Giving Life Away Expo Photos

This week, church had its annual missions expo, Giving Life Away. Being a designer, I enjoyed the graphics and display details very much and I wanted to share a few of my photos of them with you. I also included captions and links to some of the ministries that were on display for those who may be interested in additional info.

(Above) A vibrant blue light shines down on a large curtain made of plastic water bottles. In front of the water bottle curtain were water-shaped boards with facts and photos supporting the cause of Living Water International.

(Above) CHARM is a ministry to those in prison.

(Above) Talk bubbles of scripture passages illustrate part of the Aid Sudan ministry which, among many things, helps in supplying Sudanese with radios that play the Gospel and are shared among communities.(Above two photos) Photos and facts from the As Our Own ministry that serves in India to rescue girls from enslavement. As Our Own provides the girls with a safe and loving environment and the Word of God.(Above three photos) Stories, prayer and photos from past missionaries spread across a wall and are back lit to give the illusion of lights in the darkness.Burlap and other earth-tone fabrics draped across booth tops. That, along with the wide use of wood, lighting and other recycled materials brought a warm invitation to the displays. I must say, this was not at all what I was expecting to see at a missions expo.

Celebration Christmas Experience

I have one word – amazed! This was my first year to attend the Celebration Christmas production at Houston’s First Baptist Church and I must say I was amazed! I was like a little kid at the edge of my seat, wide-eyed, taking in every detail. Now this may seem like a short-handed complement since I’ve only seen two church Christmas productions (both of them this year), but in all honesty my review is well intended. Celebration was the best Christmas production I have ever seen.

The first hour of the production was light-hearted and filled with things such as people dancing in penguin costumes and the children’s choir singing as they watched Santa come to town, (or more like descend on his sleigh from the rafters above the audience to center stage). Then, after a five-minute greet and stretch session divides the show, the lights dim and the production gets serious. From the center of the sanctuary, a spotlight shines on Isaiah as he speaks in Hebrew and prophesies about the messiah to come. His voice radiates in song and I feel the God-bumps on my arms. After Isaiah come other prophets, and then, the silence of God for 400 years as the Jews settle in Israel. Live animals and extravagant stage sets illustrate the time. Mary comes in riding on a donkey as she enters Bethlehem and gives birth to the Son of God, Jesus. Angels on wires and carts all through the sanctuary give praise. Elephants and elaborate costumes depict the arrivals of the wise men and so on… I don’t want to give everything away!

A few days later in Singer’s practice a few of us shared our thoughts on the show. I was excited to share my experience and even more excited to hear what others had to say of the show and its message. What testimonies! Glory to God!!

So, all this to say, I’m inviting my whole family next year and I pray that all who have attended and will attend in the future are touched by Jesus’ story and Celebration!

Below are a few photos from the 2010 Celebration:

Santa's sleigh (© All rights reserved by Houston's First)

Isaiah (© All rights reserved by Houston's First)

Angels (© All rights reserved by Houston's First)

They All On Me

Cutthroat street poster

I have written a post addressing Cutthroat street posters before, but this time, I want to address this one particular poster that after six months, still remains posted up on an electric box on the corner of Fannin and Wentworth in Houston. I pass by this poster on my way to work everyday, but as I looked at the familiar image again today, a new message came to my mind when I read:

“They all on me”

I stared at the downcast face of the Christ wearing the crown of thorns as I thought about the meaning of those words. Sin, that is what’s “all on [Him].” My past sin, my present sin, my future sin, your past sin, your present sin, your future sin – they were all on Him. He bore all sin as He hung, suffered and bled on the cross. He became sin, satisfying its penalty so that we could become the righteousness of God through Christ.

1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Hebrews 10:10
And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Ace of Grace

Grace is defined as God’s unmerited favor.
That is, grace is God doing good for us that we do not deserve.

It’s been a rough few days here at the office. I had unintentionally let some things slide through the cracks in some of my projects and now my mistakes are all being discovered all at one time. Yikes! Not good. With all these mishaps, I am feeling very much on edge thinking that I may get fired any day now. How could I let so much go wrong in such short amount of time? And in the midst of the tension, my email has been surprisingly silent. I thought surely I better start packing up my things and updating my resume.

Then yesterday after lunch, my boss came to my desk. He leans over my partition wall, hands me a napkin and says, “Here’s half a cookie. I cut it in half so that it makes a smile for you.” How sweet (pun intended). He knew how I was feeling and wanted me to feel better.

Shortly after I got the cookie, I heard a silent voice from the Lord say to me, “you are given grace.” Almost immediately, tears filled my eyes as I stared into the air. The Lord was telling me that I was being extended grace and that things were going be okay. This whole week I had been thinking about what the punishment and consequence were going to be for my bombing mistakes, but instead I was given grace. Wow, such a God-like gesture. He’s giving me grace and mercy. Aside from the Cross, I think this is the biggest act of grace I can remember. Then, to reinforce His message, the Lord confirmed “grace” to me when the Holy Spirit prompted me with the song “Only Grace” by Matthew West.

Praise to You, Jesus. For You have used this to bring glory to Your Name. Let me always remember Your act of grace and the acts of grace from others. This conforms us to Your image. And may I also extravagantly extend grace to others. Thank You for Your peace despite the difficult situation. Glory be to Your great name.

So ultimately, my circumstance may not be monumental in the long-term, but the lesson surely is. God extends His grace to us in so many ways. And in this lesson, I also discovered that the very last verse in the Bible in the very last book references His grace, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.” (Rev. 22:21)

Hebrews 12: 14-15
Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness — without it no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and by it, defiling many.

2 Peter 3:18
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

1 Peter 1:2
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

Chopped Redemption

After a tough, long day at work, I came home, served myself a bowl of cereal for dinner and switched on the TV for a bit. Yes! It was Tuesday night and the Chopped evening marathon was on. Nearing 10pm, a preview came up to announce the coming episode. Wouldn’t you believe I was so excited when they announced a second chance episode and my favorite Chef from the Summer, Chef Lance, was back.

I remember the first time Chef Lance was on Chopped. He and another competitor (Chef Madison) were head-to-head in each round cooking amazing, creative cuisines with hardly no mistakes. I think it was the closest battle on Chopped I had ever seen. Both competitors had great attitudes and talents. It was hard to see either one of them lose.

This second chance episode called “Chopped Redemption,” (originally aired on July 26, then again on Dec. 6 & 20) was perfect for Chef Lance and I’ll explain why as you read along.

At the beginning of each show they introduce the chefs where each one is interviewed to give their inspiration to cook and reason for being on Chopped. As I watched this “Chopped Redemption” with anticipation through each course, I just knew Chef Lance was going to win, and I had a gut feeling that he was somehow going to give part of his winnings to his final competitor. And wouldn’t you believe that at the end of the show, that’s exactly what happened.

I share this with you because I love the story behind this episode and Chef Lance. Chef Lance is a Christian and an executive chef at Camp of the Woods Resort in New York. In his interview on the show, he spoke about the mean and inconsiderate person he used to be, but now, he has changed his attitude on life and others. I think most of us that have crossed from death to life can relate to this. Most of the competitors on the show come to prove themselves as good chefs to family and friends, for validation and credit, or simply just to win and get the prize money. Chef Lance’s competitor, Chef Yoanne, was there to win the money to pay for her future visit to France and see her dying grandmother – her inspiration. Chef Lance was so touched by Yoanne’s motivation, that in the end, he gave his competitor, Yoanne, part of his winnings so she could visit her grandmother.

I loved Chef Lance’s passion to cook, his mission to serve people through the food he prepares, his grace, and his heart to help others, as he did for Chef Yoanne. Chopped Redemption was the perfect title for this episode because it showed Chef Lance’s redemption as a chef and his redeeming character as a believer in Christ. Praise be to God! Congratulations on the win-win for Chef Lance!

Arguing the Ascension of Christ

I saw this write up: Ascension Day and Astronaut Jesus on another blog and was infuriated enough to write a response, (written below). I almost felt that the author’s original post was written as a joke, but in any case, a response was needed for those who are truly seeking truth on the subject on whether or not God’s ascension to Heaven can be taken literal. My response argues against the claims that Jesus’ ascension to Heaven cannot be taken literal.

Argument #1
Jesus “flew” up to Heaven? Is that what the scripture (Acts 1:9) says? No, the scripture says Jesus was lifted up/taken up. The Greek word there for “taken up” is “epairō.” It is important to note the details in the text and observe that Jesus did not “fly” or propel Himself up, but He was lifted/taken up by another source.

When we/the church are “caught up”(1 Thess. 4:17), that doesn’t mean that we will “fly,” it means we will be seized/snatched/carried off by force.

Hence, Jesus being “lifted,” or the saints being “caught up” is by a force outside ourselves.

Argument #2:
I’m not sure we all understand what the blog meant when he wrote “as we all now know, heaven is not ‘up’.” The topic under discussion itself is called “Ascension Day.” Does the word ascension not imply an upward direction? Scripture clearly states that the Heavens are above the Earth (Isaiah 55:9, Psalm 103:11). And, just so we’re clear, NOT EVERYONE will be raptured up unfortunately. And again, WE WILL NOT FLY UP, but we will be “caught up”/seized.

Argument #3:
Who is to say that our glorified bodies will need oxygen? God is the one who breaths life into us. (Genesis 2:7)

Argument #4
God created everything in 6 days (Genesis 2:2)!!! That included the Earth, the things under it, and the things above it (heavens). Therefore, ascension to the sky/Heaven by God’s power is not based on the laws of gravity and “light years of travel” through space. God Himself created gravity and all the things that govern creation, but He is not ruled or subject to these laws. He is sovereign OVER them.

Also, the apostle Paul in 2 Cor.12:2 says that he was “caught up” to the third heavens. Does that mean it took him light years to get there? Obviously not since he speaks of that being 14 years earlier.

Conclusion:
So, yes, ascension did happen and it happened LITERALLY as the Word describes. However, it did not happen based of the defining laws that govern creation (such as gravity, space and time), but by God who created all and is above all things, including the the laws that govern creation.

So, that is how I make my argument against those who do not beleive that Jesus’ ascension can be taken litterally.

I would also like to make a note that in general, when making claims on Biblical text, one must consider the context (setting, atmosphere, audience, etc) of the scripture passage. If surrounding verses are literal, then most likely, so are the verses in question. One wouldn’t read Chronicles and think it is poetic literature, just as one wouldn’t read Song of Songs and consider it to be historical. That would be silly. So again, always consider the context and that will help give insight in how the text should be interpreted.

Praise and glory be to our Father in Heaven who has blessed us with wisdom, knowledge and faith to believe.

The Sword Against Satan

Beloved readers, I have an assignment for you. Research your Bible and see how many different names for Satan you can find. Remember, greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4), so don’t think of this assignment as an open door to the devil. In fact, it’s a way of keeping him away. The more you know about him and his craftiness, the better you can fight against him. If you’d like, get technical and do research in the Hebrew and Greek. You may discover interesting things like noticing that the word “devil” is only used in the New Testament. (hmm… I wonder why that is?)

To help get you started, I have listed a few examples below. Names for Satan, aka…

• The accuser – Revelation 12:10 …the accuser of our brethren…
• The deceiver – Revelation 12:10 …Satan, who deceives the whole world…
• The devil – 1 Peter 5:8 (here’s a double) …Your adversary, the devil…

With your list, now reflect and consider which of these he is using against you today. How do you plan to fight back against him? If you plan to use Scripture (and I highly recommend that you do), share with me what words you would use as your sword!

• 1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome him. Because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
• Ephesians 6:11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
• Romans 8:31 If God is for us, who can be against us?
• James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Be empowered by His words and have fun as you discover your victory! Blessings!

Image credit to El Shaddai's Jewel

Your Liberty Bell

In the ladies restroom at the office, I keep a devotional that I read on occasion. Go ahead and laugh, I know that’s funny, but be honest with yourself now… on occasion, you read in the bathroom too! Maybe you do a word puzzle or skim a magazine. Well, I read my small devotional. It’s perfect! The devotion is short and the scripture is already there for me. Okay, anyway, this is not the subject of my message, it’s just now become an awkward introduction.

On my way to work this morning, I had been praying to God that I wanted to be free from any captivity. I wanted freedom from the thoughts and hurts that haunt my mind and hold me ransom to the past. Why, after so long, do we still ask the Lord about things that happened long ago? How can we get past those questions (pun intended) and move forward?! How can we put that thing to death just as David put Goliath to death? I, as I’m sure you feel he same way, don’t want to give the enemy a foothold from the things of the past anymore! Victimized or deceived, we must break through the chains!

Well, wouldn’t you know it that God spoke to me about this in today’s devotional! (Praise God. I love it when He does little things like that to get my attention and confirm what’s already on my mind.) Below is the devotional…

Also interesting is that as I was reading the devotional, I heard the emergency bell from our office elevator. A little boy had been playing with the button because he liked the sound of the bell. How timely! The last line of the devotional calls out to listen for the “liberty bell” that is ringing. (Awesome, confirmation again!) The Lord is speaking to me in the spiritual and the physical. He wants to set the captive free! “Behold! Your liberty bell is ringing!”

Hell: The Eternal “Scream World”

Image credit to ScreamWorld

If you drive around Houston area freeways, no doubt you have seen a billboard somewhere in the city advertising Scream World. It sure is a “scream world” when you have no hope! That’s what most people who have experienced visions of Hades (God’s holding cell for the wicked until judgement time comes when all who denied Him will be cast into the lake of fire) or Hell say.

While most of the American population gets psyched up for Halloween and the haunted house scares, do they know that each day they live without accepting the Truth of salvation is a day closer to their eternal abyss in Hell? Yes, the screams and fears of a Halloween night are only temporary, but those screams will not be temporary when death curses them into the eternal place of torment. There, they will be in a forever “scream world” with no hope in sight. Hell was only meant for Satan and his angels (better known as demons), Matthew 25:41, but that’s where all who reject Jesus will go after the Great White Throne Judgement proves them guilty.

It pains my spirit that so many delight in the cheap thrills and horrors of Satan’s schemes, including Halloween, a day most regard as harmless enjoyment of candy, jokes and dressing up. The lost live for the short-term satisfactions of this world, they bathe in wickedness, and taunt the enemy for more. Do they know that Satan is laughing at every oblivious step that they take towards him? In this moment, those people probably care less to think about where their eternity will be, but if they fully knew about the torments in Hell, would they choose to turn around and meet Jesus instead?

Nassau Bay Baptist Church (among others throughout) offers an alternative experience to secular haunted houses called “Judgement House.” Here, relief of Hell is granted by another way other than simply walking out the other side of the building 10 minutes later. Here, relief to eternal Hell is offered through the saving grace of Jesus – the only way out of Hell’s own eternal “scream world.”

While Satan uses Halloween horrors to draw people closer to his merciless wickedness, we can be sure that God is also using it to pull His created into discovering His good nature. My prayer is that many will awaken from the schemes of the devil and turn to Jesus to save them before it’s too late!

Resurrection & Reverence: September Worship Songs

This month’s songs are about our redemption after the cross of Christ and one is about reverence to the Creator. Although some of these songs may be familiar, listen closely to the lyrics and surround yourself in the beauty of their meaning. If interested, I wrote about the two middle songs in a previous post Out of the Ashes.

• Like an Avalanche by Hillsong United
• Aftermath by Hillsong United
• Beauty Will Rise by Steven Curtis Chapman
• Wonderful Maker by Chris Tomlin or Jeremy Camp