I post about my relationship with the Triune God as He has revealed Himself in The Holy Scriptures, the Bible.
Escribo sobre lo que estoy aprendiendo de mi relación con mi Padre Dios, Dios Trino tal como se ha revelado en las Sagradas Escrituras, la Biblia.
Follower of Jesus. Husband. Father. Teacher. Pastor. Salvadorean by birth, Hispanic-American. Amateur Runner. Bibliophile.
Seguidor de Jesús, esposo, papá, pastor, nacido en el Salvador, hispano-americano, corredor amateur y bibliófila.
After the great event of defying the prophets of the god Baal Elijah in 1 Kings 18, he experiences a crisis. Despite being a man of God with so much power, he experienced fear, so much discouragement that it lead him to ask God to take his life. Why did this happen? First of all because Elijah was human like us.The Bible says of Elijah:
“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.” - James 5:17-18
All of us relate to Elijah. We will all reach some moment of fear and discouragement. We all need God to intervene in those moments. Elijah teaches us how God comforts and encourages us in times of crisis.
Psalm 23 gives us a glimpse of what it means to be a guest of honor to our Great Shepherd. Even though the metaphor of the shepherd seems to move into more human form, there is no reason to believe that we are not the sheep anymore. He as the Shepherd gives us great honor in our relationship with him.
If you are a Christian, there are good news. To God you are His special guest. He invites you to fellowship with him. He gives you the best reception. Someday not too far away you will be in his mansion. You will be their special guest. Forever.
The Good Shepherd restores us and guides us in the path of righteousness. As we live our life with the Lord as our Shepherd, there will be times when we need to him to restore or renew our life. Jesus said his sheep hear his voice and follow him. But often we think we know better.Our Good Shepherd is with us ALL the time. He never leaves us. He never forsakes us.
I was brought to this country when I was a few months from my eleventh birthday. My mom, a single mother of nine, made the trek with three other of my siblings. After spending a year in Los Angeles, we moved to Orange County. It was there that as a teen of only thirteen years we visited a Spanish speaking Baptist church. I had never attended a Christian church. It was not long after that I joined the youth group which Mark was leading. He was a tall, over six feet tall, White man who was well-educated. He had been in the Navy and was hoping to one day become a missionary. His father-in-law was the pastor of the church and had asked him to help him lead the youth. It was here where my friendship with Mark began. At the outset, I was impressed by him. I grew up with no male figures. My other mentor Jimmy left the church not too long after there to join the Army, thus Mark took his place.
Time has passed and my family and we’ve reconnected with Mariann, Mark’s wife and their oldest daughter. Mark’s oldest helped us find and buy a home where we live now. I wish Mark was here. I am sad that his family is estranged for reasons I don’t know. I know Mark would not approve of this. He would be devastated and would everything possible to make it right. This is not what he wanted for them. Nevertheless, I can’t do anything but pray.Mark was just starting his family and had two of his girls I think and thereafter had a boy and a girl. His wife had a very close relationship with him and was always with him. I sort of became part of the family. Even though our youth was in English, Mark was learning Spanish and often communicated with members of the church even though it was hard for him.
Our youth group at this point was made up of teens of about the same age (it changed later on to be more a young adult group mixed with younger ones). My sisters and others were part of them as well. Mark organized the youth, taught classes, created events and quickly got us to start memorizing Scripture, something he learned from The Navigators while in the Navy. Bunco nights at his house, Sunday night outings to Bob’s Big Boy (I loved their hot fudge cakes) or Norms became the norm. I remember that he would often have a pen in his shirt pocket (which I took on as well) and would draw or illustrate things on napkins as he was sharing with me or others. He would take me home but never without having a chat with me. I soaked everything in. He taught me how to play the guitar and became involved in playing in worship. I remember how I struggled to keep up with him. But I learned. Mark also taught me about being well-organized and also instilled in me the passion of reading, especially biographies. I would often borrow books from him to read them and returned them. My first Mac, a Mac SE was given to me by him and since then, they have been my favorite computers. He loved learning and this was fostered in me as well. Many of the values I now have were in large due to his mentorship.
I got to know Mark and his family. He was a strong man of convictions and had no fear in expressing them to anyone whether this meant liking him or not. He also a family man. There was no doubt he loved his wife and his children and strived to provide for them as best as he could and instruct them as well. He was involved in their lives as they were growing, I observed when he gave them words of correction and admonition. I knew he loved them and would give everything for them. Mark and his family left the church a few years after. I don’t know the exact reasons, but I know that part of it, was that there were differences between him and his father-in-law.
After this we remained in touch. The next chapter where he was involved in my life was when I began to court my wife in March of 1990. This was a difficult time for me and her since we were not regarded as a “compatible” couple even though both of us shared the same faith. We had significant differences, both age and stage of life. This created a huge uproar in my family and some people in the church. Accusations, rude comments in private and public were launched at us to stop us. It was a horrible time, but we survived. It was during this time that I went to see Mark with my bride to be. Because he had played such an important role in my life, I felt he needed to know. I don’t remember our conversation, but I wrote a few sentences in my journal May 24, 1990:
“I talked to Mark yesterday concerning my relationship…He supports our relationship. That’s an encouragement! He prayed for us…That really touches me.”
He also told me that I had to get an engagement ring for her, which I did soon thereafter. Mark and his wife Mariann were part of our wedding and gave us a Bible. My wife used this Bible for a while and is now stored away.
When I graduated from Seminary, Mark was there as well. He gave me a card and wrote a few sentences that are meaningful to me today as I reread them recently: “You guys are one of the few things that make it all worthwhile having been in ministry. Someday you’ll understand.”
I knew what he meant and he was right. Not too long after this I began church planting and became part of a church. Mark became part of the admin staff sometime later. We had brief interactions at times to stay in touch.
There were other social interactions. He and his family came to our kid’s birthday parties. I was recently going through old photos, and it was fun to see his children been part of it. His youngest daughter connected really well with our oldest daughter. I have a picture of both of them hugging. When our son was born and was presented at our church, Mark and his wife were there. I could always trust Mark to be at important events of our lives. For this, I am very grateful.
Time passed and we didn’t see each other often. He moved to New Mexico and then to Oregon. My last interaction with Mark came in 1988 through Facebook. He had recently come back from teaching English in S. Korea. I remember seeing all the pictures of him and his wife in S. Korea. I contacted him and on May 14, 2008, and wrote, “It’s about time you answered.” I don’t have the words he wrote to me since I deleted the Facebook account and only have the archive records. On December 29, 2008, I found out Mark had gone to Heaven after having a hard attack. I wrote this in his youngest daughter’s timeline:
“I have been thinking about him the past two days. I was thinking back the influence he had on me and I was remembering all the good times we had with him when we were young. I am very saddened by the news.”
I also wrote in his timeline on December 29:
“Mark...even to your last days you gave me words of guidance. These last few days I have been telling my son and my wife how you influenced me in my early days as a Christian over 20 years ago. Though imperfect as we all are, God used you to help me become what I am today. Thank you! I only regret not having seen you in person, but I know I will when my time comes. Love, Edgar”
This was my friend, my mentor, my older brother, Mark.
My wife, my son and I went to his funeral in January of 2009.
The other day when I was running is when I thought of writing this longer post. Originally, I was just going to post the card contents but decided to this instead. He deserves this. As I was running, I was thinking of Heaven where Mark is now. I was wondering if God allows his saints there to peek into our lives and even hear us. I am not sure we have a firm answer. But I prayed to God and asked if he could relay my message to Mark, “Thank you Mark for all you did for me!” I am not sure if he got it, but I know that one day we’ll connect again and catch up. Until then, Mark!
Words Mark wrote for my Seminary graduation.
At a church camp with some of the youth. Mark on the far right. I am the third on the top with a grey shirt.
Many people today say they believe in God. They believe in God in a very superficial way because it does not affect their daily life. This may be because they do not know how to have an intimate relationship with God. They can’t say, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” This is what we want to explore in this Psalm. What does it mean to have the Lord as our Shepherd?
There's a man in the Old Testament who teaches us what it is to have spiritual victory. His name is Jabez. We want to learn from him.
What does it mean to be victorious?
To be victorious means: "To use all my spiritual resources to overcome all the spiritual obstacles that prevent me from being faithful to God to the end."
There are many Christians today who live mediocre lives that impact no one because they don't know or understand their true spiritual identity. They are "religious" but not spiritual. As a result, they live lives devoid of authority and spiritual power and no influence over others. Many of us Christians have grown up in a very “normal". We just think of ourselves as “normal” people. We are afraid of doing anything that would make us be seen as weird, freaks or charismatics.
A person from the Old Testament illustrates what it means to have true spiritual identity (influence and authority) is Elijah (the Lord is my God). He was a prophet of God who impacted others because he knew his identity in God and exercised it without fear.
Why do some Christians make progress in their Christian walk more than others? It has to do with our devotion to God.
But today we want to find out how to be a Christian that is devoted to God (or how to resolve the problem of mediocrity or incomplete surrender). Some Christians today live a life of incomplete surrender to God.
In the Old Testament we find an example of incomplete surrender: King Solomon. The wisest man who ever lived. He started with full devotion but lost it at the end of his life. We who are Christians should heed this. Being older doesn’t give us the option of “coasting” the Christian life as we have already arrived at perfection.
Key Takeaways
1. Devotion demands whole-hearted surrenderTrue devotion requires a complete commitment of heart, body, and spirit rather than a set of external routines or intermittent emotions. Half-hearted allegiance produces divided loyalties that gradually redirect worship toward substitutes. Jesus’ call to plow without looking back models the uncompromising posture necessary for faithful discipleship. [44:57]
2. Love orders spiritual worshipWhat a person loves structures what that person worships, so reordering love reshapes spiritual life and practice. Desires direct daily attention and form habit, and misplaced desires create unconscious patterns of worship that consume and disappoint. Restoration begins by reorienting affections toward God so worship arises from longing, not obligation. [63:10]
3. Idolatry grows from divided prioritiesWhen treasure shifts, the heart follows and worship shifts with it; relationships, pleasures, or possessions can become functional gods. Small concessions in priority create openings that lead to public acts of compromise and corporate decline. Vigilance over daily choices prevents subtle idolatries from becoming institutionalized. [47:01]
4. Disobedience brings tangible consequencesWillful disobedience provokes divine displeasure and produces real-world fallout, including enemies, loss of stewardship, and fractured communities. God’s corrective actions aim to expose misplaced trust and restore faithful leadership through accountability. Immediate repentance can alter the trajectory before loss becomes irreversible. [48:29]
5. Follow four steps to restore devotionRecovery moves from recognition to removal, then to renewal of love through worship, and finally to responsive obedience rooted in affection. Each step functions as a spiritual discipline that reorders daily life and public witness. Consistent practice keeps devotion from slipping back into mediocrity.
Many Christians start their spiritual journey well but not all end it well. Why is this? Why do some live their entire Christian lives being faithful to God, but others live in spiritual infidelity? Do we have a different faith? The Bible says that our faith is the same as that of the apostles (2 Peter 1:1). However, the way we live that faith varies with the person. The goal of every Christian should be to be faithful to God all his life. How can we achieve this? This is what we want to talk about today.
We will learn of a king named Azariah ("Jehovah has helped") or Uzziah ("Jehovah is my helper") who "did what was right in the sight of Jehovah," but who made a serious mistake that cost him his faithfulness to God. From him we will learn how to be a faithful Christian to God.
It seems that Paul was always on the move, but he was not. This morning's passage shows us how Paul lived for Christ and did His will in "any place" and in "a place." This teaches us that, like Paul, all of us must also live out God's call to be his witnesses in "any place" and in "a place" as God leads us.
Also, one thing Paul had was that he was attentive to every event, every circumstance, every guidance that God gave him to follow the way of His will. On this path things happened where God used Paul.
The challenge this morning as we conclude the book of Acts is that, if you are one who likes "a particular place" and doesn't want to move, you must open your heart to God's movement especially as we consider our current situation in this building.
Perhaps you are very comfortable thinking that it is here in this place that you will fulfill or finish your American dream. You must be open to what God commands you to do. In America, to do what is comfortable is a very easy to do. I think most of us in the church are in this category.
