Meditation: November 11

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” 1 John 4:17

The love of Jesus Christ is conveyed to the world through those who trust in Him. It is spread abroad through those who have no other motive other than to please Him. They wish for no greater blessing than the opportunity to serve others on His behalf. They can then be trusted with authority to extend His work to areas untouched by His testimony.

We are here to be witnesses His redeeming grace and love thus fulfilling our call as saints. Our salvation was not merely for our own personal benefit. It was for the expansion of His kingdom. He touches lives throughout the world through His Church. It is not a matter of trying to imagine what Jesus would do in varying situations. Rather our question is “what is Jesus doing and how much of that ought to be done through us?” We have been given this grand opportunity to demonstrate the love of Jesus among many who have not heard of Him. We are here to be as He is. Then love reaches its end and we can stand boldly when all the works of mankind are being judged.

Meditation:November 10

“The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart.” Proverbs 20:27

Our spirits have full knowledge of our true selves. It is not what we project, but who we are that the light of the spirit searches out. Experiences of the past are registered in the heart thus carving out our personalities. Our spirits reveal many of them as places in need of healing once it is awakened by the Holy Spirit of God. It is made anew for the saving of the soul. No longer are wayward behavior justified, for the awakened spirit can receive the conviction that comes from the Holy Spirit  as necessary for completing the inward work that He has begun. What a blessing to have the searchlight of God turned our way! Not only does He convict, but His grace is dispensed everywhere the light shines. He delivers us from those vices that beforehand we were incapable of seeing. No longer blind but now we can praise and worship Him from the depths of a changed heart. We are no longer who we once were. We are now becoming who we were meant to be!

Meditation: June 11

“Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands.” Psalm 90:16-17

To see with our eyes what God is doing is a blessing beyond measure. God allows His servants to see where He is in the midst of confusion and apparent hopelessness. He is there working His plan even when all appears to be still or falling apart all around us. Not alone does His servants see His works, they are used by the Lord to participate in what He is doing. His works are established through His servants as evidence that He is in fact the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. He seeks those who would fully avail themselves to Him. Why should our lives be filled with clutter that works against His plan? Our greatest joy can be found in pleasing Him through reflecting His will on earth as it is in heaven. Oh that Christ might be seen today through those who earnestly and exclusively seek Him as the only stability in these uncertain times.

Meditation: March 26

“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.”  John 14:2

There is no greater honor than to abide in the place that is rightly prepared. Ill-prepared places are hastily erected without giving enough thought to details. There are special needs, passions, and specific preferences that will suit the taste of the person. We are individuals and always will be individuals. Yes, we will abide together but our personality is uniquely ours and belongs to none else.  God, who created all things, has room for us to be ourselves. There are spaces awaiting us within His economy. Jesus Christ, our elder brother has gone before us. He takes with Him our specific needs. The deepest longings of the heart are considered. The things that we are lacking are there is abundant supply. No expense is spared for the Spirit knows the things of God and the thoughts of every man. The place is not prepared for us as we currently are, but it is prepared for us on the basis of what we will eventually become. As we are being purified, our appetites are changing. We are coming to know who we really are. No longer having to pretend nor model or mimic others who are around us. We will fit perfectly in the place that we are being prepared for.  The greatest blessing of being there is who will abide there with us. He is there before the Father awaiting our arrival. Where He is, there we shall be.

Meditation: March 3

“For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; (8) but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.” Hebrews 6:7-8

What we have experienced and participated in with God is not merely for ourselves. He allows us to experience His goodness in order to provide healing for others. Either we will bear healing herbs for wounded, restless, and reckless souls, or we bear thorns and briers to further wound them. The deepest wound is wielded by sword-handlers who are unskilled in spiritual warfare. They cannot effectively interpret God’s grace in ways to benefit the wayward. We have been enlightened, tasted of the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. Therefore, we are the ones that are to bear herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated. The fruit of our lives is for those who wish to know the Source and purpose for our being alive. Then, we are able to live our lives as a blessing to others and a praise unto the Lord.

Meditation: January 24

“The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.” Proverb 10:22

There is the accumulation of wealth among the rich which brings sorrow and a wealth that endures to eternal life. When money becomes the god that replaces the true and living God, it then competes with what He wills to do in his life. That person, under the control of Mammon, will never know the richness that comes through full surrender to God’s will. The greatest blessing is the passion to love Him with one’s whole heart, soul, mind, and strength; then His joy becomes our own joy. When we are there, all that comes our way is managed and not owned. If we have an abundance of things, we find pleasure in having more options to use them in blessing the Lord. Money does not make the person; it merely gives him more options to express what he already has become. We should not allow anything to stand between us and the Lord, but at all times exercise diligence in pleasing Him. He gives us both the ability to accumulate wealth and the joy of the harvest.

January 2018 Article: The Year of “Cross Culture”

Three years ago, we changed our church’s name from Abundant Life Church to Cross Culture Church. Not that we do not believe in the abundant life, nor is it a matter of changing our assignment. There are times in life when the vision given by God is to be reinforced so that our understanding can be extended. When most think of abundance, their thinking is usually directed towards personal abundance alone. There is a sign in the center of our sanctuary with one word; “OTHERS.” It was placed there so that all who worship among us would focus their attention beyond themselves. We wish all to know that we are blessed in order to be a blessing. Not only that, but to know that our greatest blessing is being a blessing. When we are able to bless others, it is because we are graced by God for Him to serve others through us. “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) Serving others is giving your life through extending your redeemed soul to others. When your life becomes conduit in the Hands of God, He reaches others through you who otherwise would have remained unreached!

The ransom of Christ’s life was to redeem us or to purchase our redemption. We were sold into slavery and under the dominance of the devil. Jesus had to stoop lower than the slave in order to rescue him from his dire condition of slavery. He became a man to identify with our humanity. Then He became sin for us in order to fully identify with our fallen condition. The ransom of His life was to free us from being a slave to sin. This was and currently is His service to all humanity. He served us by dying for us on the Cross. We have received His life in abundance when we are enabled to serve others without expecting anything in return. It is His gift in us that qualifies us to serve and motivates us to keep on serving. If Jesus could wash the feet of His disciples, we ought to wash each other’s feet. The symbolism of washing feet has to do with becoming the lowest level of servanthood.

This position goes crosswise to today’s culture. Capitalism alone suggests that we work hard at getting others to serve us. If any product is presented, or acts of service given, one must first look at personal profit as the bottom line. Churches erected in order to present a good showing of success and impressing others that their existence is relevant. People who parade their gifts and benevolence for awards and the applause of men. But the Culture of the Cross is to silently bless others even when your gift to them goes unrecognized. Jesus silently suffered in midst of the mocking and the jeering of the crowd. Paul admonished us to allow the mind of Christ to be in us, or to be given full expression through us. We are committed to publishing His message of humility through this, our ministry.

This year we will be emphasizing the work of the cross in the life of each individual. The Culture of Christ comprising of a culture that will confront through doing good what has been popularized over the years thus contributing to our nation’s demise. While there is concern regarding the value of the life of people-groups, the violent nature of mankind against others who do not look or think the same; decisions made to accept what ought to be rejected and rejecting what ought to be accepted, the need for cultural transformation is ever present. It must first begin among the people who are called by His Name if it is to ever reach the larger populace. We are committed to this and willing to invest our whole lives to this noble cause. There will be many who will count our ministry as being irrelevant and out of touch with reality. But we believe this to be the year where we will experience this as a vision whose time has come!

Meditation: December 4

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”   2 Corinthians 13:14

The benedictional blessing released from the lips of Paul over the brethren was that they receive the favor of the Lord Jesus Christ. Unlimited grace was invoked in order to fully participate with Christ on the earth. It would be a continuation of His earthly ministry through those who have received the Father’s love. They were to become the expression of His intentions. The Holy Spirit was working in them to produce both the will and the ability to fulfill their purpose for living. The grace was not to be frustrated through a misapplication of turning inward with some selfish aim. Rather it was to be strengthened by a passion to please God that would overrule any thoughts that would try to arise. The Holy Spirit will be the constant companion to those who would allow Him to lead. They will understand and know God and each other by the same Spirit. May this be with you all, Amen.

Meditation: October 12

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23

Our confession is more than speaking words. It is our agreement with God in accomplishing what He has promised in us and through us. When our spirits have aligned with the Holy Spirit, we are provided a fresh and lively hope. Any secondary thought or effort will merely cloud the mind with clutter used to sway us away from God’s promises. God is faithful to deliver on every promise that He has made. Where do we stand and where should we stand in relation what has been given to us? Our confession is more precious than silver and gold. To believe God because we are in position to see Him as faithful even when we are challenged is the greater blessing. This is evidence that faith is established within our hearts. This kind of faith will produce a hope that will not disappoint. It is borne out of love and matured through experiences. None of these, whatever they are, will separate us from confessing that Jesus is Lord over every circumstance.

Meditation: July 30

“ For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”(1 Corinthians 2:2)

Memory is a gift from God. When appropriately used, it can serve as a blessing. But when the lingering effects of memory close our minds to God, it is then a curse. During times of stillness the mind can relive experiences of the past. Our memories capture those moments and freeze-frame them into the catalogue of our minds. Things we have learned lay the foundation for further knowledge.

Paul realized this and made a decision. He said, “for I determined…” The word “determined” in the Greek language is “krino” which means, “to separate.” Paul was in essence saying, “I separate the knowledge of the past from the knowledge of Jesus Christ.” God was determined to separate light from darkness. It is not that Paul was ignorant of other things. He knew many things, but now possessed the ability to separate what he knew from who he is in the process of knowing. To know Jesus Christ is a full time job that ought to occupy our undivided attention.

All other information must pass through the filter of the revelation of Jesus in order for it to translate into wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge effectively and skillfully applied to life. What should this mean to us? It is saying that since the life of Jesus is to become life to us, we cannot afford to allow competing information to separate us from what we are convinced of.  The discernment of the Christian is the ability to see through the lenses of Christ what He sees.  Only then can His judgments become our own. The wisdom that comes from beneath is sensual and self-seeking. The wisdom that comes from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. James 3:17-18. It will not come through mere wishful thinking. It is yours only when you are determined to know nothing other than Jesus Christ, and to know Him as crucified for us as well as the rest of the world.