Ephesians Up Close and Personal

JameeAugust 10, 2017Uncategorized

Ephesians is a very practical letter written by Paul, talking about our new life in Christ and it is incredibly relevant for all Christians, young and old, and in between! Every Wednesday night at 6pm we met at Destino Cristiano to study one chapter at a time. The first week we learned the history and context of the book, which provides a backdrop and better understanding of how to interpret it for ourselves today. Ephesians is a ‘Prison Epistle’ meaning it’s one of the four letters Paul wrote and sent out while he was in prison. It is believed to be written ten years after Paul first went to Ephesus to spread the Good News and is addressed to the saints of Ephesus (or Asia minor), the faithful in Jesus Christ.

We noticed that Paul is not writing to special ‘Super-Christians’ who are labeled saints, but to the faithful in Jesus Christ, who ARE saints. The word ‘saint’ is hagios, or ‘holy ones, sacred; pure, consecrated.’ As the faithful to Jesus Christ, we are set apart as saints! That’s who we ARE and it is very important to know our identity. In the first three chapters, the letter describes how God has brought us near, into new life with Him (purely by his grace!), and then in chapters 4-6 Paul describes practically how that should look! As hagios, the holy, sacred, pure, consecrated, set apart faithful to Jesus Christ, how are we to live with our fellow saints, husbands and wives, kids, etc.? What do we do with the evil around us that’s constantly knocking on the door, and what is the Holy Spirit’s role in our new lives? The book of Ephesians is both practical and powerful!

We just came to the close of this six week Bible study and feel encouraged by the knowledge of what God has done for us, empowered to live our lives in the Holy Spirit, and inspired to go be a light and witness to those around us. God’s Word is life-changing, so don’t miss out on the next study!

Cabo Missionaries Minister at Destino, a Bilingual Christian Church

JameeAugust 7, 2017Uncategorized

In a July 2017 service at Destino Cristiano, pastors Randy and Luisina Mishler arrived from San Jose del Cabo with their four beautiful children to minister in La Paz. They are a dream team and greatly encouraged the congregation with the Word and worship. Luisina led our team in worship, teaching the band how to play a song they’ve never played without a track, “This is Amazing Grace.” They stepped up to the challenge and did a great job! Best of all, we got to lift up the name of our Lord together.

Randy shared a great word addressing the question of “how do we respond when affliction comes?” We all can identify with troubles, hard times, conflicts, you name it. Perhaps the reason why there are so many synonyms for ‘problems’ is because we pass through so many! For this same reason, God has a lot to say about the topic. However, what we read in scripture is not, “God will make your problems go away for you right now!” Instead, God teaches us that rather than directly taking away the affliction, He uses the affliction for our good and for His glory. Randy shared with us five blessings that come in these trying times.

The first blessing in affliction is that it draws us closer to God. The psalmist shares how his affliction turned his heart to the Lord, “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. (Psalm 119:72)” Second, affliction makes us stronger! Romans 5:3-7 describes how suffering produces perseverance, which produces character, and character, hope. Isaiah 40:31 completes the thought, “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.” Fourth, affliction helps us put our eyes on Jesus. One of the first things Jesus told Paul about his new life in him, was that he would suffer (Acts 9:16). Not the most encouraging of conversions! But Jesus was the one who caused the scales to fall off Paul’s eyes, and there would be no one else he would set his eyes upon. Through this, Paul learned the secret of going through afflictions was going through them with Christ (Philippians 4:11-13). The fourth and fifth benefits are that affliction prepares us for greater things, and through affliction we bring glory to God. David, for example, first had the trial of defending his sheep from the lion and the bear. His next trial, was defending a whole nation against the undefeated giant Goliath. Talk about a hardship that prepared the way for a greater assignment that gave glory to God!

As a church we are so thankful for the Mishler’s ministry. We are encouraged that we can rejoice in the hardships, knowing that we are growing closer to God, becoming stronger, fixing our eyes on Jesus, being prepared for greater things, and ultimately, living out our purpose of bringing glory to God!

The Measuring Stick of Destiny

JameeMarch 30, 2016Uncategorized

measuring stickWe have a comparison problem as Christians. While it’s important to look up to those in authority and people with specific gifts and talents, we can’t want to be more like them than we want to be ourselves. But that often happens when we start making comparisons with those who we perceive as more spiritual, more powerful, more effective, or better in one way or another.

When we start comparing ourselves in this way, we’re holding ourselves up to a distorted measuring stick.  The result is that we never measure up, and we lose sight of what God purposed in His heart when He created us.

Of course, Satan loves it when we compare ourselves to other people because he is keenly aware that a distorted measuring stick leads to pride, envy and jealousy. He has also proven that this flawed measuring stick can make us bitter and angry, and can discourage and dishearten the strongest of believers.

When we compare ourselves to others, we can inadvertently pit ourselves against them, creating a one-sided competition in which there is no winner. It’s like we’re running a race alone, and without a finish line. No wonder we’re so tired! No wonder we feel so lost and forgotten!

There is only one measuring stick made for Christians, and it’s the one God holds in front of each of us. It is customized because God based these measuring sticks on His design for our lives.  They are the measuring sticks of Destiny. Thus, there is no place for comparison, nor is there any competition.

So we have God who loves us and guides us from our first steps of salvation toward our true calling. He shows us who we are in Him with the measuring stick of Destiny. When we see ourselves through God’s eyes and when we count on the strength and power of God, we discover our God-given gifts and talents, and ultimately our true identity.

But in the process, we have Satan who hates us and steers us away from our calling by various means, including the evil practice of comparison. He hands us the distorted measuring stick and engages us in a one-sided conversation that begins with “You’re not good enough. You don’t measure up.” And we respond by trying harder to become an imposter.

If you’re holding a distorted measuring stick, get rid of it – right now! It’s worse than useless. It’s holding you back from becoming your best. And it’s keeping you from cheering on your brothers and sisters in Christ who may be soaring higher and longer, but who are in desperate need of your work on the ground.

 

Harvest Time at Destino

JameeOctober 12, 2015Uncategorized

candyChristian Church in La Paz will Pass Out Sweets with Scriptures

On October 31st, a group from Destino Cristiano Christian church in La Paz, Mexico will be out and about, passing out bags of candy with invitations to the bilingual church and a Scripture in both English and Spanish.

We’re calling this event Harvest Time at Destino, and basing this effort on Matthew 9:37-38. “Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

Our goal for this harvest time event is to provide a seasonal and spiritual aspect to what is otherwise known as Halloween. And because we love children at Destino, we’re looking forward to all the smiles!

 

Bilingual Church in La Paz

JameeOctober 5, 2015Uncategorized

IMG_2643 Starting a Christian Church in La Paz, Mexico

If you would have asked us how to start a bilingual church in La Paz, Mexico, a few years ago, we would probably have answered, “We have no idea.” If you ask us today, we’ll answer with absolute sincerity, “By the grace of God.”

It’s true. God’s grace is sufficient for us. This has been proven over and over since arriving on the mission field in 2013 to start a nondenominational Christian church in La Paz. We didn’t speak Spanish, nor had we ever worked as senior pastors. And church planters? That’s not something we ever thought we might be called, nor was it something we thought we had the skills or talent to accomplish. But God is full of surprises for those who are willing to do what He wants.

So it’s God who got us started and God who will keep things going. But here are the top 5 things we did right that enabled God to use us in ways we never dreamed:

  1. When we became believers, we told God we would do whatever He wanted us to do. And we meant it.
  2. We served wherever there was a need. That means we cleaned many toilets. (According to our calculations, we cleaned 4,120 at our home church in the 17 years we were there.)
  3. We agreed to taking on new challenges, even when we considered them ridiculously difficult.
  4. We silenced the enemy who consistently came to question the plans of God.
  5. We put our faith and obedience into action. When God said go, we got up and went.

Now that we’re pastors of a Christian church in La Paz, we’re still open to doing what God wants, to taking on new challenges, to fighting the good fight and moving forward with God’s plans. And, we’re still cleaning toilets.

 

 

 

Back to Christian Basics

JameeSeptember 28, 2015Uncategorized

Why Did Jesus Die?

crossSometimes we just need to get back to the basics. To remember where we were before, and to see how far God has brought us. To remember that moment when we realized that the love of God has always been with us: that he loved us enough to send Jesus to die in our place. That memory should break our hearts, and at the same time, our hearts should be overwhelmed with gratitude and joy!

But we forget, don’t we? Over time, we just do church as if we have always done it. We begin to speak in Christian clichés and talk about Biblical principles as though we have always lived them. We learn so much that we become teachers, who no longer feel the need to know more and go deeper.

It’s time to remember why Jesus died. Forget all the niceties and the need for others to see how spiritual and smart we are. Jesus died because we were lost and in sin and in need of saving. Jesus died because we still sin, and still need a Savior. Jesus died so he could rule and reign in our hearts and we could be kingdom dwellers who feast at the table of our Lord. Jesus died for our resurrected life! He did it. We simply receive the benefits of this great love.