"Sanctification" - Religion VS Relationship (Continued)

"It's NOT about making Jesus Christ Lord OVER my life, but about making Him Lord OF my HEART. Many do the first, but few do the latter." - JJ

Let me explain…

I believe that many well meaning Christians after trusting in Jesus Christ as their Savior begin to put a good effort into changing their lives. We go to church, we try to read the Bible every day, we try to obey the Bible, we try to get as involved as we can in "ministry" serving the church, and so on... This is all good, but I believe as Christians, we have neglected and lost focus in our discipleship of new believers in the most important area…

“But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.
- 1 Peter 3:15

Let me break down this verse and then continue to explain my thought above…

Step 1) Sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart (Surrender and brokenness before the Lord; total Surrender of all your life. Trusting God in all areas of your life, not just your eternal destiny)

Step 2) Be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you (your testimony and sharing the gospel)

Step 3) YET with gentleness and reverence. (Showing love, compassion, kindness and gentleness, and demonstrating God’s love to others, not just “Bible Beating.”)

Ok, so what I was saying before… I believe that our Christianity has become all about religion and we have neglected the most important process of becoming truly broken before the Lord in total and complete surrender of our hearts (lives). When someone accepts Jesus Christ into his/her life, we quickly get that person plugged into the church, we start giving them Bible studies, we begin to train them in how to share their faith with others (Step 2,3) and we complete bypass the most important step, “Sanctification of Jesus Christ as Lord in our hearts.”

I believe that the church is doing great at sharing the good news of eternal life. The Great Commission is being obeyed. God’s church is growing, but I think that not enough real true, DEEP healing is occurring in the lives of those we disciple. Don’t get me wrong, I think the healing process is occurring. God begins that process the moment we open our hearts to Him and we accept Him as our personal Savior, but I think that the Healing process has been neglected when it comes to discipleship of new believers. Why do I think so, because of my own experience, because of this NEW place in my life of brokenness before my God and King, because of the amazing healing that has occurred in my heart, because God has been showing me what the process was in my life, because as my heart has been healed, and because I now can see past my own wounds and hearts. Before, I was neglecting “step 1” because I was wounded and hurt myself. I could not see past my own insecurities, sins, hurts, pride, etc. So as I gave of myself and shared my life with others, as a man who still needed healing, I could not help others in that process of healing in them. As I stand now, healed, I look about me and I see SO MUCH hurt within the walls of the church. Yes, church is a place for those who need healing, but I find the ratio of those who are healed enough to help others in that process to those who need healing to be way off! The pastors cannot do it all...

My prayer is that God continues to do the Miracles (as He has been doing in me) and that more believers may come to that place of 100% brokenness before Him. That they may be healed to the point where they can turn around and help lead those around them to that same place of brokenness before God.


Disclaimer: Don’t miss-understand, One ONLY needs to believe in Jesus Christ and put their trust in Him for eternal life in order to be saved (Titus 3:5, Eph. 2:8-10, John 3:16, II Cor. 5:21). I just think that God as our Heavenly Father wishes to heal our broken hearts, so that we may better serve Him. God wants to do great things in us and through us (Eph. 2:10). Again, we first need a Savior, we then choose to make Him our Lord. But we ONLY need to "Believe in Him." - If you do not know how you can be 100% sure you are going to Heaven the day you die, click here and find out how you could know. I serve God, not for my salvation, but out of gratitude for what He has done for me. I serve God because I love Him!...

Disclaimer 2: The growing process is on-going. God is still working in my life. Though I find myself in an amazing place of surrender before my Lord, surrender is something that must occur daily as we make choices and continue to grow closer to God.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…” – Hebrews 12:1-3

Continuing: I know that for me, I continued to put a big effort into “growing in Christ” and I put a big effort into reading the Bible, and in serving, but in my heart, there were many areas that I had not surrendered 100% unto the Lord. I was trying to obey God, and I was giving Him most of my heart, but I had areas in my Heart that still needed healing and areas in my life that I was not putting my complete trust in God. I had desires I was not surrendering before the Lord. I did had a desire to serve Him, but in my own terms. I had insecurities that I was not surrendering to the Lord and trusting Him. I appeared “healed” on the outside. If you asked anyone, I have been a “model” Christian all my life, but on the inside, there was still much hurt, shame, insecurities, etc. and it took God a long time to heal me. I was “image managing” my life. Today, I am a broken person before my loving Heavenly Father. To quote Mercy Me’s song “No More No Less” …

“I'm not trying to hide anything
I wear it on my sleeve
I'm not trying to be something I'm not
This is all I've got
I'm not trying to re-invent the wheel
Just trying to be real
I'm not trying to say follow me
I'm not the one who leads

Let me introduce myself to you
This is who I am
No more, no less
I am just a man who understands
Because of [God] I'm blessed
No more, no less

I'm not trying to prove anything
It's all about the change

I hope you stare just long enough to see
The heart that's beating here inside of me
Beyond all the things you may think you know
I'm just a kid trying to make it home, that's it
No more, no less”

You know, the world does not need more religion. Most people (if not all) are religious in some way or another. This is what God calls pure and undefiled religion…

“…to visit orphans and widows in their distress…”

Religion is good, but God wants our hearts, not just our good deeds.

Friend, if you do not know where you are going the day your die, TODAY is a good day to find out. We do not know what tomorrow may bring, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the day I die, I will go to Heaven to be with God. You too can be 100% sure that you will go to heaven... Click Here and learn more. Don't wait till tomorrow, Today is the day you can put your trust in God as your personal Savior.

to learn more click here: www.jjsierra.com/theanswer

If you have any questions, if you don't understand something I said above, please feel free to send an email at: jj@coffeecupapologetics.com

I leave you with these last two quotes…

“We must give God and others their rightful place in our hearts.” – John Ortberg

“We trust God with our eternal destiny, but we have a hard time trusting Him with the rest of our lives.” - JJSierra

Religion VS Relationship

"It's NOT about making Jesus Christ Lord OVER my life, but about making Him Lord OF my HEART. Many do the first, but few do the latter." - JJ

There are ONLY TWO kinds of people in the end...

"Those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.' "
- C.S. Lewis "The Great Divorce"

Wow...

"The Great Divorce" is a short but VERY insightful fiction book - I recommended :)

Announcement:
We are currently meeting at "It's A Grind" coffee shop at 4:00pm on Saturdays. Please contact us for more information. We don't always announce if we will not meet. For the most part, if I'm in town, I try to always meet. See you next Saturday!

Website: http://www.itsagrind.com/location/?c=152

"Relational NOT Religious"

"When sharing our faith, its like introducing a friend (Jesus Christ) to another friend." - Josiah Fernandez

Sad News - Serene Bean is CLOSING! :-(

The Serene Bean is CLOSING!!! - It was where this all started...

Some of us are meeting TONIGHT (Thursday, 8.7.08) at 7pm for one last CCA get together at the Serene Bean. ALL are welcome to join us...

CCA will STILL meet on Saturdays. We just need to decide where. Do you know of any good Coffee Shop (not a StarBucks) in the Woodstock area? Let us know :)

Well, see you at the Serene Bean one LAST TIME :,-)

MamaPundit - Check out this BLOG!

Hi everyone... Check out this BLOG when you get a chance. My Mom finally started posting and she is full of wisdom that we can all tap into. She just wrote a good post on a book that she recommends.

http://www.jjsierra.com/mamapundit/

:: Hope ::

The difference between the world's hope and Christian hope...

"The world hopes in their deeds with uncertainty. We hope in Christ's deed with certainty!" - JJ

Dictionary.com
Hope  - noun: the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best:

We have a "better hope!"
"...(for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God." - Hebrews 7:19

Hope in The Living God:
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance." - Roman 5:1-3

"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." - Romans 5:5

"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." - Romans 15:4

Overflow with Hope - By The Power of The Holy Spirit!

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." - Roman 15:13

Hope until the end!...

"we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end." - Hebrews 6:11

Life, The Great Adventure!

I've been thinking about life, contemplating on my life...

I've been thinking about life... How it's simply a journey. Parts of this journey are beautiful, other parts are not, but ultimately, what makes this an exciting and adventures journey is the ultimate desitnation...

C.S. Lewis said this, "You have not met a mare mortal."

Click Here to read the rest of my Post at www.JJSierra.com/LivingTheDash

News Letter - Volume 1, Issue 4

Here is our 4th news letter...

PDF File: CCA Volume 1, Issue 4

You can comment about the news letter here...

- God Bless

Next CCA Conclave

This Saturday we will NOT be meeting at the usual place and time...

Meeting CANCELED!

We were going to meet at Caribou Coffee on Hwy 92 in the Target Shopping Center, next to the Verizon store on Exit 7 of I-575, but things got complicated and no one but me was able to make it... I'm here currently, but I found out that no one else can make it. Oh well...

http://www.cariboucoffee.com/

New CCA Blog Members:

We also want to welcome my lovely sister Julia to CoffeeCupApologetics.com. I look forward to being edified by her future posts...

We also had Jose and Pablo finally start blogging :) -- Guys, hope to see you next CCA get together this weekend.

:: Brokenness, Humility And The Secret To Joy ::

:: The Secret To Joy ::
The secret to joy is gratitude that comes from a humble recognition of God's mercy and kindness! -- James 1:17 says, "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow."

...Read the rest of this post at www.jjsierra.com/livingthedash (my personal Blog)

"God Worth" NOT "Self-Worth"

GotQurestions.org's last email gave me insight into a more correct way to define my worth as God's creation... Very cool...

"What does the Bible say about self-worth?"
"The Bible actually has many passages that tell us what God has to say about our worth and our value in His eyes. Genesis 1:26-27 says we are made in His image, the very image of God. Psalm 139:13-16 says we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and all the days of our lives were written in God’s book before we were ever born, confirming God’s prior knowledge and plan for our lives. Ephesians 1:4 says God chose His children before the foundations of the earth were ever formed, and in Ephesians 1:13-14 we’re told we are God’s own possession chosen for the praise of His glory, and that we have an inheritance in heaven with Him as His children

But notice the wording in each of the above phrases: "are made," "are fearfully and wonderfully made," "were written," "God chose
His children," "we are God's own possession," and "we have an inheritance." These phrases all have one thing in common: they are things
done to us or for us by God. These are not things we have done for ourselves, nor have we earned or deserved them. We are, in fact, merely the recipients of "all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).

Therefore, we can conclude that our worth is not really of the "self" at all, but rather it is worth given to us by God. We are of
inestimable value to Him because of the price He paid to make us worthy—the death of His Son on the cross."

-----------
Thus, it's not about "my self-worth" but of my ."God-worth" ;)
-----------

I encourage you to go check out GotQuestions.org and sign up for their email.

"Sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart"

"We trust God with our eternal destiny, but we can't trust Him with the rest of our lives." - JJ

- Romans 8:31-32

More thoughts on this coming soon...

CoffeeCupAologetics.com - Site Update

CCA has been updated... More to come soon :)
I added the blogger.com link in the top navigation bar.
I also included a link to the jjsierra.com store. Check it out, buy a journal and help support CCA ;)

I also will be adding resources to the site as CCA continues to grow.

CCA Sunday Afternoon

We will NOT meet like usual Saturday at 4pm - Instead, we will meet Sunday at 2pm. Unfortunately, the Serene Bean is closed on Sundays so we will meet at a different coffee house. Email me to find out where. We still have not decided where...

My Email: jj@coffeecupapologetics.com
(I receive all my emails directly to my PDA, so just sent me a quick email to find out the location)

:: Amazing Grace! ::

"If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" - Psalm 130:3

"Mere Mortal"

"You have never met a mere mortal" - C.S. Lewis

Time Change

T.I.M.E. = "Temporary Independence Before Leaving Earth" - Marcus Garcia

We have moved our CCA meetings to 4:00pm - This is a permanently change for now.
We are planning to meet tomorrow (5.16.08) at the Serene Bean like usual.

...See you there!

Convinced?

"A person convinced against there will, is of the same opinion still."

"Suppress The Truth"

Man has to be taught to believe that there is no God...

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." - Romans 1:18-20

"...men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness..."


"The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world..." - Psalm 19:1-4a

"The heavens are telling of the glory of God..."

"...and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness." - Acts 14:17

"..He did not leave Himself without witness..."

I rest my case :)

I've Got An Announcement...

Ladies and Gentleman, children of all ages
Anyone listening, I've got an announcement to make
There's been some confusion about a certain someone
A lot of discussion and a lot of debate

So if I may take just a moment to say who Jesus is to me

Jesus is life, yeah, oh, oh, oh
Jesus is life, yeah, oh, oh, oh
The air I'm breathing
Why my heart is beating
Everything I'm needing
Jesus is life
Jesus is life

Imagine the deepest sea without a drop of water
An infinite galaxy without even one single star
That's how I would be... so absolutely empty
Without Jesus' life in me there'd be no life at all
More than just a part, He's the very heart of everything I am

This is my position concerning my condition
This is my position concerning my condition
This is my position my life by definition

Jesus is life
Jesus is life
Jesus is life
Jesus is life

(Steven Curtis Chapman and James Isaac Elliott)

Wisdom Demonstrated

"Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom." - James 3:13

Check out my latest post in my personal BLOG: Click Here

Being the "Acorn"

Just re-read Kyle's post... Can't wait to become the oak tree! ;) Phil. 1:6!

Read Kyle's Post: Click Here

CCA News Letter - Vol. 1 Issue 2

It's finally here!... Our second issue of the official CCA News Letter.

To Read (Download) The PDF of our News Letter click the link below...

CCA April 2008 News Letter (PDF)
File Name: cca_vol1_issue2.pdf

Feel free to leave your comments about the news letter in this post. All feedback and add-on comments are welcomed.

(_)D God Bless - JJ

Morality and Government

I am taking a course on Public Relation Principles...

As I was reading today this thought came to me:

Why does the GOVERNMENT have to regulate what is acceptable and moral or unoffensive in our mass media and in the business/corporate world?...

It used to be where even though a profit was desired, integrity and moral and ethic values where upheld by those doing business with another. People used to adhere to a higher standard... God's Standard! A handshake was enough. A man's word was binding...

...When we remove God from the picture, who is left to say what's right and wrong?... Apparently, the government from what I can tell! Wow, how bad is our society today that we need the government to rule over and tell us what's right and wrong. We need the government to keep companies in check. To make sure the "public" is not harmed, etc...

Well, at least there is one thing many people like about this compromise... Without God and a higher standard, people no longer have to worry about morality. They can do whatever they want with a "free and clear" conscience... At the price of our government running our lives and telling us what's right and wrong...

So, without God and an eternal purpose in life, what's left is the bottom dollar $$$!... And getting everything you can from this life... Survival of the fittest as they say...

... How sad, truly sad :(

"The Main Thing"

"The main thing in life, is to keep the main thing the main thing."
- L. Acoca

Announcement: We will be meeting tomorrow as usual...

Serene Bean
5:30pm

...Be There or be square ;-)

"The Funk" - Comment/Followup

So much of the Bible seems utopian, because we fail to TRUST GOD with our all. We want to believe in His promises, but we also want to do things our way and in our time...

The problem with our Christian walk (AKA, "The Funk") is that we don't trust God.

Fear, complacencies and the everyday affairs of this life "entangle" us so easily sometime (Hebrews 12:1-3).

"thinking to much" - "...It's too easy to get so caught up in the paralysis of analysis that we fail to act." - Brother Andrew "The Calling"

"My Mind is Made Up"

Unfortunately, this is the mentality of many today when it comes to their position. This old age adage describes it very well...

"Don't confuse me with the facts; my mind is made up."

Announcement: we will be meeting tonight like usual at the Serene Bean at 5:30pm - We will have Mikey from Miami join us, so you don't want to miss tonight :) Come ready to have a good time of encouragement where we discuss our lives and our Christian Faith...

God Bless -

Test Post

Mr. Anderson is in the House!... Dennis has joined the CCA BLOGing crew - JJ

CCA Picture

CCA @ The Serene Bean

eXpelled

http://www.expelledthemovie.com - NOTE: CCA does not necessarily indorse this movie - we simply want to get the word out about it. After we see the movie we will be able to comment more about it...

My Savior My God

My Savior My God - Aaron Shust

I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at His right hand
Stands one who is my Savior

I take Him at His word and deed
Christ died to save me; this I read
And in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

Chorus (2x's)
My Savior loves, My Savior lives
My Savior's always there for me
My God: He was, my God; He is
My God is always gonna be

Yes, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring;
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

CCA Meeting 01.12.08

See you @ the Serene Bean for a good cup of coffee and great "Fellowship." (That's Christianees for a good time with friends)

9:30am - Hope to see you there...

:: The Law ::

Question: What is the purpose of the "law?"

Romans 3:20,27-28 -
20) because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

-- Through the law comes what?... "Knowledge of sin"
-- Can following the "law" justify our sins?... "NO flesh will be justified..."
-- In who's sight do we need to be justified?... "in His [Jesus] sight"

Many people believe they are "good." The question is, accordng to who's standards? If we need to be justified "in His sight," then we're in trouble! Because who can live up to a standard of perfection?! Ha... But reading the rest of the chapter we find out that it is not by the "law," but by our faith.

2 Highlighted verses from Romans 3 --

27) Where then is boasting? It is excluded By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28) For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.

....So then that leaves the question of "faith in what" or more importantly, "faith in who?"

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" - Romans 5:1

Here is more on "Faith" --
1) What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?
2) For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
3) For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS."
4) Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.
5) But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness...

-- To Be Continued... More thoughts coming soon...

CCA Meeting Canceled

We will NOT be able to meet tomorrow Sat. 15th.

We do plan to have our usual get together at the Serene Bean the following Saturday.

God Bless!

On a Personal Note

WHAT AN AWESOME TIME we had this morning!...

After our confab at the Serene Bean this morning, The guys and I went to Family Christian Store to buy a pair of Apologetics Study Bible by Homan Publishing... I have never seen such excitement over God's Written Word the Bible in all my years. Kyle had been praying that God would provide him with the funds to buy the Bible and Today we were both able to get the Bible. God truly is awesome. I have never in my 20+ years of my christian faith felt so much excitement and hunger for the Word of God. God has been truly doing an amazing work in my life. If you want to learn more about how God is a part of my Personal Life, go check out my blog at www.jjsierra.com/livingthedash -- Part of the source of this excitement for God's Word comes from my Brother Kyle and Danny Garcia. What a blessing it is to have such friends who truly love the Lord with ALL their HEART, AND WITH ALL their SOUL, AND WITH ALL their MIND, AND WITH ALL their STRENGTH (Mark 12:30).

Anyway -- We are more then ever excited about coffeecupapologetics.com - We hope you can join us next time. Today we had the privilege of having Danny among us and he lead us through a solid study of what the Bible says on Salvation by Grace alone and not by works. We will be posting our study soon. We hope that as a result of the study you may come closer to an understanding of God's Love and Grace towards you and that you may believe in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior (if you have not done so already).

Andy, a good friend of ours also joined us today. It was great to be able to share that time with him also. I am on 5 hours of sleep, but I could continue to study God's Word all day. Once again, let me share with you Psalms 63 -- God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You... (Read Chapter)

May God Bless you today, and may he lead you to His loving arms and give you an understanding of His love, mercy and grace that is greater everyday (I can testify to that!).

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!

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

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!

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 -

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 :)

-- CoffeeCupApologetics --

"I go out to preach with two propositions in mind. First - every person ought to give his life to Christ. Second - whether or not anyone else gives Him his life, I will give Him mine." - Jonathan Edwards

What's CoffeeCupApologetics.com About:

-- I'm reading a chapter on "Teaching The Word of God" for my GCLI Leadership Course, and I ran into the quote above. I also read these awesome verses and quotes that hit it on the money on what Coffee-Cup-Apologetics (CCA) is founded on...

"...Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." - 1 Corinthians 8:1b (NIV)

The foundation for our zeal of God's Word is "Love."
- Love for God and His Living Word (The Bible)
- Love for others so as to see all come to the knowledge of His saving Grace.

Jeremiah 20:9 (NASB) - But if I say, "I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name," Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.

"A message from the head will reach the head. A message from the heart will reach the heart." - Leanard Ravenhill (Wow!)

"I love those that thunder out the Word. The Christian world is in a deep sleep. Nothing bout a loud voice can awaken them out of it." - George Whitefield

"I preach as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men." - Richard Baxter

"We must preach as to jeopardize our future, our ministry, even our life itself. We must make God responsible for the consequences and speak as one who will not have long to speak before being called to judgment. Then the people will know they are hearing a voice and not a mere echo." A.W. Tozer (Oh God, give me that kind of passion!)

1 Timothy 4:13-15 (NASB) - 13) Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. 14) Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. 15) Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.

1 Corinthians 2:1-2 (NASB) - 1) And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2) For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

"You can mark it down. If there is a message going out that is powerful, someone has paid a price somewhere in sweat, tears and heartbreak." - Jerry Falwell

Psalms 111:10 (NASB) - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

"According to this verse, understanding comes through following God's precepts. For that McCheyne said, 'Above all cultivate your own spirit. A word spoken by you when your conscience is clear and your heart full of God's Spirit, is worth 10,000 words spoken in unbelief and sin.'" - John Hopler (Great Commission Association, Columbus, Ohio)

CCA - This project, Blog, or call it what you will, is the outcome of two guys that are in love with God and have a zeal for His Living Word the Bible! Kyle and I dreamed up this little blog (web site) as an outlet to our zeal. Like the quotes and verses state above, the foundation for our desire to grow in our apologetic skills is "love."

-- Kyle and I have been meeting at a coffee shop for a few weekends now and we caught ourselves discouraged and complaining about the lack of zeal for God, His Word and for Radical Christian Living all around us... So we decided to stop the whining and start living out this passion we have for our God.

-- Now, Kyle for some time has been wanting to start an "apologetics" news letter for our church and friends, so he brought it up again and I mentioned the idea of starting a blog on apologetics. He liked the idea and we began to brain storm... After a few minutes of going back and forth with ideas He came up with "Coffee Cup Apologetics" - Being that we meet for coffee every week and linking the theme of down to earth relaxing environment of a coffee shop, and our discussions on God's word (apologetics), he came up with the name... "CoffeeCupApologetics.com." We're all about the "meat and potatos" of apologetics like Kyle likes to call it. We want to us apologetics not to put down other's wrong beliefs, but to show others that God loves them and through our knowledge of our faith, lead others to the knowledge of God's saving Grace (the gospel). We want the foundation and the motivation of our zeal to preach the gospel to be rooted in a genuine love and compassion for others...

Ephesians 4:15 (NASB) - but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

"I do not expect to live long... therefore I speak very plainly" - Robert Murray McCheyne

Ephesians 4:29 (NASB) - Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

"If you have not me us, you have missed little. If you have not met our Savior, you have missed everything."

Invitation: Kyle and I invite you to join us for a cup of coffee and God's Word Saturdays at 9:30am at our favorite coffee shop The Serene Bean (http://www.theserenebean.com). Or you can come back to this blog and be a part of "CoffeeCupApologetics.com"

(_)D God Bless