The Answer to Unbelief

“Lord, not my will, but your will be done.”

Beloved, by the grace of God I am a man of confession. Now confession isn’t always easy and there are times you are not even aware of what you must confess in order to expose the root cause of your unbelief. However thanks be to God in Jesus Christ the Lord, that we can ask God to reveal this root cause to us and lead us into that glorious place where confession frees us up to experience God’s best! With that said, I now invite you into my HEART...

My Book Report (Chapter 15): Every Day A Friday

Forgive So You Can Be Free

“The ocean of unfairness is vast. The eye cannot take in the sheer size of hurts, the wrongs and the rejections so many people experience, but as I have been told out on sea when sickness takes affect... ‘look out towards the horizon.’” - F. Lugo

There is a way to get rid of the hurt, the pain, the rejection. There’s a way to get rid of those things that have happened unfairly to you that are now a sickness to you, that keep you from experiencing joy, peace and love. It’s called FORGIVENESS. 

My Uncle Paid The Price

My uncle, Manuel De Jesus Moncion

“You shall put your hand on its head, and it will be accepted as a sacrifice to take away your sins.” (Leviticus 1:4 GNT)


As I read is the Book of Leviticus to further embrace my prayer, passion and desire to know my Savior Jesus for all He is, I am pleasantly blessed to discover what the above verse means. In context, it speaks about sacrificial offerings to atone for ones’ sins.

Out of context, in speaking directly to the verse above, it’s defined as: The laying of the hand on the head of the sacrificial offering (an unblemished animal in this case) symbolized the person’s complete identification with the animal as his substitute— The animals perfection for the mans imperfection.

Beloved, just now as I am studying up for something BIG the LORD is speaking into me to write, I was reminded of a time when I was a little boy and my uncle paid the price for my mistake.

Have You Experienced D.T.S.D.?

Good afternoon Beloved,

Today I read my daily devotional and the message today was entitled, “The Hidden Door.” It spoke about giving into desires that would hurt us instead of help us.

B.A.R. = Belief -> Action -> Result

Beloved, sometimes it seems that something easily done cannot produce something amazing. But on the contrary, something that is very difficult will produce great results. This can be a misconception at times. Today’s blog will speak to that... Read on you won't regret it!

You Are There... I Am Here: Relationships Strained Can Be Mended

Mended (Dictionary.com): To make (something broken, worn, torn, or otherwise damaged) whole, sound, or usable by repairing: to progress back towards recovery.

I think of you... Do you think of me?

I miss you... Do you miss me?

If only I could be with you... Do you want to be with me?

In my day, I heard your voice but it didn’t resonate with the person I knew. I heard your voice and it wasn’t the love I’ve known. I heard your voice... happiness in it. I heard your voice... a friends voice is it?

Your attention isn’t the same. Your time for me has gone away. Your embrace I no longer feel. Your face I no longer see.

When I’m before you it’s awkward. Before you it’s cold. Before you, I want to grab hold of you, but I won’t be so bold.

The opportunity was before me. The opportunity to be with you. Your voice said I’m in this with you, but my voice didn’t say the same to you.

You say “I do this only because I love you!” I know this, but inside I faint to respond back confidently the same to you.

You are there... And I am here.

I say to myself, if only you would reach out to me. If only I received word. If only I could hear that voice I know. If only I knew.

You were there for me, but I failed to be there too. You are still there for me... But, I hear a voice say, ‘you sure that’s true?’

How can I reach out to you? I reach out to you in here.

I know my words will be seen, and they are in my heart to be heard.

I feel so overwhelmed to be someone I don’t know.

I am scared but I know I’m not supposed to.

Will my tardiness in becoming who I’m supposed to be, have you taken away from me?

You are such a short distance away, and I want to run to you.

You are a quick call away, and yet I can’t seem to find my voice.

You’re close enough to touch, and yet I dare not to.

I don’t want to get consumed by a lie, but I only ask you to be here for me.

I need to take action; I want to take action, but I freeze up in fear.

You tell me “I believe in you” but I say, “I don’t believe in myself.”

You repeat I believe in you! If only my actions made that true.

You say again, I believe in you! This should motivate me to believe in myself.

 

You’ve said, I believe in you! Please help me to believe in myself.

You believe in me... And I believe in you.

I don’t want to believe the lie, because I want to believe the truth.

I believe (in my head), but help me with my unbelief (in my heart).

Beloved, I can only share with you what I know, have gone through or witnessed myself. In this time I’m struggling like I’ve never struggled before. I feel the choke hold of my enemy unlike before. My dreams are fading away, my relationship (from my end) is falling apart.

I wrote this, because I know we all can struggle in relationships and in our RELATIONSHIP with God.

Today I was reminded that God is near to us, we are dear to Him, He loves us, stands up for us, and will protect us. As I said I was reminded of that, but I know many of us know this in our mind, but fail to grasp it and live freely with it firmly planted in our hearts.

I also know many times, we experience such weakness that we don’t find the strength to do anything. But I believe, that when we experience that, we can call on God to strengthen us. We can call on God to help us. We can call on God to protect us. We can call on God to guide us. We can call on God to revive us, refresh us, to deliver us, and give us a new sense of purpose that leads to hope and a future.

The Word of God tells us, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

Just now, this verse in Scripture spoke to me in a whole new way. It opened up to me that saving, isn’t for a time to come later, but saving is for a time like NOW!

If we call on the Lord Jesus, we can be saved from our thoughts, from our actions... From our unbelief.

I wrote this because I know we can all be tricked into believing a lie. Although we want to be mighty men/women, we are susceptible to trickery; to lies.

So let us place our trust in God, not only for what we don’t know, but for what we know. Let us trust in God, not only for what we can’t do, but also for what we can do.

Let us not listen to the lie that doesn’t allow us to move forward because of what we did in the past, or those who said we couldn’t, or those who have experienced us failing. God is faithful and just!

Here is a seed of hope, of faith and love; a powerful promise from God, that I know we all need to have planted firmly in our hearts as well as our minds:

“If we confess our sins, he (God) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NIV emphasis added)

Sin, is simply missing the mark. Whatever promises and dreams we all have left behind, forgotten, gave up on, abandoned, stop believing God would get us to that dream; that promise.

Let us as the verse in scripture above invites us to do, confess it (whatever that may be) to God, and allow the moment of forgiveness and the process of rightly living again in God’s grace, to see our dreams and God’s promises, start to come to life in us all over again.

Beloved, I believe that when I was strong, God used my testimony to help you see He is strong. And I believe that as I am weak now, His testimony will help us all become strong again. Amen.

Here’s Jesus’ testimony to strengthen us all:

“Looking (gazing) unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured (pushed pass the pain) the cross, despising (disregarding) the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (obtaining the promise).” (Hebrews 12:2 NKJV emphasis added)


Beloved, I have to believe that all we do in this life isn’t by accident, and if that is true, then God dying on a Cross then we can live free isn’ by accident either. God knows our weakness, yet He still loves us. Let us live right in the light of His glory. Amen.

As always... YOU ARE LOVED.

Jesus Christ The Righteous

“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” 1 John 2:1 NKJV


A good morning indeed it is, to receive the overflowing bounty of God’s grace and the riches of goodness that flows lovingly from Him up above... For all things good come from God the Father above. Amen.

As I reflect on my life, and the thoughts, words and actions that entail my life, sadly I cannot proudly stand up straight knowing I have done all things right and have obeyed God fully. But this I know and am confident in, that as judgement day comes, and all that I am is exposed, I have the Advocate to stand before the Judge on my behalf and defend me against the accuser’s pointing finger.

It is He Jesus, that defends me! It is He Jesus that covers me! It is He Jesus, that although I desire to remain in right standing with God, how I praise Him that in my weakness if I sin, He is our Advocate that stands before the Father... Yes! The Lord Jesus Christ the righteous. Amen!

How beautiful is His Word to us, whether we are strong or weak in our faith. How faithful He is to us although we fail Him daily. The love of God that avails all things purifies us from our sins by the death of His Righteous Son Jesus on the Cross. Praise be to our God forever and ever. Faithful and true. Blessed be His name forever— Righteous One... Jesus. Amen!

Forgiveness: An Act of God’s Love

Beloved, forgiveness is an act of God’s love, that only God’s grace and peace at work in and through us can be accomplished by. Amen.


Today as I read in the Book of Psalms many characteristics of God’s Holy nature caught my attention. This evening being July 16, 2012 (Psalm 103:12) spoke to me, so I share it with you: “As far as the east is from the west, So far has God removed our transgressions from us.” Amen!

Beloved, the east and west never intersect, therefore God’s forgiveness not only removes our transgressions towards His Holy nature but also forgets our wrongdoings. Hallelujah!

God forgives us, so we too, should forgive others. As God forgets our sin, we too, should forget those who wrong us. This is the truth, but it doesn't make it easy to do though.

I have hurt and been hurt many times. I’m not proud of the hurtful things I have done in my past, but I do praise God that I can say, I have experienced His peace to forgive and His grace in being forgiven. Amen.

Beloved, as I think of an incident to share with you where God’s forgiveness had to work through me in order to forgive another, a scary moment comes to mind. Last year as I was returning home from a long walk, a man came running out of a car and put a gun about an inch from my forehead. He told me to give him everything I had on me. So I calmly gave him everything I had on me. He then asked me, “Is that everything?” and I said yes. He then ran back to the car and it sped off!

As I ran less than a block to my house, I recalled the entire event to my family, and they had less than choice words to say about the robber and the getaway driver. In that moment as my family shared their contempt for the robber, I walked away and experienced God’s powerful forgiving grace. I prayed to God, that the two robbers would be protected and saved from such a life and come to know His love. I also told God that I had forgiven them for what they did to me.


Beloved, I share this portion in my life not for you to say, ‘it was easy for you,’ or that I would seem like some amazingly kind and forgiving man, but rather to point to God, that He is amazing. That He is powerful. That He is quick to forgive and forget. That He is the One who will protect you in His peace. Yes! It’s our great God that accomplishes such an act of love. Therefore, give Him the praise and glory. Amen.


Beloved, If there’s someone you need to forgive and some wrong done to you you need to forget and move on from, let God’s forgiving grace and surpassing peace accomplish what we cannot do on our own. Amen.

As always... YOU ARE LOVED.

I say Amen!

Beloved, for the past week I have been feeling very little desire to push on. I have been experiencing an exhaustion that was keeping me from allowing God’s Word to pour into my heart and revive my life!

But my God is faithful and He is the healer of all heartache that goes down to the very soul! This I have known, that although God remains in a high place He is so loving and His mercies endures forever that He would be concerned with the lowly state of human beings. Amen!

This morning as I awoke and couldn’t return to sleep. I got up knowing God was telling me that I needed to spend time with Him as I was slipping into a depression. As I struggled and tossed back and forth in my bed knowing I needed to get up, I finally got up but I felt a tear inside me; a fight going on in me— an absolute need to spend time with my God, but a stronghold that kept me from it.

To be in prayer, to be in His Word, and to cry out to Him as I presented my need to Him knowing He has been there for me every step of the way and hasn't abandoned me, but this stronghold kept me from it all.

As I struggled to pray. As I struggled to reach for my Bible and open it. As I struggled with a battle going on in my mind, in the corner of my eye I saw some words on a sheet. As I lifted it up and began to read them, I come to a familiar sight. These words stared back at me but they penetrated into my soul, as a hand to a switch, turning on something inside of me that craved God.

These words: “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Beloved! I say Amen! Amen to God. Amen to His Word. Amen to His enduring mercies. Amen to His ever present love that abides in all of creation. Amen!

I say Amen to God’s willingness to give strength to the weak, lifting up the lame that they would walk.

I say Amen to God giving sight to the bling and hearing to the deaf. He is able and willing! Reach out to Him, He is faithful. So I say Amen.

As I found myself looking to promises of God, and I found myself in the book of Psalm, God’s peace certainly covered me. God’s peace certainly guarded my aching heart and guarded my troubled mind. Praise You my God!

I say Amen to God’s faithfulness.
I say Amen to God’s grace.
I say Amen to God’ forgiveness.
I say Amen to God’s healing.
I say Amen to God’s mercy.
I say Amen to God’s Truth.
I say Amen to God’s Word.
I say Amen to God being all seeing, all knowing, all powerful and always EVERYWHERE PRESENT. Amen!

Beloved, God knows us. God is with us, and above all that I weep in joy and even now tears swell up, God is so amazing in His perpetual love that He allows us to know Him! Through His Son. Amen Lord Jesus!

To that! I say who amongst us can resist the call; resist the invitation, to know our GREAT GOD?! I certainly cannot.


I am moved to pray a prayer of praise: Beloved let us pray.

Father and God, You are, Amazing God! Your mercies endures forever. Your love is perpetual. You are mighty to save those who are weak, in mourning, and without a protector. Yes! My God, there is none other but You! Who loves for a thousand generations. Yes! My God, there is none other that gives rest to a weary and tired soul. Thank You that in You! We have rest. We have peace. We have comfort. We have contentment in Your Truth!

Oh heavenly Father, my soul cries out to You, and in my despair You heard. You came near, You embraced me... You saved me.

My God I weep at the embrace of Your gentle hand. Your love overpowers my doubt, and brings clarity to my lack of understanding. Praise You my God! For You and You alone know me from the depths of who I am. You cover me in my coming and my going.

O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You. (Psalm 139:1-10, 13, 14, 16-18 NKJV)

You my God, I cry out to and say Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. Amen.

And You are so faithful and true to hear me... Me! And You alone are quick to answer. Oh Father I cry, I weep and rejoice in Your love. May You be forever praised in and through my life, in Jesus name. Amen.

Surely, in Christ, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life! You and You alone my God! I will praise with my whole heart! Amen.

Therefore beloved, give God your absolute praise. Submit to God. Resist the devil (as he is the father of lies) and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Amen.

My Book Report (Chapter 8): Every Day A Friday

Chapter Eight

Good afternoon! Today is April 13, 2012. I'm including the date as I'm actually writing My Book Report and saving them as I read a chapter. Yesterday I posted CHAPTER 1 and today I posted CHAPTER 2. You may actually read this chapter's book report, being on chapter 8 "Silencing the Voice of the Accuser" sometime next week or the following week, so I intentionally want you to know how I am going about this book report of mine. As I mentioned in chapter 1, I was given the great suggestion to blog about Joel Osteen's book Every Day A Friday by a friend and brother of mine Jeff Zelaya. My thinking as I read and write about this book is this: Save the chapters you read as drafts then you can catch up on other reads that peak your interest yet keeping your posts on the book reports fresh. Good thinking, right?!

Okay, this chapter had me thinking and reflecting, and being grateful to God for all He is and does for me, for you, for all of us a lot! Right off the back Joel shares a story of a young boy who in his innocence and ignorance, does something that caused him great anguish within himself and to cover it up, he is forced to become a slave to his sister. He killed a duck with his sling shot. The young boy does all her chores because she witnessed what he did, and in order for her silence to remain, he needed to do what she did. This young boy's sister was the accuser in the story. She would come to her brother and whisper to him, "remember the duck." A couple of days went by like this, and finally the boy couldn't take it any longer. He broke down. showed remorse for the wrong he did. He confessed to his grandma and asked to be forgiven. Amazingly, his grandma said that she saw everything that happened through the kitchen window. She saw him pull the sling shot back. She saw him aim. She saw the rock hit its target dead on. She saw the duck die. She saw how shocked he was for what he did. She saw him bury the duck. She even saw that his sister witnessed it as well. All she was waiting for, was for him to grow tired of being his sister's slave. This young boy's grandma said she already had forgiven him and with a loving hug she embraced him tightly. The amazing point of this story, is this. Although wrong doing brings shock and at times causes us to hide the truth and be filled with guilt, our remorse for what we do, leads to confession and the love through forgiveness we experience actually sets us FREE. 

Chapter eight can be a weapon if utilized well to break down those walls of guilt the Accuser builds up against us. The whole chapter is on guilt. The chapter shares how guilt builds up in us and reminds us of the tools we are given in Jesus Christ to break free from a guilt-filled life. Joel Osteen says these words towards guilt, "Guilt puts you on a treadmill; you're constantly working and struggling and sweating, but you don't move forward." This quote certainly speaks to me about something I have struggled with and constantly look to God for the strength to break free from such thoughts- Being active yet not productive. Activity is a treadmill. You're doing things but it takes you nowhere. Productivity always leads to a different destination. You are able to see sights, sounds, gain experience, meet new people and most importantly build strong lasting relationships. I wonder many times if I'm being a treadmill worker, or a destination traveler. How about you?

Truth be told, I have often heard the Accuser say to me, 'everything you write doesn't matter. It's wasted time. No one cares. You have nothing to offer. It will go nowhere. You think God is doing something with it, but He isn't!' In effect, those words are just like the sister's words to her brother, "remember the duck." They too, have made me at times a slave. But thanks be to God! For such friendly reminders on how to respond to the Accuser, such as this. "No thanks. I'm not going there. If God doesn't condemn me, I'm not condemning myself!" Amen.

Wow! In rereading what God placed into my heart to write above, I'm blown away by the love and willingness God displays in our lives and the many resources He presents in our lives through writers, speakers, teachers, pastors, etc... to reach out and say that He is here and that He has already forgiven us. God is good. Amen. Okay, this will be the eighth report on Joel Osteen's Every Day A Friday. I have said it before, and I'll say it again. I definitely recommend this book. It's my prayer and hope that my words; my time invested here, will result in all of you seeking out the resource I am recommending and greater than that, seek out God through confession for forgiveness if you too, have felt the imprisonment of guilt by the Accuser. God is love. Won't you experience that FORGIVING LOVE AND EMBRACE?


My Take Away:


There will always be a voice accusing you of what you did wrong. What you failed at. But, as the Word of God declares so triumphantly to all believers in Jesus everywhere, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1 NIV) let us all take those words in, and with conviction tell the Accuser, your words aren't stopping me from experiencing my God Potential, and certainly will not take my faith in God away. GET BEHIND ME SATAN!


Here are words of encouragement I gave myself, and I pass on to you. "Flavio, your guilt is left behind when your willingness to acknowledge yourself as a child of God is greater than the Accuser's willingness to harass you. Through God's grace you will rise higher, high above the Accuser where he can no longer harm you. Amen." 

My Book Report (Chapter 6): Every Day A Friday

Chapter Six
“An Attitude of Gratitude is not a catchy slogan. It's an untapped resource.” – F. Lugo

I am amazed! I repeat I am amazed! How amazing it is to receive such wonderful blessings from words in a book. Words on a screen. Words delivered through a social networking site. Words from someone who cares. When these words are filled with goodness. When these words are uplifting, and never aimed to bring you down, I write to you all, be amazed! And thank God!


Chapter six from those words above you can probably put together in your amazing mind that it's a chapter that will have you thankful and amazed. By the way did you know one of my favorite words in the English dictionary is Awesome! Why do I let you know that? Because the word amazing is AWESOME!


"The Right Perspective" would be an awesome way to describe chapter six. In fact, that's the title of chapter 6: "The Right Perspective." Throughout this chapter there is one underlining truth that is amazingly awesome. We are so blessed, the mere fact that all of us at some point or another think we aren't blessed is staggering. Therefore, let me take the initiative and let you in on a little secret. I have often thought I wasn't as blessed as I should have. Are you in shock? I hope you are, because chances are high, you too, have thought, felt and expressed in your life more than once that you were not blessed. Maybe you didn't use those exact words, but maybe these sound more familiar,"Nothing good ever happens to me," or better yet, "Why me?"


Here's a little snippet of something Joel mentioned, shedding light on The Right Perspective to have in his book Every Day A Friday. "I read recently that more than a million people die every single week. Think about it. You made it another week! You're better off than a million people. You can thank God you're alive."  (Here) is where you can find some sobering statistics.  


Joel goes on to share this as well, "The article also said that if you have a roof over your head, you are better off than 75 percent of the world's population. And if you have fifteen dollars to your name, you are in the top 8 percent of the world's wealthiest people- fifteen dollars!"


How's that for the right perspective? There is so much to be thankful for, and as Joel shared a great exercise to gain the right perspective, I share it all with you. Make a list of everything God has blessed you with, and by the end of it, you'll have gained The Right Perspective.


Here's a bit of direction for you when writing your list. Joel mentions a man who complained he had 'no good shoes,' then he met a man without feet. In that very moment and from then on, that man had The Right Perspective.



My Takeaway:

The Right Perspective comes from the heart that praises and thanks God. The more I praise God the less I see room to complain. If I develop a spirit of continual thanks and praise to God while meditating on His goodness, I wont have time to focus on what's wrong or to complain about what I don't have or what I can't do, because I'll be to grateful to God for what I DO have and what I CAN do. Just as King David wrote, and knew the secret to The Right Perspective, I share this secret with you. "I WILL bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth." (Psalm 34:1 AMP) and apparently the apostle Paul knew this secret as well, as he wrote, 'give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.' (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV)




Beloved, I leave you with these words. They are my words to God as soon as I finished reading chapter six and reflecting on His goodness in my life.

Father, I want to apologize for not appreciating everything I have been blessed with as if it were the first time I received it. Thank you for your friendly reminders. Thank you for personalities like Joel Osteen. Thank you that the smiling saints belonging to your kingdom have been here on earth gracing us with their demeanor and amazing perspective. Help me to always have The Right Perspective. Amazed by You, my God!

Emergency Post: What Does An Apple Have To Do With Your Day?

“Seeing the apple reminds me to never give into compromise” – F. Lugo 

So serious I had to repost. “The devil is a hustler. Trading apples in exchange for paradise. Don't be fooled.” – @lecrae

As I reflect on that, I thought to myself. What would be your apple Flavio?

Not praying?  Not giving thanks to God for all I have?  Not reading His Word daily?  Not attending His house of prayer, worship and praise on a committed basis?  Not serving His house with a committed servants heart?  Not sharing what God is doing in my life with others? Not being an example of Christ to my family and all others? Not living a life that shows that God has done something and is still doing something in and through me?  Having sex before marriage? Looking at things on the Internet, in a magazine, or in a store I don't need to be looking at?  Not honoring my mother?  Not honoring my leaders?  Not obeying the laws of the land and the authority of those laws? Driving recklessly to get somewhere on time?  Thinking, speaking and acting in a selfish manner that brings down others as well as myself?  Not utilizing the gift of money well?  Not taking care of my body or honoring God with it? Will I trust in my own ability or God's?  Will I give into the pressures of unbelievers or trust in God? Not following God to my fullest potential?

These are all temptations– These are apples. These can easily hustle me out of my God destiny to be in paradise forever. What are some of your apples? Click here FOR THE FIRST APPLE STORY

Just like lecrae said...Don’t be fooled! Stay prayed up and in God’s Word. Remember the devil is a roaring lion on the prowl for his next victim. But our God is is greater! Amen.

Beloved, as always...YOU ARE LOVED.

Easter 2012: A Love Unforgettable

"Easter 2012 @potentialchurch Come be a part of Life Change!" - F. Lugo

Good morning! Today I am honored to share with you exactly what was in my heart when I got up at 8am.

Woke up to this song of praise in my heart, "I am yours and You are mine." 

This praise song had me thanking God He is on the throne- both in heaven and here on earth in my very heart! What do I mean by this? God rules in my heart. My heart is permanently pinned to Him as He is permanently pinned to me. Hence that song of praise..."I am Yours and You are mine."

As Easter is fast approaching (11 days away) I am further reminded of my King's great and everlasting love. You see, Jesus was pinned to a tree taking away my curse 2000+ years ago once and for all as the Word of God describes, 'Anyone who is hung on a tree is cursed.' (Deuteronomy 21:23). 

I am Free! because He was lead into captivity. That captivity was death because of sin and as the Word of God proclaims, "the penalty for sin is death." (Romans 6:23). Jesus had to die. And because He died I am no longer a slave to sin, as the Word of God promises, "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) and again, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20).

When those nails penetrated my King's flesh a shout of praise began to circulate in the heavens. And in all creation many captives were going to be lead free from their slavery by a merciful Hand, as the Word of God describes this great act of love and courageousness, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." (Deuteronomy 20:2). In fact! This merciful hand was a pierced Hand. A Hand forever engraved by a scar that would triumphantly say YOU ARE LOVED! I AM YOURS AND YOU ARE MINE. Amen! Lord Jesus!

This Easter as you make your way with your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to your church, or are invited to a church (http://potentialchurch.com/easter-2012/) maybe for the very first time. Know this! Jesus is no longer on that tree known as Calvary's Cross. He is alive, on the Throne of righteousness and grace. And He wants you to know that the message is still clear today as it was 2000+ years ago. He died for you because He Loves You. 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)


I have come to embrace and believe fully that Love isn't on a billboard. In a club. On a street corner. In a bar. With a gang. In a needle or a bottle. Love isn't on a website late at night when no one is around and certainly not in a magazine or a tinted window location. But Love can penetrate all those avenues of darkness and destruction, because Love conquered eternal darkness itself! Jesus raised from the dead three days later conquering death and all its ways of conquering us once and for all. These words of victory haunts evil and makes way for good, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you...‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words. (Luke 24:5-8 emphasis added).

Knowing that My Savior and Lord has Risen! I can now say with confidence, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)

⁵⁵ 

    

The picture of Easter can be expressed by many picture painting expressive words as you can see but truly, only 7 things are needed to grasp fully what Easter and God's Love is all about. 


A tree (Luke 23:21). A crown of thorns (Matthew 27:29). Nails (Mark 15:25). Blood flowing (Matthew 27:26). A prayer of forgiveness (Luke 23:34). Paradise promised (Luke 23:43). A shout representing Victory! "It is Finished." (John 19:30)


Beloved, Jesus loves you and that's no cliché. It's a proclamation of truth that cost Him His life. This Easter as you enter God's House, don't leave without giving your whole heart; your whole life to Him as He gave His one and only Son up for you, for me, for all who would believe. Amen.


Beloved, I leave you with these words sang from hearts that know Who True Love is (Sing Along)

"My whole life is Yours, I give it all

Surrendered to Your name

And forever I will pray

Have Your way, have Your way"

Beloved, as always...YOU ARE LOVED.

• 
  

A Quick Post: The Healing Scar

"By one touch of His hand a wound is healed. By His death, your life is saved." - F. Lugo

Forgiveness of sins is God’s amazing and successfully thriving business. But the scars of those sins have a tendency to cause us pain from time to time. Depending on the length and depth of a scar, will determine the magnitude of pain, sorrow and struggle that will come along with it. Our past mistakes can haunt us and cause us some agonizing times whether divorce, or financial dilemma. But thank God His successful business is also in the practice of protection and healing from such times as well.

I thank God for every moment He helps out those who are in need but greater is His blessing when He brings both you and I to come to the aid of those in need. Amen.

The everlasting band aid is our Savior the Lord Jesus. Don't let your scars haunt you and cause you to relive a past pain. Look to Jesus... The healer of the world. Amen.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5 NIV)

As always...YOU ARE LOVED.

A Beautiful Attitude (Part 4): A Satisfied Life Is A Righteous Life

"A satisfied life is a righteous life."

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6)

Good morning beloved. God's grace and peace be with you, your family, and your ministry both today and forever. Amen. 

Today I will continue on with Part 4 of A Beautiful Attitude, sharing what God has placed into my heart when it comes to the Beatitudes- Staples for good living and the blessings that go along with them.

As I read the Beatitude above, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled, I asked God what is righteousness? So from that question we will enter into this journey together. Are you ready? LET'S GO!

First of all I wanted to define what righteousness is for both you and I. Keep in mind this is a journey we are all going on- Our walk with Christ Jesus the Lord. Amen. 

Okay, so what is righteousness? Here's a definition I found that speaks exactly to what righteousness is. The Greek word that we translate as righteous is dike (pronounced, dee-kay). And while the ancient Greek meaning was tendency, the use of this word in the Bible implies justice and conformance to established standards. Justice means doing the right thing; and conformance to established standards (in the Bible) refers to following the ways of God. So, the word righteous can also be translated as just, since righteousness is so closely tied to justice.

I'm learning to look to the Hebrew and Greek meanings of words as these were the original languages spoken and written. Sometimes we simply must go to the past to see our present and future more clearly; hence renewing our minds by the Word of God (see Romans 12:2). Amen. So! what spoke to me was the word tendency. Sometimes the word tendency gets a bad rep, but we are looking to the positive of all things. Right!? Therefore, I would like to have a tendency to seek to do the right thing and follow the ways of God all the days of my life then I will stand before the Lord on that day in time and be counted righteous by Him, because I lived a righteous life before all others. Amen.

I shared with you what I've been learning so far about what it means to be righteous, how I desire to be righteous and now I'll hook you up with a link that pretty much lists many versus in scripture as well as the definition above that we both read a few moments ago and many more blessings (click HERE FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS).

I must say, this blog post is different than my others. It's more lighter. It's still from God's heart to my heart to all your precious hearts, but God is good and the direction He leads me in, you in, all of us in, shows us many wonderful things; of Himself as well as ourselves. Truly a beautiful exchange. Praise the Lord!

Now I find interesting how the Beatitude says those who hunger and thirst as to me it makes me think of a meal. Yes! I'm hungry...(Ha!), but that's beside the point. A meal to me consists of a beverage, an appetizer, a small salad, a main dish and dessert- that's a full course meal to me. To me being thirsty and hungering for righteousness is actually something that is beneficial to our bodies and in actuality we need to be righteous in order to survive, as the Word of God speaks those who don't take in the nourishment of righteousness (they are malnourished in the ways of God) as unrighteous; those who perish (click HERE TO SEE WHAT MALNOURISHED TO GOD LOOKS LIKE).

Now having a meal is nourishing but the right type of foods eaten and beverages we drink will guarantee us a satisfied feeling; a true contentment. To me, I can eat pizza almost everyday, but eventually I desire to have a complete meal as pizza is not a meal. To me, I enjoy drinking Arizona Tea, but it always leaves me thirsty. But on the other hand, if I have a full course meal that is sensible and a nice cold glass of water, I am not only filled (satisfied), but I have no thirst either as only water can quench our thirsts. Did you know that Jesus is called the bread of life and the living water? It's no coincidence that the way to righteous living as well to heaven is through Jesus (see John 14:6). Consuming Jesus (see John 6:56-58) is that sensible meal for our souls and the right living that God calls us to. How so? Through accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord (see Romans 10:9-10/John 3:16), Through Baptism (see Romans 6:3-11/ Matthew 3:13-15), Through Communion (see Luke 22:14-19/1 Corinthians 11:26) , In Loving Him (see Luke 10:27) and Living life for God and not for ourselves (see 2 Corinthians 5:15/ Galatians 2:19-20) Through faithfully following Jesus to where He is calling us. As Jesus says, let us follow His words to all of us, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:1-8).

I have both known the malnourished weakness of an unrighteous life and the strength that comes through a righteous life. Does this make living a righteous life easy? Certainly not! But we take heart, that is being filled with joy, as one; we know in life we will experience troubles and two; Jesus has already overcome the world (see John 16:33), therefore we can be confident if we trust in Him with all our heart, rely on Him and not our limited understanding, He will make that way for us known (see Proverbs 3:5-6). Amen.

What I remain in awe over God in these days is that as Easter draws near just as it was last year and the year before that, my heart, my thoughts and my speech are directed towards Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. With that I will invite you to rise to the call and receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord. He will save you and make your path straight leading right to Him here and now and for eternity. Amen.

Let us pray: A prayer of Salvation (Make it personal/Make it count)


Jesus, please forgive me for doing things my way. Help me to do things Your way. My soul is in need of saving, and I don't want to live life now or in eternity without you. I confess that You are Lord and believe in my heart God raised You from the dead. I hunger and thirst for righteousness. Please fill me. Save me, help me, cleanse me, make me new and show me the way everlasting. I choose You as my Savior and Lord.  




Beloved, if you prayed this prayer I believe according to the Word of God that you are now saved. Congratulations!! I'd be honored if you would leave a comment if you accepted Jesus by confessing from your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in your heart God raised Him from the dead three days later. I pray God direct you to the church where you will feel right at home. Stay in the Word of God, and keep God first. He'll take you places you never dreamed of. 


As always...YOU ARE LOVED.

A great outline for prayer

•Pray for God's presence
•Pray for the desire to do God's will in everything.
•Pray for the desire and ability to obey God's decrees and commands
•Pray for help in each day's needs
•Pray for the spread of God's Kingdom to the entire world
•Pray for wisdom over wealth, longevity, and the subduing of your enemies. [this will enable you to do God's bidding in faith through his direction, and not waiting around for God to do it Himself]. This is pleasing to the Father.
God bless you all

Signature from Flavio's iPhone:
But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.
(Psalm 71:14)
Amen!