My Father.

A tribute to my father...

I use this blog for many things.
Sometimes, I write about what I'm reading. Sometimes, I write about what is happening in the world and sometimes, I write about what I'm doing in my life.

But today, I want to write about my father.

He turned 48 this Monday on November 3.
I called him up and wished him Happy Birthday and I truly hope he gets to live over 90.
You see, I love my dad.

Even though, he has made mistakes as a parent, his qualities and what he has taught his sons and daughters surpass all of them.

My dad is a calm guy.
I remember one time getting into trouble and him sitting me down at the kitchen table with a belt in one hand and very calmly asking me if I would ever do it again.
I obviously said no. Hehe.
Yea, those were the times where parents would not let their kid talk back to them. They had a belt. Hehe. That was a symbol of authority way back in the day. Smile.
Although, he punished us (his children) many times. The times that I mostly remember were the times that he would talk to us so that we would understand.
He rarely raised his voice.

My dad is a working man.
The guy did not need an alarm clock. He was up way before the sun rose. He would get dressed in his work clothes and put on his boots. He does not like shoelaces. He always wore boots. Hehe. Now that I remember, my dad always used to tuck his shirt in. He always looked funny. He used to tell me that a man always need to wear belts. Ah, my dad.
He is a bricklayer. He built some of the most beautiful homes that you have ever seen. He worked from sunrise to sunset. I know because I did it for a year with him and my brother.
My dad always provided for his family.

Even if my father is away in El Salvador for now, I wish him the best.
It wont be long before I see him again and I cannot wait.
I miss him dearly...
I'm just being a son.

I could keep going on and on about him but I'll just keep it short.
But once again... Happy birthday, dad.

New Life Church

Last night I did something that I had not done in months!
I preached from a pulpit that I never would have thought that I would prech from.

Last week, I got a call, inviting me to preach at New Life Church.
I was ecstatic, focused, contemplative and I aint gonna lie...a bit nervous.
Wha? Can I tell you the truth?

So, I show up at Pastor Joel Montes church, thinking I was going to be greeted by young people.
Yea right. This was a full service filled with young people and old people that were there to hear something from the Bible.
And if you know me... I didn't waste any time.
We preached the gospel of Jesus and I hope people left saying, "I need Jesus in my life. I need to follow Him."

I thank the friends that showed up and backed me up. I was glad to see some familiar faces. Thank you guys.

I am forever thankful... forever honored and forever humbled by God's calling.
Sometimes, we think that we are ENTITLED just because, "Well, brother, I am called of God."
You know what? We need to get off the high horse and always know that we are sinners saved by God's grace that was shown as he bled on the cross.

We deserved death... but I give thanks to Jesus that he loved me so much that he died for me.
Just because of that, I am thankful.

I know that other things such as ministries and titles can be taken away in a blink of an eye.
But if you have Jesus... Oh God, thank you.

Remember, Religion is about you.
but the Gospel is about Jesus.

I choose the gospel!

UPDATE...

I have not done a lot of blogging in a long time. So lets do this. Here goes.

- I had an awesome but short weekend.
- I was supossed to meet a pastor friend of mine on Thursday, but he ended getting nasty flat tire and did not get home until 2 AM.
- I got a call on Thursday from a church leader asking if I could preach at his church this Wednesday (tomorrow). I said yes.
- My best friend and love all in one, Ruthie, and I went to Joe and Priscilla's wedding on Saturday afternoon. Congrats yall. Time to reproduce and fill the earth.
- Sunday! We went to Pastor Daniel Espinoza's church. I wore a sweater... It was kinda cold when I left the house. When we got there, I was told that the church was having service outside in a tent because hurricane Ike had flooded the sanctuary. So, then it got hot! Dang.
- Daniel took us to Pappas. Dude, thanks bro.
- My mother's birthday was on Monday.She does not read this, but Happy B-day mom!

Well, I have not preached in a while. But I will be doing so at an "apostolic" church tomorrow night.
We'll see how that goes over.

I got some people coming along with me.
Thanks, your support is welcomed...... and needed. Hehe.
I need to see some familiar faces

Preaching The Cross.

What a day!

Rainy and humid... Thank you Jesus.

Hey, if we can give thanks to Him when its cool and nice, we gotta thank Him when its... um.. ugly outside? Hehe.

Well, I finished reading "He is not Silent: Preaching in a Post Modern World" by Albert Mohler. The guy.. oh man. That man can break expository preaching down. Before finishing that one, I read "What is a Healthy Church" by Mark Dever... All I can say is Wow!

Because I loved the passion that these men have for a healthy church and biblical preaching... guess what I did today?

Yep, I walked into Lifeway Christian Bookstores and looked these guys up...

I was in for a TREAT, No tricks... Huh?

I guess Halloween came early. Haha..

Uh-oh. Watch out for the Religious people.

They'll have my head because I mentioned "Halloween". Hehe.

Anyway, I got a book that Mark Dever, ALbert Mohler, C.J Mahaney and Ligon Duncan wrote together.. The bits and pieces that I skimmed reading it, made me rush to the cashier and buy the book.

The title of the book is "Preaching The Cross"

Its dedicated "...For the next Generation of Preachers of the Cross." Oh man!

Gotta get back to that fundamental truth.

We have been so used to preaching about the power and the manifestaions of the Holy Spirit that we see in Acts... and thats ok, because 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,"

...but we have skipped over 4 major accounts of the humbling experience that Jesus endured to give us that power... which is the suffering of the cross.

Can preachers bring all their preaching back to the cross?

Can we bring everything back to the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross?

Can we be reminded that we have 1 purpose in our preaching... and that is to "preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, " 1 Corinthians 1:23

Im going to enjoy this book.

Starbucks and Citizen Cope.

Its the weekend!
Wheew... Finally! Hehe.

I'm meeting a friend at Starbucks and go over Acts 1 to 5. Some call it the Birth of the Church... and I'm excited!
It's an awesome feeling that you have when you meet with people during the week and share the words of Jesus. You don't only get a sermon, but you also get prayer for people's needs.. and I tell you, prayer still works.

Later on today, Ruthie and I will go to a concert at the Verizon Wireless theater, where Citizen Cope will be singing. We got hooked to his song "Sideways" a long time ago... We found out that he was coming to Houston, so we bought the tix a couple of weeks ago. My girl is super-excited and I am excited too! Haha. No... We will have a good time. Any day with my love... is a good day.

So, everyone...
Good day!

Open the Bible.

I'm sitting at Starbucks right now... I came here after work to relax and wind down. What a day!
What I'm looking forward to tonight is one of my passions.

Last week, I met with some friends at their home to read the Bible and dissect the book of First John (Thanks Bill for the outline. Hehe).
Today I will go back to Josh's house and open the scriptures and go verse by verse and study them.
I enjoy getting together with people and opening God's word to read and explain what it says. God's word is amazing!

It helps you, it comforts you, it guides you... but it also convicts you, puts you to shame and reminds you that we are just sacks of dirt. Ooooh. Hehe.
It messes you up and stirs in you a change.

I'm excited for tonight.

The book and the date!

Well, I actually finished "What is a healthy Church?" by Mark Dever. What a book! I really enjoyed and took some things from it...
Here are the 9 marks of a healthy church and my thoughts are in parenthesis:

1. Expositional Preaching. (Lets get back to what Jesus has to say and not your bad feelings that you got when you woke up on Sunday morning concerning "that" pastor that dissed you. Hehe)
2. Biblical Theology. (we desperately need SOUND DOCTRINE)
3. A Biblical Understanding of the Gospel. (What really is the good news?)
4. A Biblical Understanding of Conversion. (People need to know what does Conversion hold you to)
5. A Biblical Understanding of Evangelism. (Is evangelism a department or a lifestyle. Oooh!)
6. A Biblical Understanding of Membership. (is there a need to BE a member of a church? Yep)
7. Biblical Church Discipline. (Umm, this chapter should be read by many people in church leadership... all I have to say. Hehe)
8. Biblical Discipleship and Growth. (The church has to grow in numbers but also in holiness, grace... Peter said, "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord..." 2 Peter 3:18)
9. Biblical Church Leadership. (Elders and Deacons. Blows me away every time I read about this model of Leadership)

Well, I'm done with that one! Hehe.
All I know is that I will reference to that book many times in ministry and apply those marks to the church. We gotta be in healthy churches.

Switching the subject, I'm ready for the weekend!
I'm taking my lovely lady out on a date to a "surprise" restaurant and catch "Nights in Rodanthe" starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane (talk about a chic flick).
They say it is "The Notebook of 2008". We'll see.
Hopefully, Gere does not start forgetting Diane Lane at the end of the movie and I find myself sitting in the middle of the room with people crying all around me... Hehe.

Goodnight.