Can You Hear ME Now?!?

This has been an interesting week for me in terms of what God has been teaching me and asking me to do. It is amazing what will happen when you get so frustrated with waiting and you open your mouth to say,, "God whatever it is you want me to do just tell me and I will do it!" Amazing because it brings to life that age old adage about being careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. When you open you mouth like that, it seems that is when God chooses to speak back to you and it is not always what you want to hear. It is almost as if He waits until you are so broke down and there is almost nothing left of you to get in your way and then He moves you. After reading that back to myself, I guess that is a pretty smart plan after all. I mean why use somebody when they are not broke down and there is too much of themselves to get in the way of His plan.

God is calling me in a new direction. It is kind of weird though because it seems like He never really used me in the old direction I felt Him calling me in. It was almost if He was testing me to see if I would or even could hear what He was asking me to do. It must be great to be God. (I will leave that one alone. No need for Lucifer being kicked out of heaven Part II.) In this new direction I am excited and a little intimidated at the same time. I guess that is good because I am excited enough to want to take on the challenge that intimidates me. The funny part of all this was how God had to tell me. He took me into 2 different places in scripture dealing with my new calling. Then a book I received in the mail was all about stepping out and accepting the call that God has placed on our lives. And I guess I was still saying "God are you sure?!?" I picked up a book that I could never get into when it was given to me 2 years ago because I needed something to get me through a 2 hour doctor appointment my mom had. God stepped in again and used this book to speak to me as it dealt with finding and doing what God made you to do for His glory.

I might be a little hard of hearing, but I finally heard Him. And together we will press on.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

Mike

Free....To Be a Slave

This morning I was wandering through the book of Galatians, just wondering what the Lord would say to me through His word. Usually He is faithful to bring it up pretty early with me as I am reading because I think I am developing a touch of ADD when reading :) But that was not the case--it wasn't until t he 5th chapter that the words popped out at me.

Galatians 5:13-14
13For you have been called to live in freedom—not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love. 14For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

We have been called to freedom--not freedom to do as we please or live our lives the way that we want to, taking pleasure in all the pleasurable things of this world; rather we have been called to be free to serve each other in and through love for one another. Paul is addressing the Galatians here and he is specifically talking to those who are falling back into the bondage of the law. They were craving the law and to be a follower of it--so he met their need and summed it all up into one statement for them--Love your neighbor as yourself.

That is a powerful statement. I know there are people out there who suffer from depression and self esteem issues, but I don't fall into the category very often. I happen to love myself. I love myself almost too much sometimes. I have had to battle with selfishness since my high school age when I discovered myself. I have been selfish with my time, my energy and even my words. So to tell me that I need to love everyone else as much as I love myself is quite a big statement. Can you imagine the possibilities of loving someone as much as yourself? Or if there is difficulty in that area of self love and appreciation for you, then can you imagine loving someone else the way that you want to be loved? That is an awesome thought.

Today was a particularly good word for me. For two days God has been speaking to me about changing the course of my ministry and has laid some big ideas on my mind. This is the second day in a row that He has taken me to a place in His word that deals with what He is talking to me about. I'm listening God!

Love someone today in a way that you want to be loved!

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Quote of the Day

"It's the friends that you can call up at 4 A.M. that matter."
--Marlene Dietrich

Quote of the Day

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more."--
Melody Beattie

Attitude Adjustment

1 Peter 4:1 "1So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you are willing to suffer for Christ, you have decided to stop sinning. "

I have thought about sacrifice and discipleship together ever since I was touched with the desire to take a discipleship walk with Christ and become a student of His teachings. It only seems logical that sacrifice would become a big part of the discipleship walk because you are undertaking someone else's plans for your life as opposed to your own. Naturally in this situation there are going to be things that you would want to be or do that do not fit in with the lifestyle you have decided to undertake and you will need to sacrifice these things for the sake of remaining true to your decision to become a disciple. When I read this verse this morning something else came alive in me.

I have always known in the back of my mind that discipleship would also entail some sort of suffering. My idea of discipleship has always been of the idea that the decision to become a disciple is self imposed; therefore all the parts of my life that I would need to lay to the side or sacrifice for the sake of remaining faithful to my decision would be my choice as well. I saw that line of thought this morning in a new not so positive light. When I make it my decision to sacrifice something in my life I am in essence still retaining control of my life and not completely resigning that control and decision making ability to the One that I am following. It was almost as if I decided how I was going to suffer on this walk. Christ did not have that attitude when He came to earth to walk among men. He came and did what He was called to do.

We need to have the same attitude that Christ had when He came to suffer for us. His suffering was selfless and love oriented. Peter says that when we take on this attitude we are in essence making two decisions--we are deciding to follow Christ and be led to accomplish what He has called us to do, and secondly we are deciding to stop sinning. Discipleship to Christ is the complete resignation of control of your will for your life so that you can become as Christ-like as possible and move in the direction He has called you to move in to accomplish what He has called you to accomplish. Being willing to suffer along this walk with Christ is adjusting our attitude from being selfish (no longer chasing after the desires of the flesh) to being selfless (being anxious to fulfill the will of God, and not your own, for your life).

Quote of the Day

"The idea is not to see through one another, but to see one another through."
--C.D. Jackson

Idle Hands...

We have all heard it before..."idle hands are the devil's playground!" When we have nothing to do, or rather when we are doing nothing, then we are more susceptible to doing just anything. What I am trying to say is that we need to be focused on something. If we are not focused then we run the risk of doing anything to keep ourselves busy. When we are not grounded in the word of God or in finding His purpose for our lives then we are in danger in doing something that is not in His will for our lives. We need to strive to do the work that He has called us to and to live the lives that we are ordained by Him to live; otherwise we are just keeping busy and not accomplishing what we we are purposed for. The other way I read that old saying is this: "The devil loves idle hands." he loves them because if they are idle then they are not working against him. They are not furthering God's kingdom and therefore are not working against the kingdom of darkness.

2 Thessalonians 3:6
6And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command with the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from any Christian who lives in idleness and does not follow the tradition of hard work we gave you. 7For you know that you ought to follow our example. We were never lazy when we were with you.

Paul tells this church to stay away from the Christians who have become idle and don't follow the tradition of work that they were taught. Being a christian should not be easy--in fact it should be the hardest thing that we have ever done in our lives. It requires us to make the hugest sacrifice we could ever make in our lives; we have been called to lay down our very lives in the advancement of the kingdom of God. Being a disciple of Christ is not something that can be done part time. It is not something that can be done passively or in a group. Being a disciple of Christ is not something that you are sucked into or a title that is automatically given. It is a very personal decision that we have to make on our own. Each of our discipleship walks with Christ is different as we are all called to accomplish different things for the kingdom of God.

The people who sit idle in the pews of the church today are a problem. The lack of activity they demonstrate is a hindrance to what the church has been called to do. Their lack of participation in the kingdom calling is more that the brothers and sisters on the front lines doing the work of God have to pick up. It only makes me wonder if they cannot hear Jesus calling "follow me!" or if they are simply ignoring it. Idleness is contagious. We can catch it by surrounding ourselves by infected people until we simply just become one of them. We can also catch it by working ourselves into weariness and burnout if we focus on those around us who are inflicted with idleness. Paul has it right when he instructs the church, those who are actively pursuing the calling that God has placed on their lives, to just steer clear of the idle.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Quote of the Day

"If love is truly a verb, if help is a verb, if forgiveness is a verb, if kindness is a verb then you can do something about it."
--Betty Eadie

Question of the Week

If you could determine the last thing you see before your own death, what would it be?

The Purpose

I am reading through 1 Timothy today. I have a lot of questions that have been going through my mind lately and it seems that God is answering them one by one. This morning these words popped of the page at me: "The purpose of my instruction is that all the Christians there would be filled with a love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith." (1Timothy 1:5 NLT) This spoke volumes to my spirit. It confirmed in me a need to preach and teach discipleship. My heart hurts for the people that are saved and then allowed to fall by the wayside and fend for themselves in terms of spiritual development. I know that each person that comes to meet my savior is called to a specific purpose in His kingdom and they need some guidance and help find out exactly what that is. Sometimes people get so concerned with increasing the number on the souls-saved-board, that they allow these new converts to get lost in the new life they have just taken on. Our goal should be to help these new brothers and sisters in Christ "be filled with a love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith."

Father let me help advance Your kingdom with a pure heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith in you.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Quote of the Day

"If I have the heart that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it."
--Mahatma Ghandi

Quote of the Day

"What we'll remember when we are old are the things we did for others."
--Will Rogers

Put In My Place--Biblical Style

17You have wearied the LORD with your words.“Wearied him?” you ask. “How have we wearied him?”You have wearied him by suggesting that the LORD favors evildoers since he does not punish them. You have wearied him by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

I know we all have done it. We see the horrible things happening in the world around us and we wonder where God is. We wonder why He hasn't stopped those bad things from happening to the innocent people--the good people. I know I do. I often wonder where the justice is when I see people get away with horrible crimes and actions. That bothers me. Well actually it frustrates me. It seems sometimes like the evil in the world prospers more than the good does. I was thinking about this hard the other day and this was the verse that God led me to. It would seem that I am not the only one who gets frustrated and tired of seeing what I see, but God also gets tired of people questioning His ability to be sovereign and to the only Judge. Reading that the first time put me in my place. reading it the second time made me officially whooped and repentant. God is God and God alone. He is sovereign over all things to do with them as He wills when He wills. 'Nuff said!

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Measure of Life

I have been struggling with the measurement of life for a while now. This has been kicking around in me since I have started this blog. There are so many ways to measure a person's life in the eyes of the people that lived around them. There are many more ways to measure life even by those people who did not live around the person. The reason this is coming to the forefront of my mind is that I am going to another funeral tomorrow. I didn't know this person, the only definition of this person that I will be able to get is the one that is presented in the eulogy tomorrow. I have heard about people who have written their own eulogies and have even had their memorial services while they were still alive. That to me though is telling people how you wanted to measure up and not how they measured your life. I am not quite sure how I want to be known after I have died. I am not quite certain of the mark that I expect to leave on the world after I am gone. I want to be so many things, but can I be so many things and be good in all of them at the same time? Or will the quality suffer for lack of focus? I do know one thing about my death and memorial service--I want it to be a celebration. I want people to understand that the sadness and grief over death of a loved one is a selfish emotion. Though they are normal emotions, I don't want that to be the focus of the service. I want my service to conclude with a standing ovation of a life well lived and a purpose accomplished. I want people to applaud the fact that my spirit is no longer restricted by time, age and sadness and all of the things that come with them. I want them to celebrate the fact that I have arrived in my final home and I will forever be in the presence of my God, my King and My Father.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

Mike

A Daily Dose of Inspiration

There are days when I need to start my day out with a good quote or a real positive thought to get me started in the right mindset. I read my Word in the morning and that takes me to a good place, but sometimes it leaves me with questions and I am left racking my brain for meaning or interpretation. So I set up some emails to post to the blog on a daily basis to deliver the quotes here. If you enjoy them let me know. If not them shoot me some quotes that have lifted you up when you needed that boost.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Proud Moment

I am not all that close to my extended family. I am now just getting reacquainted with some of them. It is a shame on what I have missed growing up and into my adult life in terms of my paternal side of the family--there are some real great people there. One of the people I am extremely privileged to know is my cousin Dana. I am not the kind of person that lavishes compliments on a person or extends my trust to a person just for the sake of doing so. I do these things after I get to see a person and their life. My cousin has gone through some tough times in life, like most of us she has made some bad decisions along the way. Where some people might forever see those mistakes or the consequences she paid for them as the definition of her life she chose to re-define herself. This past Tuesday, my cousin Dana walked across the stage in a high school gymnasium and received her high school diploma. She went to a school and earned it and just didn't to take the test for a GED. Some might be quick to write that off as no big deal but to me it is. That takes determination and dedication at her age to accomplish that. Some people look at others lives as a measure of their mistakes. I don't anymore. I see that one of the measures of a person's life is the determination to never stop growing and to never stop changing. My cousin proved that when she walked across the stage last Tuesday. I have nothing but respect and admiration for her. It was truly a night I was proud to be associated with that side of my family.



Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

Mike

The 100th Post...MOVE!

It has been kind of rough for me lately emotionally and physically both. If I let it, I think depression could have gotten the best of me these past few days. It is hard sometimes to know you are following God's will for your life and sometimes not see the rewards for the work you are doing. It is hard sometimes to not be as active as you want to be and to feel like you are always in the holding pattern waiting to take off. As I was venting this morning to God, He reminded me of the first sermon that I ever preached.

Gen 13:14-18
"14After Lot was gone, the LORD said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction. 15I am going to give all this land to you and your offspring as a permanent possession. 16And I am going to give you so many descendants that, like dust, they cannot be counted! 17Take a walk in every direction and explore the new possessions I am giving you.” 18Then Abram moved..."

God has given me promises for my life. He has told me specifically what I will be doing. And turn by turn I have followed His directions. Sometimes though when things don't quite seem to be happening fast enough for me, I start to get stagnate and the waiting gets the best of me. I imagine the promises that He gave to Abraham were a little hard to believe at first as well. But God told Abraham to look as far as he could see in every direction and what he saw would be His. In one version Abraham is told to walk the length and breadth of his land. He is basically told to inspect it, to get to know it, to claim it. Abraham could have just waited till all of this was accomplished before he did anything about it. He could have waited to see if would come to pass before he put any effort into it. But he didn't do any of these things. the first part of verse 18 says that "Abram Moved..." He received his direction from God and he took action to receive the gift God had laid in front of him.

I think so many of us sit and hold on to promises God has given us when we should be out there moving. We should be inspecting, claiming and owning the gifts that He has placed in us. We need to walk the length and width of the promise God has given to us and claim ownership of the talents that He desires to use for His kingdom. When it is so easy to sit and wait, wondering where God is and when He is going to use us or move through us, I think we should consider the possibility that He is waiting for us to move. He is waiting for us to take ownership of what He has given to us.

There is a lot of opportunity in the kingdom of God to move. If you don't know your gift or calling or purpose in the Kingdom of God, still move. Move in prayer. Move in encouragement. Move in helps. Move in sharing the word of God. Move. Move. Move!

Habakkuk Is Still Speaking

This past week I have been reading through the minor prophets. I have gone back through some of my notes and one thing that is sticking out is in the book of Habakkuk.

Habakkuk 2:2 "Then the Lord said to me, 'write my answer in large, clear letters on a tablet, so that a runner can read it and tell everyone else.'"

I try to write things down if I think I am going to have the tendency to forget them. When I am going through some rough times I am not going to be sharp enough to remember all the good things that God has promised me. The first things that come into my head are not going to be all the reasons why these hard times will not last forever. I am sorry to admit that, but it is true. That is why I am sure that God had Habakkuk write down what He was going to say. When God promises restoration or judgement we need to remember that something has to be gone through to have the need to be restored. There is always an outcome or an end to a situation and for those of us who believe in the grace and goodness of God, we know it will always be for our betterment, He always has our best interest in His interest. I am going to start a promise book. Where I fill it with the promises of God, spoken through the bible or from those who speak encouragement into my life. When the rough times comes, it will help me focus and have faith in the outcome and maybe make it a little easier to walk through, knowing the ending.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

A Reminder to Love

This email was sent to me by a friend. It is absolutely a prayer that reminds us to think more like God and see situations and people through His eyes and with His love. I truly believe we come across people and situations in our lives solely for the purpose of adding them to our prayer list or at the very least to pray for them at that moment. I pray that as you read through this, you will be able to identify with it and it will touch you as it did me.

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together Heavenly

Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with just those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love. Amen.

I am not big on "pass it on" letters, but in this case how can we afford not to remind people to love everyone, not just those we want to? If you send this to 5 people, then you have a chance to touch 5 people. Working for God on earth doesn't pay much......butHis retirement plan is out of this world

Be blessed and Be a blessing!!
Mike Aguilar
Empty Vessel Ministries

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

My Boy Habakkuk

I opened the book of Habakkuk last night because I had been feeling the urge to read it. I mean a name like Habakkuk as the title of the book it must be God right? It most absolutely was God! It ministered to me in what I am going through this season in my life. I will write more later but what has touched me the most is this:

2:14 For the time will come when all the earth will be filled, as the waters fill the sea, with an awareness of the glory of the Lord.

That is so amazing to me. That verse just echoed in my spirit all night last night. So prophetic.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

No More Smiley For Me

Today is the first day that I am officially with out a job. I have worked for the same company--The world's biggest retailer since I was 19 years old. I worked my way up the ranks until I was pretty high in the store level and making a more than decent living. I allowed myself to be worked until I was sick. Months at a time with out a day off working 16+ hours a day. My body finally said no more and I had to go out sick. The timing was a blessing because my mother also got sick at the same time and I have been able to spend time with her as she is getting better. I received a letter two weeks ago from the corporate office not thanking me for my service or checking on my status but rather it notified me of my administrative termination. It seems that I am too sick to go back to work and they no longer have a need for me. They also have no desire in paying for my recovery or even admitting that I am indeed sick. I know all things work out for good and I stand on that. I thank God for the time I have had to regain my sanity and to truly see the corporate giant the company swears it is not. Even so, Lord I pray according to your will, Bless them and all they do.

Here is to today as the final day of being able to identify with them. And more importantly here is to tomorrow which is the first day in following a new plan and new direction that my Father God has for me.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Not the Best of Summers

This summer has not been the easiest in terms of heat. We have gone through a heat wave the last week that has kicked my butt. To top it off the motor in the air conditioner broke and so we have been using fans to circulate the hot air in our rooms. But just when we thought that was the worst to could get, the power went out yesterday. We sat in the living room, the coolest room in the house, with all the windows open, just staring at the fan hoping that power would be restored to it soon. It felt like that Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Total Recall where the aliens watch their air supply fan stop moving and they just sit there and stare at it. I would have left the house but I just gotten back from hanging out at Starbucks for a couple of hours and I felt bad for the rest of the family. So we just stuck it out together. I will say though I had to charge my cell phone to be able to use it for an alarm this morning so I was fortunate enough to have to charge it in my car where there was air conditioning. In my car I realized just how peaceful the world is without distraction like noise and just how beautiful the world can be when we allow it to only be seen through the light of nature without all the extra glare of the city lights.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Crazy Kind Of Love

I had the distinct privilege of going out with my best friend and some of her friends this past Saturday night. It was a real cool Hollywood VIP themed part with limo, red carpet, paparazzi and all. I decided these folks are cool as we had attended a wedding with them the previous week. I have known one of here friends for a while and I just met her boyfriend at the wedding. Watching them this past weekend makes me believe in the old saying that "true love is blind." There is a lot that I can say about this and I am already on my way to saying but I don't think I should. All I have to say is that if I ever trip up and find myself in love I want that person to love me the way these folks love each other. No matter what they look like they are the most wanted person in the room. It was a memorable and learning filled experience. That's all I am gonna say. Peace.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

Mike