Cathedral of Praise - San Narciso, Quezon

Never Forget How Jesus Sees an Offering

Generosity is all that He sees; the amount, in human terms, is meaningless.

Mark 12:41–44 (NLT)
Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions.
For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

Permanence/Sustainability Requires Righteousness

Proverbs 12:3 (ESV)
No one is established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous will never be moved.

Who Does God Call “Stupid”?

Proverbs 12:1 (NLT)
To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.

What Are You Looking For?

Proverbs 11:27 (NLT)
If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you!

Great lessons in leadership
Mark 9:30-49

1. When you have hard questions to ask young leaders, do so in private (vs 33).
2. When you ask a question and are greeted with silence, you must do some teaching (vs 33-34).
3. The concern about who was greatest was focused on how they were being treated by each other and others (thus, the context of vs 35-36).
4. Leadership should not focus on how people are to treat them (based on accomplishment) but instead always present themselves as a servant (vs 35).
5. How people receive us is their decision. No matter how little we have ever accomplished (a child), their reception of us as leaders (in His Name) reflects their true reception of Jesus and the Father!
6. There is a difference between those who “use” His Name and those who follow Jesus (vs 38-40).
7. Some unsaved people receive rewards from God for helping Christians (vs 41).

Character Guides Our Decisions
Proverbs 11:3–5 (ESV)
The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.

Decisions about how to live are not made up spontaneously; they flow from within. Who you are directs what you do. When integrity and righteousness are who we are, decisions about what to do, where to go, and how to respond just flow naturally. Let God change our hearts, let God change who we are on the inside, and then the outside just flows.

JESUS SAID IT AND MEANT IT!
Mark 8:34–38 (NLT)
Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Why the Question?
John 5:5–9 (NLT)
One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”
Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath,

Sometimes, Jesus asks a question that seems illogical but is necessary. Sickness impacts our hearts; questions are needed to help us deal with those changes.

1. Sickness creates an attitude in our hearts of “I can’t” that must be confronted.
2. Sickness creates an attitude of dependency that hinders faith.
3. Sickness creates an attitude of competition for limited resources that hinders faith.

So, Jesus asks a question to expose the heart and then gives a command to force a decision to believe and act without regard to these paralyzing attitudes of the soul.

Lessons from the Galilee: Peter’s Return

Please think back with me to Jesus’ words to Peter.

Luke 22:31–32 (ESV)

31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,

32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

The return spoken of here was not to a relationship but a return to the call to be a fisher of men. In John 21, we find many beautiful thoughts.

1. Despite several encounters with the risen Lord, Peter and the others had not returned to ministry (Jn 21:1).

2. Jesus appeared to them yet again. (Mercy and grace shown by Jesus—not giving up on them) (Jn 21:1)

3. Peter had influence given by Jesus, and even though not following, he used that influence, and others followed it in the wrong way (Jn 21:2-3).

4. Jesus saw their failure and gave them great success AGAIN (Jn 21:5-6).

5. John the Beloved had eyes to see what even Peter could not (Jn 21:7).

6. Jesus had His own supply before they ever reached the shore (Jn 21:9).

7. “Do you love Me or the business/success I gave you?” The recall is the same as the call. Walk away from all the success He gave us and be a shepherd of the people.

Thoughts from Nazareth

Luke 4:16-20

1. Jesus had “customs” or habits in life (Matt 10:1, Lk 22:39, Lk 4:16)

2. The Holy Spirit flows to the anointing (vs 18).

3. The anointing has a focused group/audience (vs 18).

4. The anointing has a purpose: to proclaim and set free (vs 18-19).

5. The first sign that people would turn on Jesus was that they could only see Him in the natural. They could not see past His humanity to see His calling (vs 22-23).

6. Long-term hatred/prejudice not only blinds the heart but is vented against the innocent (vs 28-29).

Celebration of Love weekend! ❤️

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." Proverbs 3:3📖🙏

- In the presence of God there is fullness of JOY😄❤️📖🙏

God Is God: He Has No Need to "Sneak"

Matthew 28:2–4 (NLT)
2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it.
3 His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow.
4 The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.

He announces, and then He does. He is God. He has no reason and no desire to “sneak.” I just love these verses. God gets everyone’s attention with an earthquake, then while everyone is watching, the angel rolls away the stone and THEN SITS ON IT. The angel is in no hurry. Hahahaha! God needed to do nothing. The body of Jesus, in its glorified state, walked through walls, remember? This was not to “release Jesus from the tomb.” This was to reveal that the resurrection had taken place and display His authority.

Where Do You Find the Next Generation Leadership?

Exodus 33:10–11 (ESV)
10 And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door.
11 Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

We will not find the next generation of leadership for God's people in the world of self-promoting social media. We will find them at the altar and in prayer meetings. Look in God's house for love to linger in God's presence.

What a Great Prayer to Pray

Psalm 20:1–9 (NLT)
1 In times of trouble, may the LORD answer your cry. May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
2 May he send you help from his sanctuary and strengthen you from Jerusalem.
3 May he remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings. Interlude
4 May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the LORD answer all your prayers.
6 Now I know that the LORD rescues his anointed king. He will answer him from his holy heaven and rescue him by his great power.
7 Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the LORD our God.
8 Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.
9 Give victory to our king, O LORD! Answer our cry for help.

A Great Daily Prayer

Psalm 19:12–14 (NLT)
12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

The Flash

Matthew 26:74–75 (NLT)
74 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed.

75 Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly.

I have often taught you that temptation is nothing more than thoughts in our minds. If we feed them and make them grow, they are more challenging to deal with. Let us also understand that His words are in our minds. The words of Jesus flashed through Peter's mind. You can only wonder what this stopped from happening next. Peter left the scene before anything else occurred. This is the mercy of intervention.