My Book Report (Ch.17): Every Day A Friday

Dealing with Unexpected Difficulties

God bless you, keep you and increase you on this day beloved in Christ Jesus. Amen.


Father, I am moved to pray for all who take in these words. Father there is no other amongst the living or the dead that compares to you. None! I praise You for choosing me to preach the Word of Truth and freedom! I confess to You that it is a tall order for me, and I have shrunk back in fear many times, but I also confess You My Holy Father, are faithful and true to Your Word! You do not leave me. You do not abandon me, and in Christ Jesus I have the victory! Therefore, let it be known and let my life be an everlasting thanks to You for Your renewed mercies over my weakness. Your grace and compassion to forgive my sin, and to the glory of Your Son in dying for me, and for all who would believe in Him! I pray, You continue to lift up your servant and child that he may proclaim boldly truth and freedom that comes only by Your Righteous Word! That they may know You, and that I will experience eternal fellowship with You in proclaiming Your Good News in the name above all names, Jesus Christ. It's my prayer that by the end of this, many will have a greater scope and foundation that You Lord are the Great Healer; Precise Physician who brings true healing to the heart, mind, body and soul. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

An Independent Post: July 4, 2012

Beloved, as I thought of independence day, I thought of what it meant to be independent.

Independence defined: expressive of a spirit of independence; unconstrained; free from the control or influence of others.


The very act of celebration is not defined by a body of people simply dancing, eating and drinking to their hearts content. It's a people coming together to celebrate what was done and what was accomplished and the grand result of it.

Therefore, this 4th of July, if there’s anything to celebrate, celebrate Jesus living to love you. Celebrate Jesus dying to save you. Celebrate Jesus buried to take your sins far away. Celebrate Jesus rising from the grave, justifying us freely FOREVER!

That's true INDEPENDENCE, from this world; from being a part of tyranny, from constrained control and destructive influence.

Today, as it was 2000 years ago, let us celebrate the grace of God at the Cross of Christ. Amen.

To all the believers worldwide— Never forget! And always celebrate your INDEPENDENCE DAY.

Thank you Jesus!

As always...YOU ARE LOVED.

My Book Report (Chapter 3): Every Day A Friday

Chapter Three

I'm absolutely thrilled to be writing a book report on this amazing book. Joel Osteen hits the matter of the heart in this chapter. "Express Your Joy" is the title and I believe the very essence of making the most of every moment. In joy we can witness great turnarounds in a person's life. I've heard others say, "I won't let them steal my joy," and I too have uttered such words in many situations, and I'm sure many more situations will arise to keep my joy and better yet! Share my joy.

Not to sound to prolific but joy is a building block for character. It certainly is needed in dealing with challenging people. I'm sure a raise of hands is warranted right now in how many people want to experience joy when dealing with knuckleheads (did I just write that?). Joel points out something interesting. He refers to a verse in scripture that speaks to joy being a great and thick fragrance if you will. "God has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions." (Hebrews 1:9 NKJV). Now this verse is speaking of Jesus Himself but it's the very blessing we all can have in Jesus. Such is to say that Joel was onto something when he used this verse. We too, can have an aroma that is inviting and doesn't fade away if we as Christ are anointed with joy (gladness). That's an amazing and descriptive way of showing how joy is something sweet to the senses. Amen.

Here's a quote my day was blessed with. "Joy is the serious business of Heaven." - (CS Lewis). To that, I have witnessed, experienced and modeled these very words. "Modeling Heaven doesn't start in heaven. It starts everywhere your joy is seen." - (F. Lugo)


Although chapter 3 has much more to share, I'll leave it up to you to purchase this book for yourselves and enjoy the blessings that it holds.



My Takeaway:

Joy is something that is contagious. Sometimes the best way to reach someone is to share the joy you have. Just like a water well, many times people will need to work at experiencing joy, but just as a geyser, others have joy that's seen from afar and it's explosive!


Beloved, I leave you with these final words the Lord just put into my heart to share with you in closing. Although it's a challenging principle, it's worth praying and believing, God will work it into you that you may not lack it at all. "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." (James 1:2-4 NKJV)




As always...YOU ARE LOVED.

Happy Birthday To You Pastor Troy

"You encourage us with your style, commitment and passion." - F. Lugo

Today is my Pastor's birthday. Therefore I decided to not only wish him a happy birthday, but let the world know of a man who is chasing after God's heart. From my few years of being part of such an eclectic family of Potential, to my actual words exchanged with Pastor Troy Gramling and my encounters with a humble man who is easy going, soft spoken as a man, but a booming voice for God, I am glad God lead me to Potential Church.

It all started years ago in 2006. I was invited to share my testimony before hundreds at Potential Church (then Flamingo Road Church) and as I was praying backstage because I was very nervous to stand and speak before many, I remember as I raised my head up and opened my eyes after praying, I saw a tall man leaning against a wall. He looked tired and as I realized who stood before me, I was shocked to realize it was my very own Pastor. But I said to myself, 'This can't be him. I've seen him preaching the Word of God like a warrior...This is a Super Hero in my eyes.' Not knowing what to say to my Pastor, I said the only thing my finite mind could come up with that seemed intelligent and appropriate, I said "How's it going?" To which my Pastor replied, 'good.' I couldn't believe it! I spoke with my Pastor. What a thrill! A memorable moment in my life I would always be able to recall and thank God for.

But God spoke to me later concerning this divine encounter between my pastor and I. He said, 'Your amazement of this man is not amazement at all, but reverence for your leader. You were honored to be among him. This is called humility. You were thankful for the exchange of words although little. This is called being a child of God.' As I have heard my Pastor teach many times, there is one thing that never changes. I am always thrilled to hear from him again. Every time I attend service to hear what my pastor has to share with us that day from the pages of his heart, whether in person, or on a big screen because he is elsewhere doing the Lord's work or simply enjoying much needed rest, I am grateful to God for my Pastor and for God allowing our conversation to continue on.

I see my Pastor as a leader, and a hero. We all need to have heroes in our lives. And if that hero is in Christ Jesus, we should all be honored and thankful to God by always showing our respect and appreciation for the amazing job that hero; that leader, is doing in our lives and the lives of others. Let us never become familiar with our leaders and heroes whether we hear from them daily or not, but let us consistently rejoice with them always because God appoints all the leaders to their positions in life. That they who lead us triumphantly and victoriously may always be cherished, prayed for and encouraged. Why? They are people to and they as we, need to be loved, cherished and cared for also. Amen.

As I thought of a verse that would speak to my Pastor I thought it appropriate to not simply quote a verse, but rather speak a blessing over my Pastor. It's called the Priestly blessing: Pastor Troy may...

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26 NIV)


If you haven't known Pastor Troy and you haven't decided on a church to become part of their family, I invite you, I extend my hand in friendship towards you. I will be honored if you would come and join the celebration of God's grace that is Potential Church. Come to know a leader, a hero, a warrior, a husband, a father, a brother, a son, a man who is for God. His name is Troy Gramling and he is my Pastor. Amen.


Happy Birthday Pastor Troy.
As always...YOU ARE LOVED.

Proud to be a member

"Being a part of such an amazing diverse family is overwhelmingly satisfying to say the least." F. Lugo

As I read from my bible this morning, the message was spoken loud and clear into my heart. Be proud of your family. Be proud of what they are doing and accomplishing. Be proud to be a member of such a family, with such a rich history. Be excited to see your family members and root them on. Their tasks are no mere mole hill but mountains to be climbed, great distances to trek, and many sorrows and afflictions to remain hopeful and faithful through. Be proud...your family is amazing. 


A great sense of thanksgiving overcame me, as I envisioned my family members faces. The smiles, the embraces, the words of joy and excitement exchanged to one another. The tears, the sorrow, the moments when listening is all that can be done accompanied by a hug. I am very proud of my family. I love my family. They're all amazing. Some are great speakers and teachers. Some are amazing leaders. Others manage tasks quite well. You have those who love to connect with others; absolute people persons packed with smiles and always having words of encouragement. Some have such a great loving heart for children. There are those who will keep the house unbelievably tidy, and we belong to a very BIG house. I'm so thankful to them. Their tasks are quite time consuming. You have those who feed the family, and food is very much needed to remain energized to continue on. I am thankful to them as well as we belong to a very BIG family and they're many mouths to feed. You are such a blessing! You have those who earn much more money than others and they supply much for the family. Without them, our tasks would be that much harder to accomplish. So grateful for all of them, truly I am. You have those that make sure all the cars in the parking lot and drive ways are secured and traffic flows well. So many areas to tend to in our house, and every last one of my family members executes their duties to the best of their ability, but you can be assured that we will always be challenged to improve on our improvements. That's a good thing though. Belonging to such a big family with such a rich history, success is all about the next step taken, not the last step. The the most influential member of our house is a quiet humble man. He's shy yet powerful when he is called to the task. Out of the many brothers and sisters I have, I remain amazed to see them growing in all their ways right before my eyes. As I walk around the house and look around at my huge family, I am filled with joy, excitement and of course you can see how I'd be a proud member of such an amazing family.

The words I read today speak to such a thing, and I very much want to share them with you:



Unity and Diversity in the Body


 ¹² Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. ¹⁵ Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body. ²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴ while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. ²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. ²⁸ And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. NIV emphasis added)

As I reread the above words, that overwhelming sense of being proud of my family brought tears to my eyes. We may not all succeed in all the same areas. We may not always get along with each other as we very much would like to. We may not always see eye to eye. Being a very big family, with a very big task, can cause some friction at times, yet it's love that binds us all together in perfect unity, and that is what makes us unique, and for that I am thankful to God for my family. 

Love Is Indispensable

We all desire to have the more excellent way of being a tightly knit family, and the way to such closeness is shared so eloquently here, ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV emphasis added) 

All of these put into perfect practice will give us that wonderful unity. Now out of all these amazing attributes being applied to one entire family executed by every member, there are three overseeing attributes that govern all the above to remain in perfect unity, and they are, ¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV emphasis added)

As I am very proud of my amazing family. I know you will be as well. Take the time to let your family members know they are loved and appreciated. You are more than welcomed to come see, and be a part of my amazing family. We're called Potential Church.

As always...YOU ARE LOVED.

 

Love Week (Part 6): Love Connection

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4:8)

Did you know that when I'm loved the very best of me comes out!? I smile more, laugh more, I'm more affectionate. I share more. I think of others more, and actually look forward to seeing them. It's a funny thing how the opposite occurs to me when I don't feel loved. I'm glad that everyday I feel loved, and know that I am loved. This world would not be a pleasant place with me in it if I wasn't loved. I'm glad that God is love. He loves us. He's always thinking good thoughts towards us. He sent His Son Jesus to die for us for love's sake. What an amazing gift God's love is to us every moment of everyday. No one wants to be around a grouch. I know I certainly don't. Thank God! for prayer. Prayer for yourself, for those in your life and others who yours and their paths will meet. To that, I can honestly say God is good. 

I wanted to share with you God's love and how if we follow three EASY steps in prayer we can all share in the Love Connection that Jesus and His Father shared.

Jesus Prays for Himself

   Jesus spoke these words. Lifted up His eyes towards heaven, and said:

“Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

6“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.12While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

13“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

20“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

24“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

25“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

In the above words from Jesus; the Son of God, we see a very easy and detailed outline for prayer. We pray for ourselves that God will always work mightily through us then others may know of Him. We see that prayer for our brothers and sisters in Christ is not to be removed from this world as hardships will come as we know, but that God the Father will protect them from the evil one; being the devil. Also we see that we ourselves the ones who pray, are to remain to God, not being of this world, then others will see our lives and imitate us. And last but certainly not least, we are to pray for those who will come to Christ. Being a continuous example to them letting them know of God's love, that we are all to remain to God; in Christ through His love that is binding in perfect unity. Amen.

I do hope and remain praying that these pages of God's heart into my heart will find there way no matter what! into all of your precious hearts. That the Love Connection God models for us will be the Love Connection we will all model for others. Amen. 

As always...YOU ARE LOVED.

Under Construction: Church is not a building

There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

Today as I sit before a laptop thinking of all the things that God has brought my way in less than two years, I am filled with joy for Him, and excited for the journey He is taking me on.

There is something though that has sadddened me to the point I am filled with a grief that has me up at nights, yet God in all His glory will utilize this grief to fuel the fire in me to share more, speak more, write more, and love more. This grief I feel is a lack of love, a true outreach amongst men and women to encourage one another, in which is seem seldomly. As I go through my days when I see such acts of true kindness and affirmation of God's love, I am convinced that the Will of God and His unconditional love through His Son Jesus, is at work and their is still hoope.

Therefore, I am reminded of my days working in a portable on a construction site, where I saw many goings on in the construction business and the amount of effort it took to build something from the dust up. As I would glance at an open field with materials scattered all over the place, I would say to myself  'how can anything become a building, a structure from all this mess?' and the same applies to the lives of humanbeings. I being one of these messy people, with a life that is still plenty messy, look to God ; a jack of all trades if you will, to be the blueprint for my life. The architect to my body, and the contractor who has worked at perfecting my faith.


I've heard the saying in the construction field "Chaotic Order." Some may say this is an oxymoron, something that can't be, won't be, and should not work with each other. The fact remains, that for all men and women who have lived lives of chaos, through Christ and remaining in Christ have come to know order. Now the question could be raised; So chaos existed first? No, this is not the case. Order was always existing and present, yet chaos made things seem easier, but just made everything a whole lot difficult. I being once a child with no chaos in me, and filled with enjoyment through the simplest of things, grew older to experience CHOICE. Choice in many forms, yet a choice to do right always seemed boring, and difficult to do (i.e. study, do homework, do chores, eat my vegetables, be good to your brother and look after him, etc... )


Now we all experience that moment in our lives where someone isn't their to make a choice for us anylonger, and we are open to make choices of our own, for our lives, and we tend to become that dusty plain with all the supplies resting on it, and the saying of "Chaotic Order," becomes our life. We have the tools to get the job done, but need assistance to get the construction, and recovery of our lives going.


This is the Good News of Christ, in which He is the perfector and finisher of our faith (We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Hebrews 12:2). He has laid down the foundation, and mapped out all the ways to live by. All questions have been answered, and all inspections through His Word are approved and safe. In following this blueprint for our entire lives, (the Word of God) we too, will see ourselves fully finished, standing straight and lacking nothing like a new building after the complete construction has been finished.


In the end, the Church; the body of Christ, His Bride, will be fully matured and complete lacking nothing and prepared to be received by the Lord Himself  ...just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her ²⁶ to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. ²⁷ He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. (Ephesians 5:25-27)


To God be the Glory!


God bless you all.