What standard should we go by?

1 Corinthians 4 - Click Here To Read Chapter

Paul starts this passage stating that we are stewards of God and we must be found trustworthy, this means that we are not above being questioned on our character. In fact we more than anyone else on Earth should be questioned. We are ambassadors for God and should reflect his love in our lives. We must be examining ourselves constantly to make sure we still in line, we are accountable to one another.

But that does not mean we are each others' judges but only that I must trust you to tell me if I am not acting according to the teachings of the Word.

My standard, to apply my entire being to for evaluating, is that of Jesus Christ. We must go to the Lord himself for us to get an accurate judgment of ourselves. We can not evaluate ourselves because that is being self-righteous and we are not able to see all our flaws. Since God is the absolute Judge of all and knows all truth then, we only need to go to him for our frame of reference of what is true. This what Paul is saying in verses 3-4. We have to go to God so he can guide us and not use human judgement except with his standard.

There are some smaller gray areas that should not be argued about but leave them up to God. Do not argue over useless things because it benefits no one.

It's really funny that we as men can become so forgetful and proud. We get into a routine of not seeking God , still acting holy to others , and think we are our own source of holiness. This why we must seek God everyday so that we won't become proud or judgmental.

We should be humble and thankful to the Lord. The only thing we should boast about is the power of God and not our own words.

Expresso VS Instant

1O) God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2) Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. 3) Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. 4) So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. 5) My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. 6) When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, 7) For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. 8) My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me. - Psalm 63:1-8

If you haven't figured it out yet, I like drinking Cuban expresso coffee :)
At work, I don't have an expresso maker so I drink instant "expresso" coffee, which of course does not taste anything like the real thing. Then I got to thinking... How I have chosen for the sake of ease and convenience to drink instant coffee instead of getting an expresso maker and taking the time to make the real deal...

- In a small pot, boil a cup of milk
- While the milk is boiling, add a touch of salt
- Brew the expresso coffee in an expresso maker
(Pilon is one of my preferred expresso brands)
- When both are done, add the expresso coffee to the HOT cup of milk.
(You could have your coffee dark and strong, or light and not so strong)

...When I want a REAL cup of Cuban Expresso "Cafe con Leche" I do it the right way.
What am I getting to with this. Well, I parallel the above with how I choose to have QT with God... Not "quality time" or "quiet time" but a "quick time" ... As in how short my time with God is. I barely give Him 30min of my time and I expect so much!...

"I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You..."

-- Oh how I have realized that I am NOT seeking God enough!... This morning as I prayed, I did not want to stop! But so many times it's a struggle to make the time to spend a focused time seeking God in Prayer and His Word. I don't want to do the "instant" version of my time with God anymore! I want the REAL DEAL.

May God put in us a thirst for Him like no other - Keep the Faith - JJ

CCA Update - Thanks Giving Weekend

So I'm here at my Parents house in Miami enjoying the GREAT weather and anwesome Grandma cooking :) Mh, Mh, Mh, Mh, Mmmmh!...

Anyway - We apologize for not posting if we were going to meet today.
God willing we will meet next Saturday again to get right back to studying God's Word and sharing our lives, building each other up. If we do not announce our meeting here try to get in touch with us to confirm if we are meeting or not.

...Today I was trying to find a passage I found that I wanted to post here but I could not find it, but in the process I ran into this encouraging verse: "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise wins souls." - Proverbs 11:30

In the top of the page of my Bible I wrote: "What good is wisdom if not to win souls?"

See you next Saturday - God Bless!

Uncovering the Lie part two

I'm sorry, I wasn't able to post all we talked about on Saturday. We talked about the practical implications for Post Modernism beliefs in a person's life. I was not able to finish my thought on the last post because I needed to get off the computer immediately. The problem that stares me in the face in this belief is it justifies every belief that is out there as being valid. That means if someone, who is doing awful things in the name of their beliefs, thinks they are right to do so then it is okay. That bye the way justifies the Holocaust as a noble cause to the Nazi beliefs.

If you are one of those who thinks all paths lead to God, then I have a legitimate question for you. This comes from Ravi Zacharias who is a wonderfully intelligent man. If I were to take a small child and upon the belief that could gain enlightenment, cut them up and ate them, would I have done something morally wrong?
I think the state of your soul would depend upon the answer to this question.

With this in mind people have tried to redefine morals. Morality is up to the individual and their interpretation on what is given to them. In essence I will say what is right and wrong to me because my salvation lies within myself. We have removed God and made ourselves Gods. And everyone has this divine freedom as long as we don't hinder someone else in doing so. Or hurt them, to our best definition of hurt. That means I need to keep up to date on what the media and society itself says is the standard for morality. Something has to give me direction so it might as well be everyone else. And more importantly by saying your values and beliefs come from within makes you self-righteous. Which is something all people should avoid.

This is a lie. One of our members put it like this at the meeting. When we have a headache why do we take a pain pill. If we are hungry, thirsty, or tired why do we resort to something that will not solve the problem. We cover up the problem so we don't have to think about it, or numb it enough so it is not so intense on ourselves. We change or distort a truth so it conforms to our choices in life. A person can live his life according to his beliefs or change their beliefs to justify how they want to live.
God is real. I'm not going to debate that now. His standards are reality in the means of morality and everything else. You can say that I'm out on the corner having a smoke but that won't change the fact that I'm sitting here typing. You cannot alter reality to fit your desires. For there to be anything called truth then there must be concrete meaning to words, actions, and values.

If this has touched you or opened you eyes then I'm happy for you. I tell you there is a man who can take away those stains in your life and then offer you love that is eternal. You only need to be humble and accept his love for you. And if you want to know if he is real then ask him to show himself to you, he will answer. It only takes a prayer for less than a minute and heart that is ready to accept. I pray that you could hear this a really search for the truth in your soul. And may God speak to all who read this and bless them.

CCA meeting on the 17th, Uncovering the Lie

We were thankful to have Mikey Inza join us this Saturday. We started the meeting off with a quick prayer and then straight in to apologetics. Our main discussion was over Post-Modernism in everyday thinking. The main points of this movement in beliefs is that truth is not a definite set of values but what an individual determines them to be. The huge problem with this is that it is illogical to think that every way ( which includes the evil ones).

-- To Be Continued...

CCA Sat. 17th, 2007 - Huddle

We will be meeting Saturday 17th at 9:30am as usual.

It's Official: CCA is for men only, sorry ladies, this is a guys thing. So All gents welcomed. CCA meetings have been guys only, but I just wanted to make it official. BUT anyone can be a part of CCA via this Blog...

See you all at the Serene Bean :)

This is What CCA is ALL ABOUT...

3) This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4) who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

- 1 Timothy 2:3-4

Anger

Can't write for long. I'm doing a workbook on anger that is called "the Anger Workbook" amazing. One cool thing it talks about in the book is that we should hold ourselves accountable to others not just with outbursts of anger but also with the attitude. Have people check you on your attitude and the tone you use when speaking. How can you see a plank in your eye if you don't know it's there? So do not just look out for the outburst but also the spirit of anger that is much more potent in everyday life. God bless.

Light Unto The World

"Preach at all times, and when necessary use words." - Unknown

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. - Matthew 5:16

"Ian Can't Help You"

There is one fundamental difference between Christianity and all other religions...

You can remove Buddha from Buddhism and you still have Buddhism.
You can remove Muhammad from Islam and you still have Islam.

You CAN NOT remover Christ from Christianity and still have Christianity.

"If you remove Christ from 'Christian' you get Ian, and Ian can't help you." - Rabi Zacharia

The center of my faith and Christianity is the person of Jesus Christ and His resurrection...

12) Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13) But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14) and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. - 1 Corinthians 15... Click Here to Read Chapter

One Solitary Life --

Here is a young man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30, and then for three years he was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book, He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put his foot inside a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place he was born He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself.

While he was still a young man, the tide of public opinion turned against him. He his friends ran away. He was turned over to his enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying his executioners gambled led for the only piece of property he had on earth, and that was his coat. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries wide have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race, and the leader of the column of progress.

I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever sailed, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as has that ONE SOLITARY LIFE.

- Anonymous (from the Bible Study Book "Beginning In Christ - Book 1")

I say it again - "If you have not met me, you have missed little. If you have not met my Savior, you have missed everything."

Today, the guys and I began to look into the core of our faith, Jesus Christ and the Gospel...

We have started our study with Romans 3:23 - For me to understand that I needed salvation, I first needed to understand that I am a sinner and that I needed salvation. A Doctor can only heal someone who is willing to be healed. It is a proven fact that it is much harder to help a sick person who does not want to get well then someone who does. Many say that they are "seeking the truth." But the question is, are they REALLY seeking? Are they willing to follow the truth where ever it leads? So my challenge to you the seeker, is that if you are truly seeking, then ask God to reveal Himself to you to lead you to the Truth. Then do YOUR PART and open the Bible and read the Book of John in the New Testament and see for yourself. Do not take our word for it on what we write in the blog. I challenge you to follow up on all we write and find out for YOURSELF.

-- What we want to do next is look at obstacles of other world views that hinder others to recognize there need for salvation and to recognize that they are sinners (not perfect) and that there is a moral standard set by God...

We will started with "Post-Modernism." Next, we will look into other world views. Now, I want to keep things to the basics, and just to what matters in the life of someone who is truly seeking the Truth...

"Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." - Jesus Christ

...Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" - Post Modernism has existed since the time of Jesus Christ. This is nothing new.

Until Next Time, I leave you with this...

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. - John 14:6

Saturday Nov. 10th, 2007 - Powwow

We'll be at the Serene Bean Saturday 10th at 9:30am

- Be there or be square!

Come and join us at the "Round Table" and don't forget your Swords (Ephesians 6:10-17)

If you have any questions, you can contact me at jj@coffeecupapologetics.com - I receive all my emials to my PDA phone, so if you give me a call back phone number I can call you back.

See you there!

Be the Acorn.

I just finished reading Passion and Purity by Elizabeth Elliot. She is a wonderful writer and a powerful example of a Christian woman. This book is a summery of her love life with Jim Elliot before they got married. It mainly deals with the struggle as a Christian to be pure in our love life and wait on the timing and wisdom of God. We cannot let our flesh overcome us with the impulses of the moment and lead us into situations that we'll regret. And even when we are seeking to live a righteous life we put our wills in front of the Lord's.
In this book she uses a symbol of an acorn. The acorn was made according to its design to become an oak tree. As an acorn though, it cannot imagine what it is meant to be, only what it is at the time. That is the same way we see our lives, only moment to moment. God wants us to trust him and hope in him for tomorrow. We were created with a purpose that God knew when the Earth was created(Psalms 139). Why must we as humans struggle to trust the one that created us? I think it is because we cannot always see how he is working in our lives. But, the point is that we cannot comprehend the plans he has for us and out of submission we should just seek his will everyday. I'm learning to stop the How? When? and Why? questions to my prayers and just be the acorn.
I hope this will improve your walk with the Lord, or give you something to think about if you don't know him yet.
-Kyle

Power In The Gospel

Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...

Kyle and I will be go over the core of our faith, the Gospel and who Jesus is as our Savior. Stay Tuned...

-- We are till working on this blog. We will be creating a resource page soon with links etc.

God Bless -

A heart for others.

This morning we had a great time at the Serene Bean and talk about the week and where the Lord has touched us in the area of apologetics. We talked over the value that Christ gives to our lives and how we try and look at other things in the world to define us. Objects do not define a person soul or their existence in eternity but only the forgiveness of God and the adoption that follows is what can do that.

When you reach out to others with the purpose of telling them the Gospel, you have to focus on the heart of the person. In Apologetics, drilling through the arguments and lies the person has is the easy part getting to what really is keeping them from accepting God is the problem. There is always an emotional scar in someone who cannot believe in the love of God. We are all sinners, the difference between a Christian and a nonbeliever is that we are helpless men whom the Lord has helped with his mercy. I am still only a man, but I have received the Holy Spirit now and am spiritually awakened. Our focus should be to show the love with, which we are shown and filled with everyday, others as a flood coming from the heart.

-- A cool article I found this week is about a moon of Jupiter called Io. This moon is the most volcanically active body in the solar system. It has the hottest known lavas that cover the entire planet. This is a defence against the billion of years old universe assumption. At its current rate of expulsion this planet would have put out its own mass 40 times.

May God expand your hearts and your minds.

Romans 11:33-36

For our first official CoffeeCupApologetics (CCA) meeting I thought we would go back to the basics... The Gospel...

Before anything is said and done, I would like to remind ourselves of the following...

GOD OWES US NOTHING! - Let's get that clear in our heads...

33) Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34) For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 35) Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? 36) For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things To Him be the glory forever. Amen. - Romans 11:33-36

Cross Reference (CR) = Isaiah 40:13, Job 35:7

I posted in my personal blog on this thought some time ago and I think that we forget that we did not deserve God's mercy, and we still don't. Here is the link to my post...

:: God Owes Me Nothing ::

After our time tomorrow morning I hope to post more thoughts on this... See you at the Serene Been Coffee Shop for some good espresso coffee and good fellowship, and a good time studying the Word of God... Life is Gooooood :)