The Truth

"If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." 

Matt. 5:11-16 

I was sitting in a classroom at NYU a short time back reminiscing a bit about the last time I was in that building some 32 years ago during my freshman year at that University. I was struck by how different things were. The classrooms were modernized and equipped with the latest computer gadgets. Yet my mind could still see the room the way it was.

As I listened to the professor, one sentence just seared itself into my mind. We were studying binary logic and she said, "You can't test for falsehood. Falsehood is nothing by itself, it is merely the absence of truth. You can't find something that by definition isn't there in the first place." You see, truth, however elusive because of circumstance, is provable. It is constant. Not only so, but when discovered, it disperses falsehood; It reveals it for what it is.

Things around us may change. We might add a few "gadgets" to our lives. Our circumstances might conspire against us so that the world might seem to be speeding right by us. Notwithstanding, in this ever changing world one thing remains fundamentally true - Jesus Christ.

Ironically, He doesn't claim to know the truth. You see, his claim is far greater than that. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." There is no alternative path to truth. It's either Christ, or it's a lie.

When you have Jesus, you have truth. And when you have truth, you have freedom. Jesus said in John 8:31, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." The truth is that Jesus is inside of us and if we just let him shine out, His light will disperse the darkness around us. He will make all things clear in our spirit. He will set us, and those around us free. 

Love ya,

Pastor Mario

Exceedingly, abundantly

"exceedingly, abundantly, above what you can ever ask or even think…"

Ephesians 3:20

 

I can't begin to count the amount of times that I have shared our experiences at the Hope Center with fellow ministers and have heard many of them attribute our radical evangelistic triumphs to "cultural" or socio-economic differences that they feel cannot be duplicated in America as a whole. The underlying premise being that somehow the message of the Gospel is only this effective when it is delivered to Cubans, Argentineans, Columbians, Puerto Ricans, Blacks or maybe even Australians. But for some reason, the Gospel cannot work this well in "mainstream" America.

My friends, that's exactly what the devil wants us to believe! I'm reminded of the report from the spies Moses had sent to Canaan. They confessed the land was indeed "flowing with milk and honey" as Moses had stated. They spoke of two men having to carry one cluster of grapes. Can you imagine that? Those were some BIG mama grapes! That's miraculous provision my friend; the kind that God wants to give to us.

There was just one problem, one small thing standing between them and their miracle of deliverance. The Bible puts it this way,

Numbers 13:33

"And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."

They saw themselves as losers, so everyone else saw them the same way. The irony of it all is that we never hear of these giants again. Where the heck did they go? Joshua doesn't talk about them. I believe they were figments of their own faithless imaginations used by the Devil for the sole purpose of robbing them of their blessing. What is the Devil using to rob you of your blessing? How do you see yourself? Are you wildly victorious in Christ, or is this Christian life too difficult for you? What do you do to help you sleep with yourself at night? Do you see other normal Christians as "giants" simply because your Christ-less actions make you feel like an insect? Has the Devil convinced you that you can't have those grapes; you can only look at them from afar while you salivate over what you should be chewing on?

A while ago my wife and I few out to Denver, CO where Hope Center Tabernacle was honored for it's "transformational" impact on America. This didn't happen because our tribe wasted their time staring at grapes from a distance. It happened because many of you took the challenge and decided to impact your friends and family with the message of the Gospel; to take back what belonged to you. We encourage you to believe God for a GIANT miracle in your family, personal life, and finances. Our God is as merciful as he is generous. All you have to do is believe.

Thank you for being obedient to the Lord and allowing us to receive these and many other accolades on your behalf. I am honored to be your under-shepherd and make my boast only in the Lord when it comes to each of you.

Love ya,

Pastors Mario

PROTECTED PROSPERITY

When it comes to our Christian walk, it's all or nothing.  And this includes our money.  

I seldom speak of finances for fear of offending someone who would think that we're after their money. This has become all the more significant to me in light of the media pressure on our finances. It's not wrong to support other ministries. It's not wrong to give to charity for that matter. The Bible, in fact, commands us to do so. What is sinful is not taking care of your family, physical or spiritual, when there is a need. This is a biblical responsibility as stated by Paul to his spiritual son timothy in 1 Tim. 5:8, "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."

You see, giving to God is not about money.  It's never been about money.  It's about faith.  And our faith is our source of life.  The Bible tells us that "the just shall live by faith."   It's about telling God, I'm going to trust you with everything I have. God establishes tithing as our way of ultimately exercising our faith by promising that if we take care of "his house," he promises to take care of our own, much more so than we can ever imagine. This is why He gives us such a wonderful promise in Malachi 3:10 for our obedience in our tithes and offerings, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

Conversely, when we don't take care of his house, we rob God. This is how HE puts it:

Malachi 3:8-12               

8. "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'  "In tithes and offerings.  9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me.  10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.  11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.  12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

You see, it's not God's purpose only to bless us in our giving, but to make us an example to unbelievers of God protected prosperity.

Luv ya,

Pastor Mario

Boiled Christians

"27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying,  'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'"

"The devil you know". You've heard the expression. He's the guy that's better than the one you don't. Truth is, they're both bad. Some of you have heard the "boiled frog" story. It appears that when you place a frog in hot water, he will jump out immediately to escape danger. However, if you place the frog in warm comfortable water, and then gradually raise the temperature to a boil, you end up with frog soup.

As Christians trying to live for Jesus in a totally secular world, we find ourselves constantly seeing the world around us becoming more and more hostile toward us.  If we get too comfortable, we begin to unconsciously compromise our walk, and eventually find ourselves in hot water. James puts it this way, "…don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." The end result is that end up having to do something drastic to get out of our respective "soups," or end up cooked, quite literally.

Jesus cuts to the chase. The bottom line is that being a "true" Christian is a costly proposition. It can cost you friends, your job, and who knows what else. If you're going to call yourself a Christian, please know that you are on display. Everyone is looking to see how "your tower" ends up. And believe me, they will ridicule you when you don't finish what you start. Having said this, its important to know that whatever it is that you have to change or abandon for the sake of Christ, it is well worth it. What you get back in Christ will far outweigh anything that you give up. God likes His Christians hot, not boiled.

Luv ya,

Pastor Mario

Living Worship

I often wonder, "Do we think God is stupid?"

Are we worshipping from the outside in, or from the inside out? The true worshiper worships from the inside out. What he does, he does because of what is in his heart. Not because of some external stimulus.

God defines worship mostly by telling us what it is not. He says through Isaiah, 

Isaiah 29:13

"The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men."

So many of us obey rules imposed on us in our respective churches simply so that we can continue what we call, "worship," irrespective of how we are really living our lives.

The prophet Hosea puts it this way, 

Hosea 6:6

"For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."

I think we miss-define what it was to live under the law and have a misconception of how we missed the mark in the Old Testament. We think that it was just about our inability to follow a set of rules. When the truth is that it was about a system based on hypocrisy. A system that allowed people to say to themselves, "I'm offering this sacrifice and keeping this feast and doing all these things, so I must be right with God!" And I'm afraid that we do the same exact thing today. We think, "Hey, I'm doing all the right things. I must be right with God."

This is what we do when we go to church Sunday and offer up what I call the "let me worship my way out of sin" sacrifice. We don't cry because we're truly repentant, that is to say, bent on actually turning around for good. We cry out of guilt because of the sin that we intend to continue to practice; the sin we feel bound to. And here's the ironic part. When we do "go the extra mile" and actually try to do what is right for a season, we only hang on for just a little while before we feel overwhelmed and complain about how the burden is just too heavy for us to bear. Here what God is saying: Our offerings are contaminated by our own, deep-rooted sinfulness.

Malachi 1:10-13 reads:

10 "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands. 11 My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "But you profane it by saying of the Lord's table, 'It is defiled,' and of its food, 'It is contemptible.' 13 And you say, 'What a burden!' and you sniff at it contemptuously," says the LORD Almighty. "When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?" says the LORD.



When we're contaminated on the inside, worship, the very thing that ushers in the very presence of a Holy God into our lives; that upon which our God enthrones himself, becomes a burden to us when in truth, worship is not a burden, it's a privilege. 



Jeremiah went to the temple and accused the people of not worshiping God correctly. 

Jeremiah 3:3-8

"3 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!" 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless." 


Many of us are just lip-synching through our Christian lives. God is saying that you can't just come to church once a week and say "I'm all right with God." You've got to live your faith every day, helping the widows and the orphans, and not serving other gods. True Christianity is a 24/7 thing.

Another critical point is to realize that Church isn't a temporary hide out from sin. 

Jeremiah 7:9-11

9 "'Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe"—safe to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! Declares the LORD. 


I'm guilty as sin, but come to church and cry about it and so I'm okay. I sing in the choir. I dance for God. I, I, I.

I think God says the same thing, "Aye, Aye, Aye!"

God doesn't want what you can spare. He never has. He demands your best. Let me say that right… He deserves your best! So why do we give him your leftovers? 

Malachi 1:6-8

6 "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' 7 "You place defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. 8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.


God no longer demands an animal sacrifice, but He does ask us to give of our time, our money, and our talents. We can give Him what's left over from the rest of the week, or we can give Him our best. Is ministry a "burden" to you?

Do yourself and God a favor and stop now. Repent and turn to him. Treasure the gift of worship. Fall on your faces before God in appreciation for his grace that sees beyond our faults. God demands our first fruits not our leftovers. He doesn't want your spare time, your spare money, or your spare heart. I don't care what you think you do for God, how is your heart when you do it? Do you get offended in ministry? Has someone hurt your feelings so much that it has become okay, as a result, to give God junk?

Here's the reality of worship. When you give God your best, and when you bring it to Him first, you consecrate the rest. Worship is for God and no one else.

Are you tired of lip-synching through our Christian life?

Here's the solution… "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship." (Romans 12:1)

Some more Organic Truth to ponder about…

Luv ya,

Pastor Mario

 

Why “Organic Truth?”

Jesus speaks to my rationale in choosing this name when he responds to certain Pharisees in the second chapter of Mark. The disciples are accused of sinning because they had picked some heads of grain while walking through a field during one particular Sabbath day. Jesus responds to the religious criticism by saying, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." He caps the statement by then adding, "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."   

Religious discussion has historically revolved around man's devotion to God. What we can, as human beings, do to impress this divine entity. What we can do to garner his favor or avoid his wrath. The irony of Jesus' statement here is the redefinition of God's imperative. The most holy admonition to the Jew, the keeping of the Sabbath, is characterized not by what the observance does to or for God, but rather why the admonition was given by God to man in the first place. The observance essentially does nothing for God. It doesn't make God feel more powerful or relaxed to know that man has taken a day to rest from his labor. The Sabbath, like most other of God's commandments, is given by God to man for the benefit of man and not for His own sense of fulfillment.

Like a parent forcing a child to take castor oil for his own good, the admonition to Sabbath rest, as well as many other commandments, represents an ideal promoted by God to counteract man's inherently self-destructive, materialistic obsessions. It forces man to stop and recognize the importance that God places on his/her personal health and welfare. In the field of agriculture, even a field needs to be given time to rest in-between harvesting seasons so that it can replenish itself with the nutrients necessary to sustain life. Which is what it's all about in the first place; the promotion and sustaining of human life and the premium that God places on its care.

When Jesus then says, "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath," he is saying that we must realize the supremacy of Christ in all areas of our lives, even those areas of our lives we thought we had a religious handle on. He is admonishing us not to lose ourselves in the act of worship to the exclusion of experiencing and/or surrendering to the very object of our worship, namely, Jesus Christ himself. God's ultimate purpose in your life and mine is that we experience life to the fullest extent possible (John 10:10); a truth we can easily loose on the altar of religious sacrifice.

This blog is dedicated to stimulating edifying and reinforcing conversation centered on God's truth to man, often pointing out the deceptive ideals promoted by our self-centered, secular mindset, or our own often misguided religious dogmas. I hope to present a healthy and balanced perspective of truth from God's point of view.

Organic truth.

I look forward to exchanging some part of my life with a bit of yours.

Luv ya,

Pastor Mario