The Ear That Hears and The Eye That Sees

Proverbs 20: 12 - The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them.

I am continually amazed at how accurate God's word is. This morning, as I was reading Proverbs 20, I came upon the above verse. It leaped out to me because I have just finished taking Biology and one of our main focuses was the theory of evolution. I wrote my final paper on "why a Christian should not believe in evolution." 

We are told in Proverbs 20:12 that the lord made the ear that hears and the eye that sees. The human writer of this verse could not have known that thousands of years later these two things would particularly baffle scientists that believe in evolution. Again and again I have heard how there is no way that an eye  could have evolved. More than any other part of the body, the complexity of the eye is a problem for evolutionists. Yet it is not a problem for those who believe in the word of God. The writer tells us very plainly why the eye and the ear function so well; the Lord made both of them.

Although the Christian does not need outside sources to confirm his faith, there is undeniable evidence of the scientific validity of the Bible all around us. When I consider all the care God put into making us, it reminds me of just how special each of us is to him. If you are in a struggle today just remember that the Lord who made the eye to see and the ear to hear is listening now. You can take your needs to Him and He will hear. Not only will He hear, He can do something about your problems when no one else can. Give Him a try! He sees all, knows all, and can do all!

God Bless,

Spanish Pastor Jones 

Successful vs Unsuccessful

The holidays are coming up and we know that everyone will be thinking about partying, eating, and exchanging gifts. Even though the meaning of holiday is Holy Day, very little thought will be given to the things of God during this season. For this reason our church has dedicated this week to be a time of fasting and consecration prior to the start of the season. Some are fasting food, others media and entertainment, etc. Basically it is a time of self reflection. We all need times to allow the spirit of God to search our hearts and show us how we can draw closer to him. I have a sheet of paper on my bulletin board above my desk that really spoke to my heart this morning as I was doing some soul searching. I thought I would share it with you since God used it to speak to me. 

Successful People	Unsuccessful People
Are Thankful	Have a sense of entitlement
Forgive	Hold in Anger
Take responsibility for their own mistakes	Blame others and circumstances
Congratulate	Criticize
Talk about ideas	Talk about other people
Want others to be successful	Secretly wish evil on others
Share information	Withhold information
Show joy	Exhale bitterness

Now is the time … Analyze yourself, correct yourself, and change!

God Bless,

Spanish Pastor Jones 

Grace- what is it?

Grace - that all encompassing word that seems to mean different things to different people. To some the thought of grace reminds them of how good God has been to them. To others it brings back memories salvation from the bondage of sin.

Mercy is defined as not getting what we do deserve and grace is defined as getting what we don't deserve. Let me give and example. A teenager is caught speeding. The young lady goes to court. The judge is sitting behind the desk looking very stern. He looks at the young lady and says, "do you realize I could take away your license, give you community service or a jail term, and impound your car?" Naturally, she is terrified. Instead he reduces her fine from several hundred dollars to fifty dollars. Then he steps around from behind the desk, takes off his robe and pays her fine? Why? Because the judge is her father.

This is the perfect picture of God's grace. The fact that he reduced her fine is mercy. She didn't get the judgment she deserved. When he paid her fine that was grace. He gave her something she was not worthy to have.

Notice what he did not do. He did not give her a free pass to keep speeding. Speeding was still against the law and against this fathers wishes for his daughter. It was still just as dangerous. There are some who seem to think that grace is a license to live however I want to live and have God overlook it. Whatever else Grace may be, it is not a license to sin. Grace is better defined as the power of the Holy Spirit living in me to keep me from sinning.

Impossible, you might say. No once can live free from sin. I know that all of us are imperfect. But as Christians we are on a journey of perfection. Our daily desire should be to become a little more like Jesus. Naturally we will never reach a place where we have no struggles with our flesh while we are in these imperfect human bodies. But the more we grow in God the less we should struggle with certain things. If we are still struggling with the same anger, unforgiveness, or temptation we were struggling with five years ago we need to reevaluate. Have I really surrendered it to God? Am I truly doing all I can to let Grace work in my life.

Jesus told the woman who was caught in adultery that he would not condemn her. But he didn't stop there. He told her to "go and sin no more." This is grace. He wouldn't give a command if he didn't also give the power to keep the command. Instead of thinking of all the reasons why we can't chance, why don't we begin to thank God for helping us change? Instead of making excuses, why not give God a chance to work? You might be surprised what He can do. If we do fail, there is mercy. But let's not use mercy and grace as an excuse anymore. Grace is not an excuse to do wrong but a reason to do better.

Phillipians 4:13 - I can do all things though Christ who give me strength.