Image is Nothing, Thirst is Everything. Obey Your Thirst

I'm not a big pop drinker but there are a few pops that I like a lot. One of those pops is Sprite. I was drinking a Sprite one night while I was reading 2 Samuel 15 & God spoke to me. The big famous slogan from Sprite is, "Image is Nothing, Thirst is Everything. Obey Your Thirst." As I was reading the story of Saul I thought of the Sprite message.

Here Saul was on a mission from God & somewhere along the way decided to dv8 from the plan & do his own thing. Samuel called out Saul about his sin & told him that God was preparing another king to replace him. Saul responded by saying, "I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel." Saul was more concerned with his image that he was about his heart. I never want that to be the case.

My prayer for myself & for our ministry is that our thirst for godliness would be much greater than our desire for image. God's not looking for us to build our own image; he wants us to become his image.

obeying my thirst,

Luis

Just Do It

Have you ever been afraid to do what God wants you to do? I know I have. Serving God is the most exciting thing that you can do, but it can be very scary at times. But there's good news... perfect love!

1 John 4:18 - Perfect loves expells ALL fear...

Fear is a perfect love problem. The more we love God the more we'll trust him & the more we'll face & conquer our fears. Jesus is better than our excuses, bigger than our laziness & bolder than our fear! So...

JUST DO IT!

Quote

I read this quote today & thought I'd share it with you

"Excellence is...

• the result of caring more than others think is wise,
• risking more than others think is safe,
• dreaming more than others think is practical,
• and expecting more than others think is possible."

Striving fore excellence,

Luis

Look Up...

As I've been preparing for VOX this week I read a verse in Hebrews.

Hebrews 12:2 - Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Then I came across this cool story about a statue of Jesus that really puts into perspective how we can "fix our eyes on Jesus". This statue is in a church in Copenhagen, Denmark. This is no ordinary statue of Jesus, this particular statue has a very strong message that the sculptor sculpted into it. "A little old woman who helped to care for the interior of the church, once put into words what the sculptor's genius has expressed in marble. Said she: 'To see the real beauty of 'The Christus' you must look into His eyes, and you can do that only if you kneel at His feet.'"

You can’t see the eyes of Jesus if you’re standing looking at it. The only way you can see his eyes is to kneel at his feet and look directly up into them. To often we're guilty of trying to see the eyes of Jesus without kneeling and completely surrendering to Jesus, but the only way to clearly see is to kneel at his feet.

What are you looking at?

Kneeling at his feet,

Luis

Hungry?

John Piper is a stud! I was reading a book of his called "A Hunger For God" & I came across a part that I thought was so good I needed to share it with someone.

The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls out appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. it is not the x-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20). The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures or earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable.

A question I asked myself after reading this paragraph & Luke 14:15-24 is "Am I really hungry for God? Or have I ruined my appetite for God by nibbling at the table of the world?

ID - Who Is Jesus?

We live in a society that is full of identity issues. The people that we idolize, put on posters & hang on our walls don't seem to know who they really are. People are trying to find their identities in stage personas, personal possessions, big parties, etc, but it doesn't seem to work. Which leads me to my question, "Who are you?" Where do you find you identity? If the people we look up to can't seem to find their identity how can we?

Today at VOX we started a 2 week series called ID, Who Am I? What is my identity? Before we are able to answer those questions I believe we need to answer another question, "Who is Jesus?" Without knowing who Jesus is we can never fully know who we are. 

As I spent time studying, reading & praying I looked through the New Testament at all the statements Jesus made about who he was. I then moved on to the Old Testament & began to look up all of the names of God (& there are there a lot of names). Here are a few of them:

Jehovah-Jireh - I Am the Lord who provides for you

Jehovah Shalom - I Am the Lord who is your peace

Jehovah Rophe - I Am the Lord who heals

Jehovah Natsal - I Am the Lord who delivers

Jehovah Ezer - I Am the Lord who helps

Jehovah Chezeq - I Am the Lord who is your strength

Jehovah Padahel - I Am the Lord who loves you

Jehovah Yasha - I Am the Lord who is your savior

While I was praying and thinking about all the different names of God I had a realization; every name that is used for God in the Old Testament is seen in the life of Jesus throughout the New Testament! Jesus did provide when he fed the multitudes; he brought peace to the women at the well; he healed the blind; he delivered the possessed; he helped those in need; he gave strength to the weak; he loved us so much that he became our savior as his arms were stretched out on the cross. 

So, who is Jesus to you? What has he done in your life?

Enjoying learning more about who Jesus is,

Luis

Feb. 4 '09

These are a few things I read today:

Proverbs 4: 20-27 - 20My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. 21Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. 23Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. 24Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. 26Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27Do not swerve to the right or to the left; keep your foot from evil. 

"If we keep God's word before our eyes, we won't start looking in the wrong direction and doing the wrong things." Warren W. Wiersbe