sometimes even ministers & people in church do Satan’s work. Satan is everywhere, just waiting for any open door.

Afterward I thought about this minister & what had occurred & I asked myself some questions. The first question I asked myself was, did I do something wrong? Why did he feel the urge to call me out, did he not like my testimony? Was I not eloquent enough for him? Maybe I wasn’t holy enough for him. Why did he do that too me in front of the whole congregation? Could he not have approached me after service pulled me to the side & say it to my face? Or maybe it just made him feel better about himself. Or maybe he wanted to feel more authoritative & he wanted to demonstrate his authority before all? Is that the way new converts should be treated after giving a testimony?  When you know nothing about a persons past should a leader in a church embarrass a child of God to make themselves look good? This man of God just had no clue. How foolish. I feel sorry for people with his mindset, thing is there are many people like him in churches all over this country. In all their learning & self righteousness they may never get it. I’m not going to name that person so as not to embarrass them but they clearly have issues to work out.

I find it sad that people who’ve been raised in church all their lives & have been cocooned by most of this worlds evils find no problem in pointing out a small teeny, tiny speck in a new converts life and all the while never looking at themselves & seeing that they have an entire telephone pole along with all the power lines in both their eyes.

Nevertheless, after all these years I’m no longer angry about it; but I can tell you one thing. I’ve never forgotten about it. And every time I see this man, shake his hand or talk to him, Satan’s always there to remind me of what he did. But this has never caused me to waiver in my relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I forgave & moved on. I could have easily allowed it to fester within me & take me out of church but it didn’t. I’ve never forgotten that I am a son of God!! You are a son & daughter of God! And we were created in His image not in the image of those who impose man made doctrines.

I wasn’t raised in this, and I’m so glad I wasn’t born & raised in it. I may have been a different person who’s to know.  But if you were, that’s great! I’m not knocking you for it. I’ve just had a few negative experiences with some of these types of people. I’m sure you know some, their involved in the church & also involved in ministry. For the most part many in the church are God fearing, loving people who genuinely have a heart for the church & the work of Christ.

The self righteous people can be very insensitive & ignorant at times. They are prone to being quick & point out another believer’s lack of spiritual maturity. In a sense they become just like the Pharisees of Jesus day. The Pharisees were self righteous religious leaders. Let me say that again they were self righteous religious leaders. They were self righteous leaders. They were religious! They were leaders! They saw the wrong in others with a God centered eye. They lacked sensitivity, they lacked love, they lacked mercy, they lacked grace, they lacked a heart for the people, they lacked a heart for the apple of God’s eye, His hand formed creation. The self righteous were merciless in their condemnation. And likewise Christ was merciless in His judgment against them.

The self righteous typically don’t seem to understand what those of us who have been on the outside coming in have had to deal with prior to making our way into an altar of repentance. I mean you’re attacked, broken & almost destroyed by all sorts of sin on the outside but than you come inside to what is supposed to be a place of sanctuary & your attacked, broken & destroyed inside the sanctuary of God by the people of God. It’s ironic in some sense. You may not know what that person sitting next you is going through or has been through. And yet sometimes these people just don’t hold back.

I’m just being honest people, it’s the truth! And some of you know what I’m saying is true.

Even so I’ve seen it & I’ve experienced my share of dealing with the Pharisee types, hypocrites, cheaters, liars, haters, racists, bigots & many types of self righteous people who proclaim to love Christ. Some of these people are church leaders & ministers. Let me also be clear with what I’m saying here because I don’t want anything I post to be taken out of context. It is what it is and I mean what I’m saying.

The Christian walk is what it is. But a big part of that is that you also make it what it is. The end result is no matter who does what, your still responsible for making sure things are right between you & God. It shouldn’t matter who doesn’t say hi to you. It shouldn’t matter who ignores you, it shouldn’t matter if someone chooses not to talk to you. It shouldn’t matter. What are you losing from not talking to a certain person who ordinarily wouldn’t have talked to you out in public anyway? Who cares? What are you losing from it? Nothing. Let it go, move on. Regardless of who’s saying what, regardless of who’s doing what, stay true! Stay true to God & stay true to yourself. Don’t get distracted; keep your eyes on Christ. Whatever you do, don’t go off on your own, stay connected. By opening that door up you’re giving the enemy a place to come in & attack you.

Now that I’ve shared that with you let me also be clear with this next comment. There is in the church a small minority of believers. There is a small group of believers within this body that truly love Christ, truly love His word & truly have a love for others. And this friend makes all the difference in this nasty, dirty sin filled world.

There is a remnant. There is hope & there is love within the body of Christ. I encourage you to find these types of people around you, stick to these people, surround yourself with these people & you will be safe, don’t harden your heart, its okay to get angry but do not sin. In the end forgive & move on.

The Apostle Paul quoted God in the book of Romans where it says:

But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to [the image of] Baal. – Romans 11:4

Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. – Romans 11:5

The Apostle Paul proclaimed to the Christians of his day by reminding them of the prophet Elijah that in Elijah’s time there was a remnant of believers who had not bowed their knee to Baal. God told Elijah that He had reserved a remnant. Elijah thought he was the only person serving God. Elijah thought he was the only man being faithful to God. Elijah thought he was the only righteous man who had not bowed to Baal. Elijah thought. Elijah was wrong! God had to remind Elijah that he was not the only person serving God. God had to remind Elijah that he was not the only faithful man on earth. God had to remind Elijah that he was not the only righteous one. Likewise Paul during the time of this writing, wanted to reminded the Christian believers in Rome that there was also a remnant in their time. And just as in Elijah & Paul’s day I would like to proclaim the same message that in the year 2008 this same message holds true, there is a remnant among us today. There is a remnant of Christian believers who will not bow down to Baal.

No matter who you’re dealing with, no matter what you’re dealing with, no matter whose hurt you, it just doesn’t matter. We need to hold fast to what is righteous & true. We need to intentionally, persistently & consistently hold on to the word of God & what is right.  Stay connected, don’t wander off alone. Don’t be as that zebra that foolishly walked away from the protection of the herd. In so doing you may find yourself inside the stomach of the devourer. I don’t know about you but I’m not planning on turning into anyone’s lunchtime buffet.

Stay faithful, stay strong & be encouraged in the Lord your God.

If you’re still interested in viewing a lone zebra get devoured you can view the photo gallery by following this link here: http://www.pbase.com/chillmanafrica/zebrakill

God Bless!!

Carlos

Us

Father's Day Photo

I forgot to mention that this is my father’s day portrait with my kiddos, my wife was our photographer. We took this photo in our backyard.

I was laughing so hard because we got Catherine to count off so my wife could take the photo at the count of 3; Catherine kept counting all the way up to 15, (she’s the little one on my shoulders) We had a good laugh during the little mini session.

World Wide Blanket of Prayer

The latest headlines leave no doubt as to where this world is headed; the earth convulses & expands with death & violence. Their seems to be no end in sight to the calamities that continue to come upon the earth, wave after wave of earth shaking events are upon us, the hearts of men weaken, mothers cry out over the loss of their children. Young men are dying in battle; innocents are caught in the crossfire. In another part of the world a young man struggles with his addiction to drugs, his body is weakened from years of abuse. Next door a marriage & family is falling apart due to infidelity. In another part of town a woman considers suicide, someone else plans to shed blood. And on & on & on it continues. You’d think that these descriptions were pulled from a fictional book but the sad reality is these are some of the latest headlines which are repeated on a daily basis.

A question comes to mind, should we allow it? Do we look the other way like so many other times before or can we do something about it? As Christians I believe we can.

As Christians we have the Holy Spirit of God residing within us, we have the ability to touch the face of God with prayers that will touch & change the lives of untold millions. A Christian that has a prayer life understands the power that can come down from heaven, we are commanded to seek the face of God in daily prayer. We understand that it is a necessity that we enter our prayer closet daily. In doing so we are near to Gods heart.

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. – Matthew 21:22

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. – James 5:16

Jesus continues to say:

Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. – Luke 21:36

It is one thing to pray for your own needs, It is quite another to pray for the needs of others. It’s understandable that often times we pray for family, friends, other church members as well as the occasional stranger. But how many times have you walked along a street, been in a store, at work or have stopped at a light & have seen the countless people that cross your path on a daily basis. The masses of people pass by in a blinding blur, it is a seen that occurs over & over on a daily basis. It is a moment in time that can never repeat itself.

How many times have you prayed for someone other than yourself, have you ever given thought to the trials that may be going on in the lives of others? Allow me to ask you; have you allowed yourself to even consider the loneliness, the pain & hurt that other people deal with on a daily basis? Have you considered the spiritual hunger that some might have. And I say some because not all are interested in the eternal.

One day I found myself wondering about the masses of people around the globe, if you can imagine for a few seconds the enormity of praying for such a thing. My mind is boggled at the very thought of it, but I have asked myself; is it beyond the realm of the impossible to think & believe that such a thing is possible? Can we as Christians pray for such an enormous amount of people? Will our prayers even matter? Will they be heard? Would you dare believe that your prayers can make a difference?

Close your eyes for a few seconds & imagine for a just a moment the number of people who have passed on this earth. It is estimated that from the beginning of mans early existence until now there has been an estimated 125 billion people born on planet earth. Most of these people have come & gone since, currently there is an estimated 6, 674, 025, 999 billion people on earth as I type this. By the year 2050 their will be an estimated 9 billion people on earth. This begs the question, spiritually speaking where have all those people who came before us gone? Where are they now? And most importantly where will the current 6 billion plus people find themselves in 100 years. Heaven or Hell?

Will prayers touch all the sick people that our planet holds, will prayers help all those who are trapped in every type of addiction known to man, will they touch & change the drug addicts all over this planet who are consumed by their addiction on a daily basis, will prayers stop those who are considering suicide & even those who are considering or planning the murder of another human being who is created in the image of God, will prayers comfort the orphan or the little child who is being sexually abused by those who will bring such destruction on an innocent life, will prayers deliver the sexually addicted men & women all over this dying world, the Johns & the prostitutes who service them, will prayers stop those who commit adultery against a spouse? Is it even possible to pray for so many people at the same time & have results? To these questions I say yes!!

Friend, have you given thought? The book of John the Revelator reveals the location & the eternal results of all the prayers which have gone up before God from the time that man first began to offer prayers to the Ancient of Days till the time that we are in His presence.

And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. – Revelation 5:8

And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. – Revelation 8:3-4

What a wonderful place for our prayers to be located, the prayers of all the saints go up as sweet smelling odours before God, continually. We can only imagine, but to know that our prayers are continually before His presence & His throne is beyond imagination. Our prayers are as sweet incense unto the Lord, they are in His presence forever & ever & ever.

Friends, I ask that you join me in a world wide blanket of prayer. Let us lift up before God every man; woman & child on earth right now, lift up all the people that are on this earth. Lift up all 6 billion plus people. The Lord of heaven & earth can reach down from where He is & change lives, do you believe that? I do! As you & I pray our prayers will go up to Him daily.

1st We must first repent, ask for forgiveness for your own sins, pray for falling short of the mark. We all fail; forgive those who have wronged you in one form or another. Forgive…period!

2nd Praise the Lord for who He is, just praise Him right now. Hallelujah!!

3rd Thank Him for all He’s already done in your life & all He’s going to do in your life & in the lives of others.

4th Begin to lift up the broken bodies of the dying & those sick with disease, lift up the homeless, lift up every man, woman & child dying of hunger, lift up the enslaved & abused children, lift up the broken marriages, the broken hearts of men, women & children, lift up the broken families & homes, lift up the neglected, lift up the abused, lift up the outcasts of society, lift up the ignored, lift up the shunned, the forgotten, lift up those who are trapped in addictions of all types imaginable, lift up before God the broken men, women & children, lift up the broken hearts & broken spirits of men, women & children, lift up those who have been convicted unjustly, lift up those who are being persecuted, executed & confined in prisons of all types, lift up those who are considering suicide, lift up those who are planning on committing thefts, murders, frauds, scams, lift up the liars, the corrupt, lift up the atheists, agnostics, unbelievers, doubters, hypocrites & nae-sayers, lift up those who are fearful, the proud, the shameless, heartless & unloved. Continually lift up all the saints, the church leaders & the church of the living God.

And finally thank the Lord again & praise Him because He’s worthy.

I believe that if we continue to pray in such a manner that not only will you be blessed as an individual but I also believe that the Lord will be pleased that we love enough to pray for those whom this world will throw away, these very same people are precious in His eyes. We must do all that we can do to reach out to people everywhere. Be a witness daily reach out at work, at school, in your church, on your street, at the park & library. Reach out wherever you find yourself & wherever you find an opportunity. Don’t try and understand it, just do it!

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. – Matthew 25:40

God bless!

Carlos

I’m Not The Greatest Among You

Have you ever actually read your cup of Starbucks coffee? I had no idea “The Way I See”by Colin Powell was on there! I’ve also read another one with the subject of homosexuality on it which is another subject for another day.

I am sitting in my truck on my way home, trying to get a handle on the 25 ways to be a servant leader. (failing miserably at all 25 mind you & then I happen to glance down at my coffee cup (Breakfast Blend) and realize that I could actually could do a better job at #273 as well. But what I thought was very cool…& what caught my attention was the first sentence “All children need a laptop……..”

So now I have 26 things to get a handle on! Scott Ford, Alltel CEO opens each meeting. He said a servant leader is the kind of guy that walks into a room and instead of saying/thinking “Here I am” says “there YOU are”. I loved that!

What surprises me the most is that as much as I’ve tried to do what’s right, I always seem to fall short at most of what I do. Being a servant leader is not about leading at all, its about becoming a servant to the needs of others…period!

The Lord Jesus summed it up this way:

“But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant” – Matthew 23:11

These words of Christ were exemplified in His life’s mission here on Earth. As Jesus addressed the multitudes and His disciples, He was setting the standard for all who would follow after Him throughout history. Today, in the twenty-first century, this biblical mandate remains unchanged; thus, every Christian is called by Christ to be a servant.

God bless!

He Just Is

He is known as the Ancient of Days & He just is because He says He is.  Any questions?

Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD [is] his name: – Amos 5:8

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. – Revelation 22:13

Image photographed w/Hubble Telescope, Courtesy of NASA

Documenting Apostolic Christians

Documenting Apostolic Christians In The 21st Century is an investigative photographic study of the U.P.C.I ( United Pentecostal Church International ) & the Christians who make up the organization, its  a documentary covering the day to day activities associated with their faith.

I seek to portray this particular group of Christians for who they are as a people; with their varying forms of preaching, teaching praise & worship from both outside & inside the many different churches I seek to capture the truths behind their faith. I also seek to counter the negative views sometimes held by others of Apostolic Christians, in some ways it is a public relations campaign which seeks to portray the presence of the Spirit of God in a group of people who truly desire to be Christ like in all aspects of life. Not that Apostolic Christians need a public relations campaign, I just thought it would sound nice so I decided to throw that in. The truth is there are many, many loving & caring people in U.P.C.I I have many friends & people whom I love & who over the years have become some of the closest friends that I have ever come to know.

The following scripture is true of some Apostolic people…I kid you not!!

” By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” – John 13:35

Loving one another is the key to this worlds many ills, wouldn’t you agree?

Through my photographs, I strive to debunk the myths and shed a new light on an ordinary unique group of people who seek nothing more than to worship their God according the teachings of the scriptures.

I hope that my photographs have some redeeming and positive effect on those who pass through this blog, I know not all will agree but I’m not concerned with those who do not agree, this is not a agree or disagree issue.

This is about a photographer who’s ultimate goal is to reveal truth in photographs.

God bless!!

Outside Your Birdcage

Water

As I walked yesterday I became so thirsty from all the effort I put into my walk, I had worked myself into a sweat so much so that my skin glistened; the humidity in the air didn’t help any. I was at the point of exhaustion & dehydration my mouth & throat felt completely dry & parched. I failed to bring water along & I had forgotten to bring money, I was a good distance from my house so the idea that I could just return home was out of the question. As I continued walking I remember saying ” Lord I am so thirsty ” I looked around in hopes that I would find a water fountain; but as fate would have it there was none to be found, continuing my walk, again I said ” I am so thirsty God.” I said it at least one more time before I made my way back to my truck.

Once at my truck I hoped that I had some loose change somewhere in my cup holder or floorboard but again I was out of luck as they say. I looked on the ground in the hopes that I would come across one dollar, five dollars or maybe one-hundred dollars & again nothing. As I walked around the truck I happened to look over & I noticed a pigeon on the ground a few feet away from me. I observed as the pigeon went about its business of eating, its little head bobbed up & down as it continued eating the seeds off of the ground as if there were no tomorrow. The pigeon never bothered to look up at me; immediately the Holy Ghost spoke to me & He brought to my attention to where the scripture reads:

“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” – Matthew 6:26

For just a few seconds I remember thinking to myself, God is talking to me…He’s talking to me! So I listened & for just a moment I heard His voice speaking to me. And as this scripture kept playing in my heart I accepted it as the Lords confirmation regarding some other issues we have been dealing with, He was reassuring me through His word.

I walked into a laundromat in hopes of finding a faucet or water fountain…yep! you guessed it nothing! As I made my way back to the truck up against the building in a grassy area I noticed a long green water hose. As soon as I saw that hose my brain screamed, Water!! I followed the hose & behind some bushes I saw it, the glorious outdoor water faucet. As I made my way behind the bushes I was hoping that it worked, as I turned the knob the precious water within its pipes came forth. I was so glad at the thought of finding it & equally as happy at not having to strike the faucet twice as Moses struck the rock. I’m sure the Lord would not have been pleased with me after he had just spoken to me. Perish the thought, I’d like to see the promise land. As I stooped myself down to reach the faucet I cupped my hands & started gulping the water down, I felt this satisfying euphoria come over me. Mid way through my gulping frenzy I stopped, took a breath & said “Praise Be To My God!” & I continued drinking until I was satisfied & had my fill. I washed my face, my arms, hands & the back of my neck. I felt so refreshed, so alive!

As I raised myself up I realized that as insignificant as it seemed the Lord God of Heaven had provided for me in the most insignificant of ways & He provided for me during a time of desperate need. I mean sure it wasn’t a mind blowing miracle & I understand that; but he provided nonetheless, now you may say well all you had to do was look but you see my point is that regardless of how I happened to come across the water the Lord was in it anyway. His word, His voice they spoke to me anyhow. Now, if you don’t get that you’ll get it on the way home just think about for awhile. How many times have you been at a point in your life where you’ve found yourself in desperate need? I have found myself in desperate need many, many, many times & I stress the word many. And each time the Lord Jesus has provided for me & my family. He has meet my needs each & every time.

So many times we limit God & we limit His ability to provide for us. We look down & we look out of our own personal birdcage so to speak & as we look out we see all the other sparrows flying about going about their own business, the other sparrows go about bobbing their little heads up & down just taking what the God of heaven has provided for them & they do it without a care in the world. We fret & we worry about almost everything. But the God of Heaven says:

” Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? – Matthew 6:25

I can’t even begin to tell you about all the needs that I’ve had & continue to have in my life. If I were to start telling you I’d depress you to the point where you’d stop talking to me.

In the overall scheme of things, all of those cares do not matter to God. They might matter to you but they don’t matter to Him who owns & controls all. Those situations in your life that keep you up at night do not matter to the creator who cares about you, He loves you more than all the sparrows on this planet combined & yet our faith falters at times.

Again the Lord says:

“Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? – Matthew 6:27

The Master says “Take no thought…”

God bless,

Spanish Rally – Iglesia Apostolica Restauracion Divina – Pasadena, Tx April 5th, 2008

I joined Pastor Bernard on one of his busy days, his schedule was taking him to Pasadena to preach at a Spanish rally that included many Spanish speaking UPCI churches from the Houston/Pasadena area. Its always a pleasure to travel with my pastor he is a man of God in every sense of the word, I respect him highly as my pastor, a leader & I always look forward to hearing him preach. Pastor Bernard is not a man of many words but he more than makes up for it by being a faithful man of God who’s heart is after the salvation of men & the things that pertain to the kingdom of God.

Occasionally I help pastor drive to Houston & other places around Texas, this time around though I also had the pleasure of hearing him preach to the many Spanish speaking believers. I also had the opportunity of documenting this large gathering of ministers & followers of Jesus Christ during the 1st night of the rally. This all happened at Iglesia Apostolica Restauracion Divina hosted by Pastor Isaac Sauceda & many other Spanish leaders who were present; many of whom I don’t know on a personal basis. God bless!!

Enjoy the photos, I didn’t take too much time editing this batch of photos because of the amount of time it takes to work on each image except for maybe a handful of images they are all posted up as they came out of the camera.

The Truth of A Lie

We all know that art is not the truth, art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.

- Pablo Picasso

Holiness in the Tongue

I’d like thank Bro. Daniel Bracamonte from Apostolic Messenger for allowing me to post the following article from his blog. I believe that control of the tongue is the key to holiness.

God bless!!

But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1 15-16 KJV

What is holiness? The bible teaches us that God is Holy and He requires His people to live holy lives. But what does He mean by holy? Does He mean to live like a monk in a monastery completely separate from modern society? No, that would not be practical for any of us and that is not the realistic calling of the Bible. God’s commandment to His people was given to them within the context of society that was expected to work, have families and normal relationships. Practical Holiness is a call to live in this world without letting the world live in us. The root meaning of Holy is to separated or sanctified – this means to live in a modern world in a way that is pleasing to God. When it comes to holiness God always begins in the heart for this reason I would like to discuss this question. Where does practicing true God pleasing holiness begin?

THE GOD OF YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER

The Bible teaches us in Hebrews 11:13 that, “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever”. What does this mean? This means that who God was in the Old Testament remains the same in the New Testament and what God expects of His people does not change. In the Old Testament God gave a command to His people He said in Leviticus 11:45, “…ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” and in the New Testament the Apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:16, “Because it is written, be ye holy for I am holy.” He is the God of yesterday, today and forever; many modern Christians have forgotten that God still absolutely requires us to live a holy, pleasing life before Him. Peter goes as far as to call us a royal priesthood, a chosen generation, a peculiar people. Wow what an amazing and glorious privilege to be considered in the eyes of God royalty, chosen and peculiar.

TRUE HOLINESS BEGINS IN THE TONGUE

The Apostle Peter states in his writings that we ought to be holy in all manner of conversation, some versions of the bible say conduct but for the sake of this study will stay with King James Version of conversation. Peter declares to us be holy in your conversation, I think all of us can understand that conversation begins in the tongue. And so it is that practicing holiness begins with us beginning to bridle our tongue. We must understand that the tongue is directly connected to our hearts (spiritually speaking). Our tongues will always give evidence of what the condition of our hearts is. Jesus said this concerning the heart and the mouth, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man” whether we realize or not it is our tongue that defiles us. We cannot truly practice holiness when our tongues are out of control, when they are unbridled and quench the Spirit that God has poured in us. It does us no good to practice holiness in other areas of our lives and our tongues continually are out of control.

HE WHO CONTROLS THE TONGUE CAN CONTROL THE BODY

Did you know that the bible teaches us that whoever can control their tongue can also control their entire body? Holiness that is practiced often ends in failure because we have not brought our tongues under the power of the Holy Spirit. Listen to what the Apostle James says about controlling the body, “…If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” The man that can control his speech, his conversation can bridle; bring into subjection the whole body. It is at this point that I declare to you again that holiness begins by controlling the tongue. Likewise James also reminds that the man that cannot control the tongue will defile his whole body (James 3:8).

WE WORSHIP GOD WITH OUT HEARTS AND TONGUES

We must consider the fact that it is our tongues that we use to worship God, to pray to God, to encourage one another and to share His holy word with one another. And yet many times we use this same tongue to hurt one another, to curse one another, to gossip about one another and to argue with one another. James ask us a simple question, “…can a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?’ The answer is no, either a fountain gives off good water or bad water not both. He uses this question to ask whether our tongues should be in this condition where they are giving praise to God on one hand and the other being used in a carnal unholy way. He says this should not be so. James says, “Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.” Our tongues should have the liberty to praise God and open our hearts before Him and likewise be under the control of the Spirit and used to build up and edify.

THE TONGUE SHOULD GIVE LIFE AND SAVE FROM TROUBLES

The Bible says in Proverbs that, “in the tongues is the power of life and death.” We can give life to people and ourselves through the use of the tongue or we can destroy others and ourselves through the power of the tongue. Consider these scriptures in regards to the power of the tongue:

Proverbs 15:4 “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit”

Proverbs 21:23 “Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles”

Many people cannot practice holiness in their hearts because they have a breech in their spirit. What this means is that their spirit is like a wall that has been broken in a certain place and that wall no longer has the power to keep good things or bad things out it has been breached. So anytime God pours in His blessing the enemy can easily come through the breach and rob the person of what God has given him. How can we practice holiness when our spirits have been breached because out tongues are out of control. Many of the troubles that we suffer are caused be our very own tongues.

BEGIN HOLINESS WITH YOUR TONGUE AND THE BODY WILL FOLLOW

If what James is teaching us in his writings is true, then controlling the tongue is the key to practicing holiness before God. He teaches us that if we get a hold of our tongue and are able to control its speech then naturally the power to control our entire bodies will follow in line. A holy tongue means a holy heart and this is the holiness that God is after, holiness and purity in the depth of our inner man.

God Bless,

© 2008 Apostolic Messenger

Easter Play – New Life U.P.C.I – Austin, Texas

Woman caught in the very act of adultery, this was an awesome performance.

The Scourging of Jesus prior to His crucifixion.

Jesus Christ bearing His cross

The casting of lots

New Life – Austin, Texas – New Building Commitment Service