CERTIFIED!

God placed a vision in my heart about providing a children's ministry at our church. In 2009 it was realized and Kidz Korner Explorerz was launched as a children's service for kids up to age 8. The timing was perfect in God's eyes because we had the leaders who are passionate for ministering to kids. It was a team effort between Sheena and Jeni.

Each of them have different skill sets and abilities. They complement each other well in personality and approach. As a leader, I desired for them to be equipped as ministers and leaders. The New York state Church of God offered a youth leaders and children's minister certification course. What a perfect match? Sheena and Jeni signed up and finished the coursework over the past year. Yesterday, they received their certificates from NY State COG at the state youth conference and presented by Rev. Andrew Binda.

I am thankful to God for choosing them and giving them the desire to get better at what they are called to do. Being called by God is awesome and learning from others is a great tool to use in ministry. We need to invest in our ministers and leaders called for ministry!

Congrats to Sheena and Jeni on their achievement. I believe this is just the beginning for them and Kidz Korner Explorerz!

Enjoy The Ride,

Cecil

LIKE A SPONGE

The kitchen floors needed to be mopped, the dishes needed to be washed, and I had the pleasure of doing it the other night. In the middle of this, I had a "whoa" moment.

A sponge sitting by the sink all dried up is useless. A sponge that is wet, with soap in it, and in the hands of a cleaner is powerful. Sometimes we hear the phrase ... "soak it in like a sponge". If we see ourselves as a sponge, we can't be sitting around idle being all dried up and useless in the eyes of God - for the Kingdom of God. I saw the soap (cleaning agent) as the blood of Jesus Christ. I saw the water (life) as the Holy Spirit. Water gave life to the sponge.

The sponge with water alone is OK but not powerful to do its intended job.
The sponge with soap and no water is dry and just smearing the soap all over.
The sponge with water and soap is POWERFUL to fulfill its purpose.

A child of God lives a clean life thru the blood of Jesus flowing through them.
A child of God lives an anointed life with the Holy Spirit inside of them.
When you mesh the two together, a child of God lives a POWERFUL life.

A Christian life that is holy and anointed. When the power of the blood and Holy Spirit join forces in a person, they become a mighty tool in the hands of God.

Will you allow the cleansing agent to flow thru you? Will you allow the life-giving agent to fill you up? If you do, you're being prepared to be a mighty tool in the hands of God.

Enjoy the Ride,

Cecil

P.S. And no, I was not in trouble with my wife to end up cleaning floors and dishes. =)

WHAT LIFE ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

I am reading a book and saw a question that popped out at me ... WHAT LIFE ARE YOU WAITING FOR? This question in other forms have been pressing on my heart and spirit in recent weeks.

God gave us this life as an opportunity to serve Him, worship Him, glorify Him. As a leader, risks always involve fear. As a leader, we also have to realize this life is the only chance we get to fight for God and His Kingdom. In our eternal state, its our celebration time.

So the short time we have here, let's fight for God as His warriors. Things might look and feel scary, but the greater the risk the higher the reward. We are not alone as we take these risks because God will be with us each step of the way.

WHAT LIFE ARE YOU or AM I WAITING FOR?

Enjoy the Ride,

Cecil

MERCY FACTOR

GOD'S PUNISHMENT HAS A MERCY FACTOR!

King David after going against the will of God realized his mistake and asked for forgiveness. You can read the entire story in 1 Chronicles chapter 21. The only problem was that God had already decided to punish King David and Israel and He charged the angels to destroy the nation.

Because of David's repentance, God gave him 3 choices for a punishment in verse 12: "You may choose ..."
(1) three years of famine
(2) three months of destruction by your enemies
(3) three days of severe plague as the angel of the LORD brings devastation throughout the land of Israel.
David chose option 3. He responded, "But let me fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is very great. Do not let me fall into human hands."

David realized that if he chose famine, he is sanctioning a slow painful death to the nation. The future generations would be killed because of the lack of "food" given to them.
David realized that if he chose enemies' destruction, the nation of Israel would be wiped out because they would not let up.
David realized that if he chose angel of the Lord, the nation would be hurt but it would not be destroyed. He knew that God loved His children and His punishment included a mercy factor.

We might be going through a punishment or disciplining by God's hands in our lives, but it is not to wipe us out or put us to shame. It is for short time - only "3 days" - to show us that He is in control of everything. He deals with us in mercy and love. He wants to see us get up and grow, not stay down and die. He needs us to fall into His hands.

We make mistakes. We come up short in God's eyes and sometimes in man's eyes. We're not perfect, but we have a road to redemption through Jesus Christ. The punishment for sinners has been decided which was destruction for eternity. But if we realize and repent, God is gracious and merciful to relent his all-out onslaught of destruction and spare us to live another day.

Enjoy The Ride,

Cecil