» A little bit about me...

Hi! hehe! This post will be dedicated to something very different than what you're used to, so enjoy!
In this post, I will be letting you know of the things that I want to do, places that I want to visit, dreams that I want to accomplish... so here goes!

Oh... I forgot to tell you. People usually asked me, "What's your 5 year plan? How about your 10 year plan? Where do you see yourself going in 7 years? What are you going to eat tomorrow?"
I sometimes do not have answers to these questions... Sorry. I don't have it all together. (I'm kind of human). Although I understand that a person needs to plan out their life and have a goal, I will start with this.
These do not come in order so don't judge...

5 Places I want to visit before I die:

• Egypt: I was watching the History Channel... and it's amazing that those pyramids and statues and temples are still standing. I really would like to see them.
• Israel: I want to go to see where Jesus walked, where Jesus' tomb is at, where Jesus prayed, where Jesus... O.K you get the point.
• El Salvador: That is where my parents were born and where my parent's families live... I want to go visit, but also start some kind of ministry over there (an extension of the church here in the U.S), just a dream. One day.
• Europe: I would like to go to France, Spain, Italy... all those countries and see the sights.
• Hawaii: Uh yea... everybody wants to go there, no?

4 Things I want to accomplish before I die:

• Get married! God, help me! Hehe! I really want to marry my woman... slip that ring on her finger and pop that question. Let me hear her scream, "YES, IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU PROPOSED!"!!!
• Plant a church! I believe that God has called and given a Vision... I want to fulfill it. It is my desire to be a churchplanter and to pastor people.

Side note: We need pastors. Real pastors. We have too many "pastors" that are wasting people's time, money, and life. See Jeremiah 12:10. Sorry, I had to say it like that. Let's get back to the list.

• Start a Churchplanting network! I believe that there are young men (and also adults) that have been called of God to start churches. It does not matter what age or social status they have. We need to reach people. Of Course, this network would be organized and effective.

Side note: If the "experienced" leadership of today would stop wasting time and let these men go out and minister, we would be able to reach more people. These men should have a calling, a vision, the message, and a passion to reach this generation. Being approved is vital and being mentored is necessary (just to avoid hurting people and not to reproduce the stagnant ministries that we have now).

• Write a book! I think I repeat a lot of things when I write, and that's not good for an author, but one day I'll write a book. So look out for the second edition of "7 steps to a better life" Haha!

3 qualities I want to aquire before I die:

• Faithful: I want to be faithful in everything I do. I want to be faithful to God, my family, and the church. I want to be faithful to my future wife (Go Ruthie!), to my future kids (Socorro and Obadiah! Wohoo! Great names).
• Consistent: This is difficult. Pray for me on this one. I have areas in my life that need consistency. In this time of our generation, where the world changes every minute and new things suddenly become obsolete, I pray to God that I can be consistent in everything that I do.
• Passionate: I want to have a motivation like no other. A drive that will take God's word into people's heart, causing them to change, becoming what God intended them to be. Passionate about life, about God, about my family, about ministry...

1 Car I want to own before I die:

• Honda and Toyota... Haha! nah! I'll pass! No really! Let me think hard on this one...Oh, I got it.
• Range Rover: I just love the look of those cars... they are luxurious in every way...

This car will most likely end up in some auction or sold... to support Missions or Ministry. I bet!

I know that some of these things can be accomplished in the next year, but some will take time... and my deadline is, from today until I die. So, bear with me, 'cause I got time. Haha! Just kidding.

I enjoyed this! I love being honest.

What do you want to accomplish?

Where do you want to go?

What qualities do you want to acquire?

» Sight vs. Perception

A lot of people make decisions based on what they see... or for that matter on what they feel. I have done things sometimes that I would not do a week later. Can anybody relate?
Have you heard those people that got a divorce, and now they say, "I am seeing some good things that I never saw in him/her."
Have you heard of people that had quit their jobs, and now are saying, "You know, I wish I would still be working there."
This is why... because they were being led by what they were seeing... but they were not perceiving.

You see... Sight and Perception are two different things.
This scripture comes to mind, where it says,

"We live by faith, not by sight."

Thank God.

Imagine if we would walk by sight. Well, do I have news for you, we mostly walk by sight.

And to those who want to go back and fix their mistake of walking by sight... it's sometimes too late.

• You left them because you could not stand him/her (because of what you saw), but after perceiving it, you try to go back to them... and now they have moved on with their lives.
• You quit your job because there is a better opportunity somewhere else (because of what you saw), but after perceiving it, you try to go and re-apply... and now they don't want to hire you back.

In reality, your perception does not come from your sight. It comes mostly from your hearing. (Uh-oh... here goes Tony making these weird claims. haha!)

I went to dictionary.com and got the definition of perception. It says:

PERCEPTION: The act or faculty of apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition; understanding.

I also went to the bible for this one...

Isaiah 64:4

"Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived,

no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf

of those who wait for him."

It says... No EAR HAS PERCEIVED!

You can say what you want or disagree with me, but in this scripture you have to understand that perception was done with the sense of hearing...

Which takes me to another point...

I hope you are ready.

Romans 10:17

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

So... when you want to make decisions from what you see... let time pass. Let your sight get so blurry that you have to hear the word of God... to receive FAITH... and you will be able to make decisons based on FAITH. Those decisions will be good ones, because they will be birthed:

• Out of PERCEPTION not just SIGHT.
• Out of FAITH not just FEAR.
• Out of what you HEAR from God, not what you SEE others doing.

God, I want to preach!

No, not yet.

Like my friend Joel Valencia used to say, "Bro, they are not ready."

Haha. Just Kidding.

» Another look at What will separate you from God's love.

Romans 8:38-39

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life,

neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,

nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us from the love of God

that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

We often quote this scripture. Makes a great preaching, as well. But, really, think about it. No, no. Really think about it.

This scripture mentions a whole bunch of things that will not separate us from the love of God. The thing is that we get so wrapped up in reading the whole list of things that won't separate us from the love of God, that we do not think about them. We just agree with them (maybe it's because we have just heard this scripture screamed at us and not taught).

Can we take a look at this scripture? I think we have overlooked something here.

Let's start.

Break it down.

• It says "For I am convinced that neither death... shall separate me from the love of God..."

Ok. I'm cool with that...

I can die and that won't separate me from His love. I will be dead... I don't have to worry now.

• Then it said: "For I am convince that neither... life... shall separate me from the love of God..."

This is the thing on the list we do skip over... LIFE.

Read it again. "For I am convinced that neither... life... shalll separate me from the love of God."

Really? Are you sure about that? Are you willing to put the love of God before your Life?

Well, you say you do... but really think and be honest!

• Do you put your own desires of your life before God?
• Do you worry more about getting your degree in school, (in this life)?
• Are you desperate to achieve your own goals that you have set in your life?
• Does school, work, and relationships of this life keep you from putting God first?
• Can life be in the way of serving God?
• Do your daily duties in life keep you from His love?

Are you really convinced that neither death nor LIFE... will be able to separate you from the love of God?

Oh God help us to be honest.

» IGLESIA DE CAMPEONES DEBUT!

WOW! That's as much as I can say for this Sunday...

What a message Pastor Hutchins and Pastor Rios preached. My God!

This is Pastor Hutchins. What a man! God has called him for this hour. His vision, his drive, his passion that can be felt as soon as you enter the church building, it's crazy!

This Sunday, he preached about "The Phantom of the Opera". It was funny because he had 1 guy mannequin and 1 girl mannequin dressed up

ready to go to a ball... and the guy mannequin had a mask.

He talked about taking off the mask... to be transparent, and not hypocritical. He said that there is something far worse than being hypocritical by yourself. It is to be hypocritical as a corporate church body!

It's one thing to be a hypocryte by yourself, but it's far worse for the whole church to be full of hypocrites. People saying:

- "Well, we got everyone now."

- "We can stop growing now."

Take off your mask! OH MY GOD! He also said:

- "I rather have a bloody mess (wounded people) to take back to the operation table (restoration process), than to have people dancing around with masks (hypocrisy)." I am paraphrasing.

Enough said.

Get the DVD.

We prayed for the Spanish services that will start September 9, 2007 at 2:00 PM. We prayed for the Hispanic people. We also prayed for Pastor Rios.

It is evident that the vision of Pastor Hutchins is to have the Spanish congregation part of Church Of Champions and not just another church separarte from COC. Awesome Vision.

Apart from me translating for Pastor Hutchins to pick up offering, to greet the guests, and to make the announcements (I hate translating.. I am being honest. I'm still learning), I really enjoyed the movement of God in today's service.

I am in expectancy. Join me as we expect great things from God. And if you are not expecting... you are in a dangerous place. Start expecting.

» Mucha Oracion! (Much Prayer!)

I'm too tired to write a post. Pray for me.

We will have an exciting Sunday morning bilingual service... Oh man... (I feel the butterflies in my stomach).

I leave you with this pic.