Well, this past week has been a flurry of God's goodness all over us. Last Thursday (11/20), Mario's sister, Monica, came to stay with us for a week. At the beginning of October, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer & had her thyroid removed about 3 1/2 weeks ago. On Thursday she went to the hospital to take her follow-up dose of Iodine-131 which would pinpoint & kill the leftover cancerous thyroid cells. As a result, she couldn't be in contact with anyone for a prolonged period of time - especially her 4-year-old son.
From time to time I've wondered why we haven't been blessed with our own child. However, this weekend I realized that if we had children right now, our home wouldn't have been available to help Monica relax, heal & be comfortable during her recovery. I was so happy to be able to give her a nice, cozy place where she could recuperate! She left this morning to go back to work & will go home tonight.
So, on Friday (11/21) Mario came to work at the church with me. Just a fun little weird thing to do, you know? We got a call from Monica telling us DTE Energy had just been by & turned off our electricity. WHAT??!! No, it wasn't a mistake. The past 4 months or so, I've been overwhelmed with the idea of running from one job to the next (although I'm soooo grateful to have these jobs), one of which consists primarily of managing church finances & paying bills! The last thing I wanted to do was go home & do more of it! Pitiful, I know.
In my mind, I really thought "I just paid that bill" and "that new bill just came". Because 3 weeks seems the same as 1 in this overcrowded brain of mine. To my credit, the envelope for the DTE bill did not say "urgent" or anything on the outside - I never even opened it! So, the praise report in all of this is that we had the full amount to pay the bill & even have some left over. They said they couldn't turn it back on until Monday but when we shared about Monica's situation and that she was staying with us, the rep on the phone pulled some strings & when we pulled up to the house 1 hour and 1/2 later, the truck was there & the tech was turning the power back on!!
Friday & Saturday passed fairly uneventfully, Mario DJ'd a party in Allen Park on Saturday & we were able to set up in record time even though we felt rushed because he had to work prior to the gig. On Sunday, we visited our old stomping grounds at Living Word Fellowship Church in New Haven - the church which "sent us out" to this one (JCC). We were able to minister in praise & worship with Mom & Dad, Bill on guitar, Wyatt on bass, Bruce on drums & Al on percussion. Mario played trumpet & sang, I played keyboard & sang. It was a sweet service and we were so refreshed after it. Plus, Dad bought us lunch, so we didn't do too badly!!
On Mondays, I usually work at the church then teach 5 lessons from home. Because Monica was there, I moved my lessons to another home. While there the parents of the students decided to bless Mario & I with a "Thanksgiving" food basket - which had items like toilet paper, laundry detergent & dish soap in it! Anyone who has grocery shopped before knows those things cost money & just bug you when you have to buy those & not something tasty!! I almost cried but I held it together & was very thankful. The basket also contained the ingredients for the sweet potato casserole I'm supposed to make for Thanksgiving - how great is our GOD?!
So, this week is spent in much thankfulness for us - for Monica's healing, for a home where people can come & be healed, for good friends & family, for freedom to worship in a good church, and more. I look forward to much more!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Weekend Worship
Well, Mario lead praise & worship for the first time here in MI (I know, what took us so long?) yesterday at Joy Community Church. Although, we had a few "interesting" moments, the service was powerful and people really seemed to press into God. The last few years have been challenging in MI, but the past few months seem to really have backed people into a corner. You would never be able to tell that at JCC, though.
A praise report was given by Shari about God's mighty provision in her life, everyone worshipped with abandon and I got to have a break by just being able to play & sing harmony. Mario & I also performed a special song together for the offertory - something we haven't done in ages. It was wonderful to minister side by side again!
We had an afternoon rehearsal with our little Christmas vocal ensemble yesterday too. It went well - our 3 guys sound like 6 and are amazing vocalists!! We're really looking forward to our performance (actually ministry) on 12/21 at the morning service. The song selections and narration are very salvation oriented, so we're already praying for tender hearts and open ears.
A praise report was given by Shari about God's mighty provision in her life, everyone worshipped with abandon and I got to have a break by just being able to play & sing harmony. Mario & I also performed a special song together for the offertory - something we haven't done in ages. It was wonderful to minister side by side again!
We had an afternoon rehearsal with our little Christmas vocal ensemble yesterday too. It went well - our 3 guys sound like 6 and are amazing vocalists!! We're really looking forward to our performance (actually ministry) on 12/21 at the morning service. The song selections and narration are very salvation oriented, so we're already praying for tender hearts and open ears.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Fun stuff
Okay, so my posts will not all be so long, I promise. This one's a funny from my sister's family. She has three kids, Elijah (5 1/2), Elanor (4) and Nathan (2). Yesterday Elanor was speaking & April interrupted her. Ellie said, "Excuse me!" April responded, "oh Ellie, what?" Ellie reminded her, "Who's speak is it to turn?" Hahahahaha, how cute!!
Our nieces & nephews bring us great joy - it's especially fun to "borrow" them, spoil them & return them!! LOL.
Our nieces & nephews bring us great joy - it's especially fun to "borrow" them, spoil them & return them!! LOL.
A Challenge to the Body
Following are the study notes to a sermon I was privileged to preach a few months ago. Enjoy!
STUDY NOTES, Angel Rodriguez Wednesday, 9/24/08
I. Anecdote about church perspectives:
A. “One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with names and small American flags mounted on either side of it. The six-year-old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, ‘Good morning, Alex.’ ‘Good morning, Pastor,’ he replied, still focused on the plaque. ‘Pastor, what is this?’ The pastor said, ‘Well son, it’s a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service.’ Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque. Finally, little Alex’s voice, barely audible and trembling with fear asked, ‘which service; the 8:00 or the 10:30?’ “
II. Challenge for the future
A. much about change the past few months, new wineskins, new things
B. “We need young people”, “we need new people”, “we need more people”
C. Isaiah 43:16-19, NIV
1. a lot of opportunity to let go of the past around here lately
D. Isaiah 48:6-7, NIV
1. When we continue to lay hold of old habits, old patterns, old formulas and lay them at the Cross, God is so much more able to move us toward our promised land.
III. Joy Community Church’s “promised land”
A. Deuteronomy 6:18, NIV
1. freed of bitterness, gossip
2. given more freedom of worship
3. freed of anger, strife, disappointment and hopelessness
4. given the freedom to learn more, increase financially, bless others with what we’re learning
B. story about someone who had bitterness in his heart, even after he was “saved”.
1. Acts 8:9-24. He wanted to be a part of the ministry but hadn’t quite “let go”.
2. main passage Ephesians 4:29-32
b. Possibility to become reality by applying these Scriptures to our lives.
c. challenge to come together tightly, throw open these doors more vigorously than we ever dreamed of doing before.
d. Can’t hear the music, the teaching, the message through closed doors.
e. time to shake off the dust & pour out of these doors, open for
1. the broken to enter in, the lost to come & receive, the used to come & be refreshed.
f. be like Philemon described in 1:7, “Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.”
IV. Where are the “young” people?
A. Many people that I have met between 20-40 years old don’t go to church say
1. “the church is filled with hypocrites”
2. “I have no idea how to apply what they’re saying to real life”
3. “I tried but the people are so fake and I feel like I can’t get in their clique”.
{Read highlighted articles} – similar quotes
B. Too much “Christianese” spoken in service so that an unsaved friend sits in our meetings completely confused
C. What’s our response?
1. Don’t get mad or offended but Explain, help, certainly not water down the Gospel.
V. Presentation without confusion
A. Our lives reflect salvation, deliverance & redemption if we choose to allow it.
1. Naomi & Ruth. Read Ruth 1:1-5.
2. Even though Naomi was bitter & discouraged – v. 20— something in her lifestyle v. 1-19 drew Ruth to a God who truly existed and to a life that forever changed history
a. she’s King David’s great-grandmother
VI. I know it all – think again
A. honest about ourselves in our personal lives and here at church
1. leave here & still feel like we don’t really have a handle on current issues?
2. unsure of how to answer someone when asked why we’re voting the way we’re voting this November?
3. Can’t control finances?
4. Feel like running from marital issues or feel like ignoring them?
5. Feel like you’ll be dating forever, unsure if you’ve found the “right one”? 6. Feel like you’ve lost the only love you’ll ever know?
B. given all the tools we need to answer these issues - more than enough answers through messages spoken here even just the past few months!
1. Pick up the study notes, order the recordings.
2. can’t keep attention on the whole sermon all of the time. It’s a struggle
3. new commitment
a. quit acting like I’ve heard it all before
b. take notes and order recordings (not just of teachings here but of other ministries as well
c. Challenge to do the same—not as hard as we make it out to be. Proverbs 24:5
VII. Mentorship
A. How can we be Joy Community Church in our “promised land”
1. Ideas need to come from you too, not just the “young ones”
a. a lot of experience in life, in ministry
b. Ideas aren’t bad even not always implement them right away or even if they don’t turn out to be right for this ministry.
c. gets us all on the same page & thinking with some unity!
2. Ephesians 4:1-7.
a. partnership between us with God’s kind of love with compassion for others.
b. “try to see the other side of the story ALWAYS”.
1. ie: If someone cuts me off at the light while I’m driving, maybe he’s on his way to the hospital.
2. If someone is going slow in the grocery line, maybe she was up all night with a sick baby.
3. If someone is rude to me at church, maybe he is having a hard time with his family.
c. The Bible says to avoid “vain & foolish disputes”. It also talks about tale-bearing or gossip.
VIII. GOSSIP
A. we all do it but Proverbs 16:28
1. don’t say “well, she’s not talking to me here”- check again! We ALL do it.
2. BUT do we catch ourselves, apologize, make amends
3. or give ourselves a “quick out” and do it again?
4. Proverbs 26:20
B. Catch-phrases to watch out for:
1. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this”
2. “did you hear about”
3. “I don’t know if you knew this”
4. “it’s probably gossip but”
5. “I don’t know if I should say this”
C. Another good sign I’m a gossiper
1. after a prayer request or something in the service that we disagree with
a. first inclination when get out of this sanctuary to go tell someone about it?
b. Or looking forward to getting here a little early before service so we can catch so & so
2. Not a woman’s issue either– heard more gossip from guys in ministry than one would think.
D. Avoiding gossip coming at me
1. Think of a sentence you will use when confronted
a. My sister uses “I don’t want to know anything about it.”
2. Or if a leading question is asked, “I don’t know, I’ll talk to her myself.”
E. Types of people/churches not to be like:
1. Romans 1:29
2. 2 Corinthians 12:20
3. 1 Timothy 5:13
F. If gossip is a part of our weekly meetings, or a part of our after-service and over- lunch discussions – why would anyone want to come here?
1. What kind of “truth, way & the life” is being represented?
2. BUT, we have a chance to live above that, to choose to make it right.
G. Example of cleaning day at church when I first got here
1. came to bring lunch and was joking around with some of the folks here. 2. Someone overheard me and misunderstood the intention behind one of my comments.
3. didn’t get riled up about it, she realized that there was “probably another side to the story” and asked me about it next morning.
a. not in an accusing or confronting way but a question to clear up some confusion she had.
4. astonished that my comment had made such a bad impression & was quick to apologize and make it right.
5. Since then, I’ve learned to try to present my thoughts more clearly and she has learned to take me a little less seriously.
VIV. Stop Perpetuating Old Ideas / Formulas
A. commit to be a united body of believers that people WANT to be part
1. can present God’s truths clearly
B. What’s past is past
1. people have moved into other ministries and out of this one.
2. support with prayers but be removed from emotional involvement in issues that our simply not our own.
3. spend our time, our energies on throwing open these doors, Ephesians 4:32-5:2
X. The future is NOW
A. the “future generation” has arrived - already raising up the next generation.
B. need your mentorship to help us become mentors
1. Elijah showed Elisha how to minister (1 Kings 19, 2 Kings 2),
2. Moses showed Joshua how to be a leader (Exodus 17, 24:13)
3. Jesus showed how to put it all together in every day life (the Gospels)
X. The big challenge
A. Live out loud in front of people you meet
1. the cashier, the salesman at the door, the cable repair person, niece, brother, daughter
2. you’ve got issues, yes, but you’ve got an advocate, mediator & counselor who gives you HOPE (John 14:26, Hebrews 9:15)
B. Be the whole package out there & they’ll come in here
1. Vote your beliefs without shame
2. praise & worship the Lord –shouting, quiet rest, song, prostrate, standing, marching, dancing, sitting—WILD praise
3. no formula buy don’t be a distraction.
4. it’s not about ME, it’s about HIM and glorifying ONLY Him. Psalm 69:30.
C. God likes to “change it up”
1. I want to be paying attention
2. I think “oh, that word of knowledge or prophecy today was awesome” but don’t apply it to me - get the recording because it’s applicable to me
3. I think, “oh so-and-so should hear this today” - need to double-check and get out of it what the Lord has for me
D. People will see these changes on us, in us & will follow us in here.
E. Live out loud!! 2 Corinthians 5:20.
1. If I didn’t get anything out of the service today - I didn’t come here planning to get anything out of it.
2. I didn’t put any commitment to gleaning what I could out of it.
a. not necessarily Pastor’s or worship leader’s fault if I didn’t find something to go away with from the service.
XI. Word becoming fruit
A. don’t want my neighbors and family members to see me & wonder what “service” I died in (reference to anecdote given at beginning)
B. want them to know I’m living in the service
1. I’m building
2. hoping
3. believing
4. enjoying the journey & they can too!
C. Commitment request
1. to finally and actually lay down the past, the old formulas
2. to build from our foundation here a new ministry
3. to open the doors to our community
4. to let bitterness, strife, gossip & confusion go
5. to choose hope, peace, joy and knowledge
6. to mentor and be mentored
D. doors are being flung open
1. we can be the change and the “new” already spoken of
2. Read Matthew 7:15-20
a. Time for words that have been spoken here to become fruit.
I was too lazy to "fix" the outline look of it but I hope it wasn't too distracting.
Love,
Angel
STUDY NOTES, Angel Rodriguez Wednesday, 9/24/08
I. Anecdote about church perspectives:
A. “One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with names and small American flags mounted on either side of it. The six-year-old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, ‘Good morning, Alex.’ ‘Good morning, Pastor,’ he replied, still focused on the plaque. ‘Pastor, what is this?’ The pastor said, ‘Well son, it’s a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service.’ Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque. Finally, little Alex’s voice, barely audible and trembling with fear asked, ‘which service; the 8:00 or the 10:30?’ “
II. Challenge for the future
A. much about change the past few months, new wineskins, new things
B. “We need young people”, “we need new people”, “we need more people”
C. Isaiah 43:16-19, NIV
1. a lot of opportunity to let go of the past around here lately
D. Isaiah 48:6-7, NIV
1. When we continue to lay hold of old habits, old patterns, old formulas and lay them at the Cross, God is so much more able to move us toward our promised land.
III. Joy Community Church’s “promised land”
A. Deuteronomy 6:18, NIV
1. freed of bitterness, gossip
2. given more freedom of worship
3. freed of anger, strife, disappointment and hopelessness
4. given the freedom to learn more, increase financially, bless others with what we’re learning
B. story about someone who had bitterness in his heart, even after he was “saved”.
1. Acts 8:9-24. He wanted to be a part of the ministry but hadn’t quite “let go”.
2. main passage Ephesians 4:29-32
b. Possibility to become reality by applying these Scriptures to our lives.
c. challenge to come together tightly, throw open these doors more vigorously than we ever dreamed of doing before.
d. Can’t hear the music, the teaching, the message through closed doors.
e. time to shake off the dust & pour out of these doors, open for
1. the broken to enter in, the lost to come & receive, the used to come & be refreshed.
f. be like Philemon described in 1:7, “Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.”
IV. Where are the “young” people?
A. Many people that I have met between 20-40 years old don’t go to church say
1. “the church is filled with hypocrites”
2. “I have no idea how to apply what they’re saying to real life”
3. “I tried but the people are so fake and I feel like I can’t get in their clique”.
{Read highlighted articles} – similar quotes
B. Too much “Christianese” spoken in service so that an unsaved friend sits in our meetings completely confused
C. What’s our response?
1. Don’t get mad or offended but Explain, help, certainly not water down the Gospel.
V. Presentation without confusion
A. Our lives reflect salvation, deliverance & redemption if we choose to allow it.
1. Naomi & Ruth. Read Ruth 1:1-5.
2. Even though Naomi was bitter & discouraged – v. 20— something in her lifestyle v. 1-19 drew Ruth to a God who truly existed and to a life that forever changed history
a. she’s King David’s great-grandmother
VI. I know it all – think again
A. honest about ourselves in our personal lives and here at church
1. leave here & still feel like we don’t really have a handle on current issues?
2. unsure of how to answer someone when asked why we’re voting the way we’re voting this November?
3. Can’t control finances?
4. Feel like running from marital issues or feel like ignoring them?
5. Feel like you’ll be dating forever, unsure if you’ve found the “right one”? 6. Feel like you’ve lost the only love you’ll ever know?
B. given all the tools we need to answer these issues - more than enough answers through messages spoken here even just the past few months!
1. Pick up the study notes, order the recordings.
2. can’t keep attention on the whole sermon all of the time. It’s a struggle
3. new commitment
a. quit acting like I’ve heard it all before
b. take notes and order recordings (not just of teachings here but of other ministries as well
c. Challenge to do the same—not as hard as we make it out to be. Proverbs 24:5
VII. Mentorship
A. How can we be Joy Community Church in our “promised land”
1. Ideas need to come from you too, not just the “young ones”
a. a lot of experience in life, in ministry
b. Ideas aren’t bad even not always implement them right away or even if they don’t turn out to be right for this ministry.
c. gets us all on the same page & thinking with some unity!
2. Ephesians 4:1-7.
a. partnership between us with God’s kind of love with compassion for others.
b. “try to see the other side of the story ALWAYS”.
1. ie: If someone cuts me off at the light while I’m driving, maybe he’s on his way to the hospital.
2. If someone is going slow in the grocery line, maybe she was up all night with a sick baby.
3. If someone is rude to me at church, maybe he is having a hard time with his family.
c. The Bible says to avoid “vain & foolish disputes”. It also talks about tale-bearing or gossip.
VIII. GOSSIP
A. we all do it but Proverbs 16:28
1. don’t say “well, she’s not talking to me here”- check again! We ALL do it.
2. BUT do we catch ourselves, apologize, make amends
3. or give ourselves a “quick out” and do it again?
4. Proverbs 26:20
B. Catch-phrases to watch out for:
1. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this”
2. “did you hear about”
3. “I don’t know if you knew this”
4. “it’s probably gossip but”
5. “I don’t know if I should say this”
C. Another good sign I’m a gossiper
1. after a prayer request or something in the service that we disagree with
a. first inclination when get out of this sanctuary to go tell someone about it?
b. Or looking forward to getting here a little early before service so we can catch so & so
2. Not a woman’s issue either– heard more gossip from guys in ministry than one would think.
D. Avoiding gossip coming at me
1. Think of a sentence you will use when confronted
a. My sister uses “I don’t want to know anything about it.”
2. Or if a leading question is asked, “I don’t know, I’ll talk to her myself.”
E. Types of people/churches not to be like:
1. Romans 1:29
2. 2 Corinthians 12:20
3. 1 Timothy 5:13
F. If gossip is a part of our weekly meetings, or a part of our after-service and over- lunch discussions – why would anyone want to come here?
1. What kind of “truth, way & the life” is being represented?
2. BUT, we have a chance to live above that, to choose to make it right.
G. Example of cleaning day at church when I first got here
1. came to bring lunch and was joking around with some of the folks here. 2. Someone overheard me and misunderstood the intention behind one of my comments.
3. didn’t get riled up about it, she realized that there was “probably another side to the story” and asked me about it next morning.
a. not in an accusing or confronting way but a question to clear up some confusion she had.
4. astonished that my comment had made such a bad impression & was quick to apologize and make it right.
5. Since then, I’ve learned to try to present my thoughts more clearly and she has learned to take me a little less seriously.
VIV. Stop Perpetuating Old Ideas / Formulas
A. commit to be a united body of believers that people WANT to be part
1. can present God’s truths clearly
B. What’s past is past
1. people have moved into other ministries and out of this one.
2. support with prayers but be removed from emotional involvement in issues that our simply not our own.
3. spend our time, our energies on throwing open these doors, Ephesians 4:32-5:2
X. The future is NOW
A. the “future generation” has arrived - already raising up the next generation.
B. need your mentorship to help us become mentors
1. Elijah showed Elisha how to minister (1 Kings 19, 2 Kings 2),
2. Moses showed Joshua how to be a leader (Exodus 17, 24:13)
3. Jesus showed how to put it all together in every day life (the Gospels)
X. The big challenge
A. Live out loud in front of people you meet
1. the cashier, the salesman at the door, the cable repair person, niece, brother, daughter
2. you’ve got issues, yes, but you’ve got an advocate, mediator & counselor who gives you HOPE (John 14:26, Hebrews 9:15)
B. Be the whole package out there & they’ll come in here
1. Vote your beliefs without shame
2. praise & worship the Lord –shouting, quiet rest, song, prostrate, standing, marching, dancing, sitting—WILD praise
3. no formula buy don’t be a distraction.
4. it’s not about ME, it’s about HIM and glorifying ONLY Him. Psalm 69:30.
C. God likes to “change it up”
1. I want to be paying attention
2. I think “oh, that word of knowledge or prophecy today was awesome” but don’t apply it to me - get the recording because it’s applicable to me
3. I think, “oh so-and-so should hear this today” - need to double-check and get out of it what the Lord has for me
D. People will see these changes on us, in us & will follow us in here.
E. Live out loud!! 2 Corinthians 5:20.
1. If I didn’t get anything out of the service today - I didn’t come here planning to get anything out of it.
2. I didn’t put any commitment to gleaning what I could out of it.
a. not necessarily Pastor’s or worship leader’s fault if I didn’t find something to go away with from the service.
XI. Word becoming fruit
A. don’t want my neighbors and family members to see me & wonder what “service” I died in (reference to anecdote given at beginning)
B. want them to know I’m living in the service
1. I’m building
2. hoping
3. believing
4. enjoying the journey & they can too!
C. Commitment request
1. to finally and actually lay down the past, the old formulas
2. to build from our foundation here a new ministry
3. to open the doors to our community
4. to let bitterness, strife, gossip & confusion go
5. to choose hope, peace, joy and knowledge
6. to mentor and be mentored
D. doors are being flung open
1. we can be the change and the “new” already spoken of
2. Read Matthew 7:15-20
a. Time for words that have been spoken here to become fruit.
I was too lazy to "fix" the outline look of it but I hope it wasn't too distracting.
Love,
Angel
Passion & Patriotism
My dear friend, Brett, has encouraged me today to post a final thought on the state of the Church and our beloved nation today. Here are some of my thoughts in a response to an email from her - I had pointed out in general that pointing fingers won't solve anything, but getting off my high horse & really making changes in my own life probably will solve a great deal in the long run.
"It's probably because I minored in Poli Sci that I am cynical about politics in general anyway. In reality I'm a bit of an anarchist I suppose...in a Christian way of course. haha
I did vote my conscience to an extent but mostly Mario & I have been pushing ourselves and our church to WAKE UP PEOPLE!! I have long been tired of the whining and complaining - I mean you can complain if you've been at the front lines of the battle, if you can find the time to do it. Otherwise, it's like I said "put up or shut up".
I'm tired of coddling the masses, weary of ignorant behavior. I don't agree with everyone on everything but I can have the decency to try to see where they're coming from so that I can form my battle plans more properly! lol.
And sometimes that plan is to choose not to join the fight....sometimes it becomes a plan to fight hard for what I believe but too often it's been to sit back & watch. Well, not anymore.Can I get a witness - hey, hey.....(yes, I had my hand in the air!) ; )"
I recently had a chance to preach on a Wednesday night at church about Passion, what it is & how it can be used for God's glory. THIS is where our focus should be, not on the circumstances surrounding us. Here are the notes from that sermon, I hope you enjoy.
Oh & by the way, this isn't a debate format - it's my site, my opinions & the thoughts God has given me; meditate on it, toss it out, whatever but please know that God alone is my source - the following is intended to encourage my brothers & sisters. : )
from Wednesday, 10/22/08
What is "passion"?
It is most often used in reference to "the sufferings of Christ between the night of the Last Supper and his death". According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the 4th definition is "EMOTION: the emotions as distinguished from reason ; intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction". This indicates an almost uncontrollable driving force about something in particular. The 5th definition is "ardent affection, a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept; an object of desire or deep interest".
These last two definitions are our focus tonight.*Prayer time*
The definitions I just read apply to an emotion that is deeply stirring or ungovernable. From the Latin pati which means "to suffer". I don't know about you but there's not much in this world that I would like to suffer for. However, being a creature of 3 parts (mind, body & spirit), sometimes we don't have a choice. For example, being a patient with an illness, grieving the loss of someone we love, obsessing over certain things or with certain thought patterns. But suffering maybe doesn't have to have such a negative connotation.
What can we be passionate about?
Sports – Mario & my bro in law are really into fantasy football where they pick teams from real life athletes and see if they can beat other guys' teams every week, if we have a family function in the fall I know that we must aim the chairs toward the general direction of the football game & can only sing happy birthday during time outs or half time.
Politics – convincing our coworkers, family, neighbors that our convictions & opinions are the right ones.
Works – our job can consume us if we're people-pleasers, our ministry can consume us for the same reason and can also distract us from growth, improvement and God's peace.
Media & Music – have a favorite show we HAVE to see, I'd rather play my music all day long than do anything else
Family – parents obsessing over kids' performance in academia, in sports; focusing too much on talent & ability, focusing on "fixing" the problems of our loved ones
Spouse – again, "fixing" their problems, demanding more time & attention than is healthy to the exclusion of other healthy relationships and especially that of our true love & Lord
Addictions – passionate to the point of extreme emotion or reactionary behavior to obtain the next fix and our response when it is not achieved; not just pornography, drugs & alcohol but the other things we just listed too.
God – He can be the (should be) the 1st person to whom we go in the morning, 1st person we seek when there's a problem – this is especially difficult because as humans, we feel that we need the physical aspect of a listener or a comforter.
Read Proverbs 3: acknowledge; care about what He thinks. Focus on getting together what God says about your passion (a rhema word – the written word logos spoken and brought to you specifically by God about something) and hone in on what that means for me; you get passion about the subject when you follow out the word.
How is passion bad? Moved too much by emotion, energies placed in useless areas, lead others astray
Mark 1:40-45, 7:31-37, 14:44-47
At first I was wondering why Jesus minded that they were telling about it so much but I realized that the point is that they didn't follow instruction or wait for the "go ahead" but in their zeal, they were directionless.
Or something bad could have come of it as in the Garden example.
The result of unwise zeal is in Mark 14:50 & 51. Yikes!
Personality differences can cause you as a believer to be more or less passionate about things in general and in wildly different ways from others.
Sanguine – party people, good at public speaking, life of the party but not great with details, great sales people if they're passionate about the product
Melancholy – artists, musicians, writer-types are naturally extremely passionate; I am this person, I have to be cautious to wait on Him a little more to make sure I'm not blowing something out of proportion, making it more dramatic or even borrowing trouble, to use an old phrase; perfectionists & very critical
Choleric – the "boss", the natural leader who can be obsessed with getting the job done regardless of others' feelings, passionate about completing & multi-tasking
Phlegmatic – laid back, take a long time to make a decision but once they do, very tenacious about it & in that way become passionate
How is it good? A zeal for something in particular can cause you to be focused in an area to bring good, bring change, bless your finances, bless the church family.
How can we stay passionate about God and His work? Sometimes we're not always passionate or emotional about God, kind of back-burner feel
It's commanded in Scripture to be zealous about God & His things:
Ecc. 9:10Romans 12:111 Cor. 14:122 Tim. 1:6
These are essentially directions on how to live a passion-filled walk with Christ. We need to surround ourselves with others who are equally passionate about our Lord. Get good teaching ..handling emotions and channeling into good; take what could be negative about your personality type & earnestly pray about it, seeking the Holy Spirit to help you turn it into a positive, driving force in your ministry.
For we all have a ministry. Pray for it, seek Him out
The Holy Spirit creates passion in us, again, focus on getting together what God says about your passion and zero in on what that means for you. Author Susan Peabody said it well about the Holy Spirit's role in this instance, "He is our comforter which means the caretaker of our emotions". I have read (brandonweb.com) that in the Church the "precious has become too familiar". It is true that "our enemy can't steal our salvation; he'll just make us forget what is was like to be lost" or even that "we'll grow accustomed to prayer and thereby not pray".
I don't want my "worship to become commonplace and Bible study optional". But too often it has. When I was on the road with the Celebrant Singers, it was easy to read a devotional, to dream a dream, to feel the tug of the Spirit on my heart, to pray for someone and see them healed right there. Because I was surrounded by others like me, with equal or greater passion for the Lord, others who loved to sing His praise & bring His gospel to the lost, it was no problem to be bold, to hear new things and to feel passionate about God.
Give example of being hugged in NW territories (**readers, please ask about this experience for more very cool testimony of God) & the vision He gave me of falling off a cliff & being sucked into the ocean at great speed; panicked but suddenly realizing I wasn't falling but the moment I hit the water an opposing force scooped me upwards toward the light & life; suddenly lying on the beach, breathless & stunned but alive with no side effects. This was a moment where my life refocused on becoming passionate about God, about loving Him with zeal. It reminds me today when I read it in my journal from that time that this is an ongoing process & if it stops or feels stalled, it's because of me and the choices I've made, the distractions I've allowed.
Take a minute and think of your passions, what things you're zealous about. Don't be super-spiritual & invent what you'd like it to look like if I could read your mind or heart right now. But be real about it. No guilt here, just a reassessment of where we stand. Now, I want you to imagine for yourself what the Holy Spirit looks like for you to use a picture you can hold on to, something to help draw you closer to the reality of His work. You might picture him as a blanket, as a "papa", as a counselor behind a desk…pick something that helps you see Him as a real, tangible thing.
Now, gentlemen this could be a difficult thing for you. I mean being masculine & "in love", well, to show it off like this could be hard. I realize that Christianese frequently feminizes the experience but we each can choose to make it our own; if you're passionate about your wife, your studies, your sports – that's the passion you want to apply to your Savior, your God – not some girly, made up version of it.
To me Passion = unembarrassed presentation, bold encouragement to invite others to have their own zealous relationship with God. Passion gives us the courage to not care what others think, helps us forget about our "what if's". In Col 3:23, the synonym for passion is ZEAL. If there was ever a time for us to be zealous about our mighty, our incredible, our wonderful, our magnificent, our matchless, amazing God, it's now.
Num. 25:11, Couldn't we become so zealous as to turn this nation around & turn away punishment for our collective sin? Oh Lord, let it be so in me tonight.
Many preachers have taught that Jesus was passionate about the Father's will. Let's see if that's the case….John 4:34, Luke 2:49, Matthew 16:21
Yes, well Jesus is a mighty fine example of zeal for His Father's business. Oh Lord, let it be so in me tonight.
How about a passionless scripture?: Rev. 3:14-16; this lethargy, complacency about our King and His work opens the door for compromise, for sin to sneak in – sure, we've not intended it but gradually the water boils around the completely contented frog until he's boiled alive. I read recently that "We will accomplish what drives us" (brandonweb.com). Lately I've felt driven about this ministry, about the music, about my jobs, my home, my money, my family but I feel that I've lost sight of my first love, the One who holds it all together for me, who makes me sane through it all! Oh Lord, renew that Love, that passion in me tonight.
Dr. Dann Spader of Sonlife Ministries wrote an article called "Lessons from a Passionate Life" about Jesus & mentioned 3 disciplines of Jesus.
Prayer
Loving, Caring Relationships
The Word
These disciplines caused Acts 2:42-47. Dr. Spader challenged me to "wonder what it would take to amaze Jesus"? In the Bible Jesus was only amazed twice and it was because of faith exhibited (Luke 7, Mark 6). A "growing faith comes out of focused, passionate lifestyle". Passion directed and channeled into God's use & not our own "serve-me". C.S. Lewis once wrote, "I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for joy". This is the result of passion unguided, uncontrolled. Passion controlled by the Holy Spirit brings joy and again, unembarrassed presentation, bold encouragement to invite others, causes courage to not care what others think, forgets about the "what if's". I want to amaze Jesus again. Oh Lord, let it be so in me tonight.
Mother Theresa: "If we want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it." Let's seek Him first, surround ourselves with passionate people, glean from good teaching and let's amaze Jesus with our faith driven by our passion for Him. Oh Lord, let it be so in me tonight.
With great love for my family & friends, Angel
"It's probably because I minored in Poli Sci that I am cynical about politics in general anyway. In reality I'm a bit of an anarchist I suppose...in a Christian way of course. haha
I did vote my conscience to an extent but mostly Mario & I have been pushing ourselves and our church to WAKE UP PEOPLE!! I have long been tired of the whining and complaining - I mean you can complain if you've been at the front lines of the battle, if you can find the time to do it. Otherwise, it's like I said "put up or shut up".
I'm tired of coddling the masses, weary of ignorant behavior. I don't agree with everyone on everything but I can have the decency to try to see where they're coming from so that I can form my battle plans more properly! lol.
And sometimes that plan is to choose not to join the fight....sometimes it becomes a plan to fight hard for what I believe but too often it's been to sit back & watch. Well, not anymore.Can I get a witness - hey, hey.....(yes, I had my hand in the air!) ; )"
I recently had a chance to preach on a Wednesday night at church about Passion, what it is & how it can be used for God's glory. THIS is where our focus should be, not on the circumstances surrounding us. Here are the notes from that sermon, I hope you enjoy.
Oh & by the way, this isn't a debate format - it's my site, my opinions & the thoughts God has given me; meditate on it, toss it out, whatever but please know that God alone is my source - the following is intended to encourage my brothers & sisters. : )
from Wednesday, 10/22/08
What is "passion"?
It is most often used in reference to "the sufferings of Christ between the night of the Last Supper and his death". According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the 4th definition is "EMOTION: the emotions as distinguished from reason ; intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction". This indicates an almost uncontrollable driving force about something in particular. The 5th definition is "ardent affection, a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept; an object of desire or deep interest".
These last two definitions are our focus tonight.*Prayer time*
The definitions I just read apply to an emotion that is deeply stirring or ungovernable. From the Latin pati which means "to suffer". I don't know about you but there's not much in this world that I would like to suffer for. However, being a creature of 3 parts (mind, body & spirit), sometimes we don't have a choice. For example, being a patient with an illness, grieving the loss of someone we love, obsessing over certain things or with certain thought patterns. But suffering maybe doesn't have to have such a negative connotation.
What can we be passionate about?
Sports – Mario & my bro in law are really into fantasy football where they pick teams from real life athletes and see if they can beat other guys' teams every week, if we have a family function in the fall I know that we must aim the chairs toward the general direction of the football game & can only sing happy birthday during time outs or half time.
Politics – convincing our coworkers, family, neighbors that our convictions & opinions are the right ones.
Works – our job can consume us if we're people-pleasers, our ministry can consume us for the same reason and can also distract us from growth, improvement and God's peace.
Media & Music – have a favorite show we HAVE to see, I'd rather play my music all day long than do anything else
Family – parents obsessing over kids' performance in academia, in sports; focusing too much on talent & ability, focusing on "fixing" the problems of our loved ones
Spouse – again, "fixing" their problems, demanding more time & attention than is healthy to the exclusion of other healthy relationships and especially that of our true love & Lord
Addictions – passionate to the point of extreme emotion or reactionary behavior to obtain the next fix and our response when it is not achieved; not just pornography, drugs & alcohol but the other things we just listed too.
God – He can be the (should be) the 1st person to whom we go in the morning, 1st person we seek when there's a problem – this is especially difficult because as humans, we feel that we need the physical aspect of a listener or a comforter.
Read Proverbs 3: acknowledge; care about what He thinks. Focus on getting together what God says about your passion (a rhema word – the written word logos spoken and brought to you specifically by God about something) and hone in on what that means for me; you get passion about the subject when you follow out the word.
How is passion bad? Moved too much by emotion, energies placed in useless areas, lead others astray
Mark 1:40-45, 7:31-37, 14:44-47
At first I was wondering why Jesus minded that they were telling about it so much but I realized that the point is that they didn't follow instruction or wait for the "go ahead" but in their zeal, they were directionless.
Or something bad could have come of it as in the Garden example.
The result of unwise zeal is in Mark 14:50 & 51. Yikes!
Personality differences can cause you as a believer to be more or less passionate about things in general and in wildly different ways from others.
Sanguine – party people, good at public speaking, life of the party but not great with details, great sales people if they're passionate about the product
Melancholy – artists, musicians, writer-types are naturally extremely passionate; I am this person, I have to be cautious to wait on Him a little more to make sure I'm not blowing something out of proportion, making it more dramatic or even borrowing trouble, to use an old phrase; perfectionists & very critical
Choleric – the "boss", the natural leader who can be obsessed with getting the job done regardless of others' feelings, passionate about completing & multi-tasking
Phlegmatic – laid back, take a long time to make a decision but once they do, very tenacious about it & in that way become passionate
How is it good? A zeal for something in particular can cause you to be focused in an area to bring good, bring change, bless your finances, bless the church family.
How can we stay passionate about God and His work? Sometimes we're not always passionate or emotional about God, kind of back-burner feel
It's commanded in Scripture to be zealous about God & His things:
Ecc. 9:10Romans 12:111 Cor. 14:122 Tim. 1:6
These are essentially directions on how to live a passion-filled walk with Christ. We need to surround ourselves with others who are equally passionate about our Lord. Get good teaching ..handling emotions and channeling into good; take what could be negative about your personality type & earnestly pray about it, seeking the Holy Spirit to help you turn it into a positive, driving force in your ministry.
For we all have a ministry. Pray for it, seek Him out
The Holy Spirit creates passion in us, again, focus on getting together what God says about your passion and zero in on what that means for you. Author Susan Peabody said it well about the Holy Spirit's role in this instance, "He is our comforter which means the caretaker of our emotions". I have read (brandonweb.com) that in the Church the "precious has become too familiar". It is true that "our enemy can't steal our salvation; he'll just make us forget what is was like to be lost" or even that "we'll grow accustomed to prayer and thereby not pray".
I don't want my "worship to become commonplace and Bible study optional". But too often it has. When I was on the road with the Celebrant Singers, it was easy to read a devotional, to dream a dream, to feel the tug of the Spirit on my heart, to pray for someone and see them healed right there. Because I was surrounded by others like me, with equal or greater passion for the Lord, others who loved to sing His praise & bring His gospel to the lost, it was no problem to be bold, to hear new things and to feel passionate about God.
Give example of being hugged in NW territories (**readers, please ask about this experience for more very cool testimony of God) & the vision He gave me of falling off a cliff & being sucked into the ocean at great speed; panicked but suddenly realizing I wasn't falling but the moment I hit the water an opposing force scooped me upwards toward the light & life; suddenly lying on the beach, breathless & stunned but alive with no side effects. This was a moment where my life refocused on becoming passionate about God, about loving Him with zeal. It reminds me today when I read it in my journal from that time that this is an ongoing process & if it stops or feels stalled, it's because of me and the choices I've made, the distractions I've allowed.
Take a minute and think of your passions, what things you're zealous about. Don't be super-spiritual & invent what you'd like it to look like if I could read your mind or heart right now. But be real about it. No guilt here, just a reassessment of where we stand. Now, I want you to imagine for yourself what the Holy Spirit looks like for you to use a picture you can hold on to, something to help draw you closer to the reality of His work. You might picture him as a blanket, as a "papa", as a counselor behind a desk…pick something that helps you see Him as a real, tangible thing.
Now, gentlemen this could be a difficult thing for you. I mean being masculine & "in love", well, to show it off like this could be hard. I realize that Christianese frequently feminizes the experience but we each can choose to make it our own; if you're passionate about your wife, your studies, your sports – that's the passion you want to apply to your Savior, your God – not some girly, made up version of it.
To me Passion = unembarrassed presentation, bold encouragement to invite others to have their own zealous relationship with God. Passion gives us the courage to not care what others think, helps us forget about our "what if's". In Col 3:23, the synonym for passion is ZEAL. If there was ever a time for us to be zealous about our mighty, our incredible, our wonderful, our magnificent, our matchless, amazing God, it's now.
Num. 25:11, Couldn't we become so zealous as to turn this nation around & turn away punishment for our collective sin? Oh Lord, let it be so in me tonight.
Many preachers have taught that Jesus was passionate about the Father's will. Let's see if that's the case….John 4:34, Luke 2:49, Matthew 16:21
Yes, well Jesus is a mighty fine example of zeal for His Father's business. Oh Lord, let it be so in me tonight.
How about a passionless scripture?: Rev. 3:14-16; this lethargy, complacency about our King and His work opens the door for compromise, for sin to sneak in – sure, we've not intended it but gradually the water boils around the completely contented frog until he's boiled alive. I read recently that "We will accomplish what drives us" (brandonweb.com). Lately I've felt driven about this ministry, about the music, about my jobs, my home, my money, my family but I feel that I've lost sight of my first love, the One who holds it all together for me, who makes me sane through it all! Oh Lord, renew that Love, that passion in me tonight.
Dr. Dann Spader of Sonlife Ministries wrote an article called "Lessons from a Passionate Life" about Jesus & mentioned 3 disciplines of Jesus.
Prayer
Loving, Caring Relationships
The Word
These disciplines caused Acts 2:42-47. Dr. Spader challenged me to "wonder what it would take to amaze Jesus"? In the Bible Jesus was only amazed twice and it was because of faith exhibited (Luke 7, Mark 6). A "growing faith comes out of focused, passionate lifestyle". Passion directed and channeled into God's use & not our own "serve-me". C.S. Lewis once wrote, "I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for joy". This is the result of passion unguided, uncontrolled. Passion controlled by the Holy Spirit brings joy and again, unembarrassed presentation, bold encouragement to invite others, causes courage to not care what others think, forgets about the "what if's". I want to amaze Jesus again. Oh Lord, let it be so in me tonight.
Mother Theresa: "If we want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it." Let's seek Him first, surround ourselves with passionate people, glean from good teaching and let's amaze Jesus with our faith driven by our passion for Him. Oh Lord, let it be so in me tonight.
With great love for my family & friends, Angel
Brand new to this
So, here I am with a wide-open venue for all of my thoughts, news and creativity...ah, what to do? I dedicate this blog-spot to God, to myself and I'm grateful for the freedom to do both. I'm looking forward to sharing our goings-on in the Rodriguez home with everyone and I'm really excited about the things God will show me.
Here we go.....
Here we go.....
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