Who wants to be blessed? Be honest. Raise your hands/mouses. How often do you pray “please God bless my life” or “bless my career” or “bless my family” or just even plain old “BLESS ME!" We all want to be blessed but the problem is that the path to get there is often a mystery.
That's why we started a new series called BLESSED. The goal is to figure out how to live a life that's full of blessing.
Have you ever had a moment when you feel so negative about yourself? It's as though you can do nothing right but everything wrong. You are tired with your current situation and are frustrated with yourself.
I have these days, and they aren't fun. For example, I remember feeling like this when I got a bad mark on one of my exams. Why had I done so terribly? How could I be such a failure? Why is there so much wrong with me? God, why is this happening? I hate myself - there is nothing good about me!
The day kept getting worse. After receiving the bad mark, I realized that I had also forgotten to submit a payment for one of my accounts. Great! Now it would be overdue and I would be charged interest. Later on in the day, I acted out rudely with one my friends and hurt their feelings. Then I went home and was miserable to my family. I was angry - more at myself than at anyone else. I felt so bad about myself.
Read MoreWe wrapped up the I AM series yesterday with a final message on Jesus' most politically incorrect statement ever:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)
How could Jesus say such a statement? Doesn't He know that it's offensive to say that your religion is better than someone else's? And isn't this somewhat arrogant - to believe that your way is the ONLY WAY to heaven?
"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." John 15:5
How important is it for the branch to stay connected to the vine? Is there anything a branch can do it on its own without the vine?
According to Jesus, He is the vine and we are the branches. And without Him, we can do nothing. Check out this week's message in the I AM series to find out why and what you can do to stay connected to the true Vine.
"If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed." - Jesus
Recently, I've been thinking about the idea of liberty and what it really means. Growing up in the United States, I didn't realize how rare it is in the world. Oppression was just a history lesson – an exception rather than a rule. But in traveling to different parts of the world for my job (not to mention in turning on the television every day), I've seen that this isn't the case.
Instead, the world attests to countless people whose souls yearn for freedom but can’t find it. You can hear it in their conversations, in their arguments, in their songs, and in their protests and marches. They come from every religious and social background. They sit in smoke-filled coffee shops and large squares either dreaming of or fighting for their freedom.
Read More“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12
This week's message in the I AM series is based on one of the inspirational and grace filled encounters that Jesus ever had. The statement appears at the end of a dialogue between Jesus, some mean spirited Pharisees, and a woman caught in adultery.
Hello. We're the "New York guys" – as Fr. Anthony often refers to us – who he has been putting up with us for many years. Road trips to random places, showing up to his house unannounced – you name it, we’ve done it. So we figured we'd write this little post of fun facts. We don't have a blog or twitter but we did end up on TV once! (sort of.)
1) HE'S BETTER THAN YOU AT BASKETBALL…A LOT BETTER!
You know how sometimes on a retreat your favorite priest or bishop will play a sport with you to humor you? And you say things "wow, they're so cool!" or "aww" – so you let the score a few points, you Instagram a few pictures and call it a cute bonding day? That’s not how it is with Fr. Anthony.
When he starts shooting around with you and hits 17 straight free throws, he ain't being cute (though he doesn't usually shoot around much due to his belief that you only get a certain amount of makes per day, so don't waste them on warm ups). You quickly go from "aww" to "oh, snap. I ain’t guarding him." He may teach you a thing or two about humility as he hits some contested step back jumpers in your face.
But overall, he's not really trying to bond with you at the moment, he's trying to beat you, by a lot... but, he's usually pretty cool about it. Usually.
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One of my all-time favorite Bible stories also happens to be one of the most famous - the feeding of the 5,000. It’s a story that we’ve all heard – when Jesus fed a large multitude of people with only 5 loaves and 2 fish. Who wouldn't love a story about free fish sandwiches on a hot summer day? Now’s that what following Jesus is all about!
But something hit me the last time I read this story – something that made me ask myself this question: is being the recipient of a miracle what I really want? Or is there something better?
The story starts in Luke 9:10-11, “When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then He took them with Him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowds learned about it and followed Him.”
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“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." (John 10:11)
In the first message of the I AM series, we heard Jesus declare His power and His divinity. In this message, we heard how Jesus plans to use that power and divinity - that is, to lay down His life for us.
In a world where power corrupts even the best of people, come see how Jesus uses His power for the sake of His sheep.
On June 25, 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court made two historic decisions on gay marriage. First, it ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional because it denies benefits to same-sex couples. Second, it denied an appeal to a federal court ruling that struck down California’s Proposition 8, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman.
These decisions on gay marriages are causing many heated emotions to surface. There’s some who are joyful, some apathetic and some furiously angry at this defeat. Is this a call to surrender all our unconditional love for others or is this a wake-up call for introspection? I’m not writing to discuss the details of this ruling or to talk about all the intricacies of how someone becomes homosexual. I would like to present an opportunity to you.
Read More"Who do you say that I am?" Jesus asked a lot of questions during His time on earth, but none more important than that. The answer to that question will impact both your life on this earth and your eternity.
That's why we started a new series yesterday called I AM. The series will look at 5 of Jesus' I AM statements and we'll use Jesus' own words to help us answer the question of "who is Jesus?"
Here is the first message in the series - based on John 11:25 - where Jesus said "I am the Resurrection and the Life."
It seems to me that we all have a natural desire to discover what makes us unique. To discover the strengths God uniquely knit into our DNA fabric…and, most importantly, how to use them … hopefully, for God’s glory. A few months back, I attended a conference done by The Hope Association entitled: “MOMENTUM” with the goal to do just that. Since the conference, people have been talking about how they’ve been inspired by the God-given spiritual talents and gifts revealed to them at this conference.
My story is different. God has always given me a strong awareness of my strengths. In fact, for years now, I have been trying to use them for God’s glory, but failing at it…miserably failing at it!
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“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
Last week I wrote about how excited I was for this past weekend. It was the weekend of our public launch at STSA – the weekend where we felt God wanted to take the good things we have going inside the church and make them known to the community outside. And just as the first century church “went public” on the Day of Pentecost, we felt like God wanted us to do the same this past weekend as we celebrated Pentecost as well.
So how’d it go?
FANTASTIC! Magnificent! Best weekend to date! YAHOO!!!!!!
Read MorePowerful message yesterday about "life" - not the life that so many are living, but rather the life that God designed us for. We don't realize it but there is another option out there. Life doesn't have to always be full of confusion and frustration and shame and guilt. There's gotta be a better way. There's gotta be more than this... Good news...THERE IS! It's the life that Jesus spoke of in John 10:10 when He said "I have come that they may have LIFE and have it more ABUNDANTLY."
Want to know more about that abundant life? Check out yesterday's message from The Well.
I had this dream several years ago. At this point, I can’t even remember when it was. But it was so vivid that it stayed in my memory till this present moment. I thought I’ll share it with others so that we can all learn from it.
I saw in my dream a big cage where an atrocious monster was inside of it. His face was very ugly and he looked agitated. Outside his cage was another ugly creature but dressed in white. The second creature was surrounded by a fence that prevented him from going outside of it. Then I saw a person who came close to the creature who is dressed in white, and when the person came too close, the creature grabbed his arm violently and gave it to the monster.
The monster grabbed the person’s arm and shredded it with his hands and left his arm bleeding and broken in pieces. It was a very ugly picture that made me wake up from the dream.
Then I wondered what the dream meant and what does it represent. This is the interpretation that came to my mind.
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This is one of those weeks for me. One of those weeks where I don’t know what to blog about or what to say. It’s one of those weeks that I absolutely live for and dread at the same time. It’s a week where I really feel – with all my heart, soul, mind and strength – like God is going to do something big… something huge… something massive… something historically grand… something that is exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or even imagine! And He’s going to do that right here – right in front of my eyes!
What in the world am I talking about? Let me explain.
As you probably know, I have been blessed to be serving at St. Timothy & St. Athanasius church (STSA) - aka THE GREATEST CHURCH EVER!. I love my church so much and from day one, I have felt that God has a special calling and a special mission for this church (go back and see the very first blog post I ever posted and you’ll see what I am talking about).
Read MoreWe wrapped up the BOLD series yesterday with the final message on GRANDER VISION LIVING.
What is that? It's all about a challenge... no, rather an invitation... to invest your life in the only thing that really matters when all is said and done. Just as the Lord Jesus invited His disciples to live for "the big fish", He does the same with us today. What does that mean? You'll have to watch the video to find out!
I struggle with anorexia nervosa - an eating disorder characterized by immoderate food restriction and irrational fear of gaining weight, as well as a distorted body self-perception.
Last year, I became very ill because of this. I had reached a deadly weight and was starting to lose my ability to walk due to muscle weakness. I was immediately admitted to the hospital. Just days later, I caught pneumonia. Then my kidneys failed because of dehydration and my heart could not pump adequately to keep me alive. I couldn't breathe due to diaphragm weakness and the pneumonia. I went to the ICU where I was sedated, had a breathing tube inserted, and was started on 24/7 kidney dialysis.
It was bad.
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“LORD, give me strength. Give me power. Help me get through this. I can’t do it without you…” How many times have you uttered those words this week? This day? In the past 45 minutes?
Power. It's something everyone is looking for, but so many lack. God promises to give us power – that’s clear throughout Scripture – but then how come we find ourselves struggling so much? Struggling with sin, addictions, frustrations, hurt, failure. WHERE IS THE POWER????
(children of the 90s – aka ‘the greatest decade ever’ – what’s the first thing that popped into your head when I asked that last question? If it isn’t THIS SONG, then you are an imposter – not a true child of the 90s).
Read More"Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!" (John 4:35)
Sometimes evangelism is just sowing seeds; but sometimes it involves reaping the harvest. Are you prepared for that? How would you answer if someone asked you "why is going to church so important to you? Why do you pray? Why do you believe?" Would you be able to answer those questions clearly and concisely?
If not, you need to get caught up on yesterday's message in the BOLD: All Things to All Men series. In it, we talked about the POWER OF STORY - the most powerful tool when it comes to being a witness and sharing our faith.
