Gratitude

 Have you ever asked; How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me? It is an interesting question. Songwriter Andrae Crouch in his song "My Tribute" wrote: “How can I say thanks for the things you have done for me, things so undeserved yet You gave to prove your love for me.”

Do you ever stop and think about how blessed you are as a child of God? Think of some of the blessings you have received from God. Let me mention a few. Forgiveness, peace, purpose, direction, God’s Spirit, life beyond the grave, a constant companion and friend, a healing of the body and soul, the power of His Word, the fellowship of other believers, and thousands of little things, EVERY day.

Psalm 116: 12-14 said, “What can I offer the LORD for all he has done for me? I will lift the cup of salvation and praise the LORD’s name for saving me. I will keep my promises to the LORD in the presence of all his people.” The Psalmist is thankful for God’s blessings, blessings that he knows he doesn’t deserve. Moreover, he wants to express his gratitude. So, he asks this question in vs. 12, “How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me?” How do we respond to such kindness and love? The Psalmist gives us two responses: First, we worship. We give God the praise and honor that is due Him. Worship is not a chore that we do every week, it is an attitude of the heart every day! Corporate worship is the gathering of worshipers for a grand celebration. I hope you will be part of that celebration today. Second, we keep our promises to Him. We show gratitude when we do EVERYTHING. He commands rather than merely the things with which we agree. Every time we come to worship; it is a time of thanksgiving. It is a time for all of us to express to God how grateful we are to Him for all that He has done for us.

The question we must face today is how we can truly express our thankfulness to God.  As Christians, we’re well aware of how important the attitude of thanksgiving should be in our lives. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul says, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Take a moment today to count your blessings. Don’t hurry. Savor. Give thanks. Then express your gratitude to the Lord in ways that will please Him. May God bless you, keep you, and allow these words to help you renew your spirit.

Pastor Dimas

Gratitud

 Buenos días familia ¿Alguna vez te has preguntado cómo puedo pagarle al Señor por toda Su bondad para conmigo? Es una pregunta interesante. El compositor americano Andrae Crouch en la canción “Mi Tributo” escribie: "¿Cómo puedo decir gracias por las cosas que has hecho por mí, cosas tan inmerecidas que diste para demostrar tu amor por mí?".

¿Alguna vez te detienes a pensar en lo bendecido que eres como hijo de Dios? Piensa en algunas de las bendiciones que has recibido de Dios. Permítanme mencionar algunos. El perdón, la paz, el propósito, la dirección, el Espíritu de Dios, la vida más allá de la tumba, un Compañero y Amigo constante, una sanidad del cuerpo y del alma, el poder de Su Palabra, el compañerismo de otros creyentes y miles de pequeñas cosas, TODOS los días. .

El Salmo 116:12-14 dice: “¿Qué puedo ofrecer a Jehová por todo lo que ha hecho por mí? Levantaré la copa de la salvación y alabaré el nombre del Señor por salvarme. Cumpliré mis promesas al Señor en presencia de todo su pueblo”. El salmista agradece las bendiciones de Dios, bendiciones que sabe que no merece. Además, quiere expresar su gratitud. Entonces, él hace esta pregunta en el v. 12, “¿Cómo le pagaré al Señor toda Su bondad para conmigo?” ¿Cómo respondemos a tal bondad y amor? El salmista nos da dos respuestas: Primero, adoramos. Damos a Dios la alabanza y el honor que le corresponde. ¡La adoración no es una tarea que hacemos todas las semanas, es una actitud del corazón todos los días! La adoración corporativa es la reunión de adoradores para una gran celebración. Espero que seas parte de esa celebración cada semana. Segundo, cumplimos nuestras promesas a Él. Mostramos gratitud cuando hacemos TODO. Cada vez que venimos a adorar, es un momento de acción de gracias. Es un momento para que todos le expresemos a Dios cuán agradecidos estamos con Él por todo lo que ha hecho por nosotros.

La pregunta que debemos enfrentar hoy es cómo podemos expresar verdaderamente nuestro agradecimiento a Dios. Como cristianos, somos muy conscientes de cuán importante debe ser la actitud de acción de gracias en nuestras vidas. En 1 Tesalonicenses 5:18, Pablo dice: “Dad gracias en todo; porque esta es la voluntad de Dios en Cristo Jesús para vosotros.” Tómese un momento hoy para contar sus bendiciones. No te apresures. Saborear. Dar gracias. Luego exprese su gratitud al Señor de maneras que le agraden. Que Dios te bendiga y te guarde y permita que estas palabras te ayuden a renovar tu espíritu.

Que es amor?

 

¿ Hoy es el día de San Valentín. Es un día que celebramos el amor y la amistad. Si te preguntara; ¿Que es el amor? ¿cómo responderías? Todos nosotros podemos definir “amor” de diferentes maneras. Si escribieres la palabra "amor" en Google, muestra más de 18 mil millones de lugares donde puedes encontrar esa palabra. La Biblia enseña que Dios es Amor. El apóstol Juan escribe: “Amados, amémonos unos a otros, porque el amor es de Dios, y el que ama es nacido de Dios y conoce a Dios” (1 Juan 4:7). Dios te ama tal como eres. Nada de lo que tú y yo hagamos podrá cambiar el corazón de Dios hacia nosotros. Independientemente de quién seas, de dónde vengas, lo que tengas o no tengas, o lo que hayas hecho o dejado de hacer con tu vida, Dios te ama. El amor encuentra su origen en la persona de Dios.

El amor humano es muy incierto. Te aseguro que conoces a alguien que ha vivido el rechazo en algún momento de su vida. El amor no es una llave mágica que el cristiano usa para abrir todas las oportunidades y garantizar que cada esfuerzo sea un éxito. El amor a menudo no gana, no en el sentido humano. No es una fórmula espiritual que, si se aplica correctamente, llenará automáticamente todos sus deseos y producirá un gran éxito en su vida. Jesús es el máximo ejemplo de amor. Jesús amó perfectamente, pero su crucifixión hace parecer que su amor fracasó. Debes conocer que es el amor de Jesús el que todavía transforma vidas y corazones. Es por ese amor de Jesús que tú y yo estamos vivos hoy. Sin embargo, todos necesitamos apoyarnos y confiar en el amor perfecto de Dios. Su amor es vuestra esperanza y vuestra meta. Ser cristiano significa que debes amar como Jesús te ama. El apóstol Juan añade: “El que no ama, no ha conocido a Dios, porque Dios es amor.  En esto se manifestó el amor de Dios entre nosotros, en que Dios envió a su Hijo unigénito al mundo, para que vivamos por él” (1 Juan 4:8-9). Si el amor es algo que hay que imitar, entonces ¿cómo se puede aprender a amar como Jesús? Eso es lo que el apóstol Juan quiere enseñarte hoy. Que Dios te bendiga y te guarde siempre.

Pastor Dimas

What is Love?

Today is Valentine’s Day. It is a day that we celebrate love and friendship. If I would ask you; What is love? How would you respond? All of us can define “love” in diverse ways. I you typed the word “love” into Google search, it shows more than 18 billion places where you can find that word. At the core of the Christian faith, the Bible teaches that God is Love. The apostle John writes, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7). God loves you just the way you are. Nothing you and I do can ever change God's heart towards us. Regardless of who you are, where you come from, what you have, or don't have, or what you have done or not done with your life, God loves you. Love finds its origin in the person of God. Human love is very uncertain and I'm sure you know someone who has experienced rejection at some point in their lives. Love is not a magic key that the Christian uses to unlock every opportunity and guarantee that every endeavor will be a success. Love often doesn't win, not in the human sense. It is not a spiritual formula that, if applied correctly, will automatically fill all your desires, and produce remarkable success in your life. Jesus is the ultimate example of love. Jesus loved perfectly yet his crucifixion makes it appear that His love failed. But you know that it is the love of Jesus that still transforms lives and hearts. It is for that love of Jesus that you and I are alive today. However, we all need to lean on and trust in God's perfect love. His love is your hope and your goal. Being a Christian means that you must love as Jesus loves you. The apostle John adds, “anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him” (1 John 4:8-9). If love is something you must imitate, then how can one learn to love like Jesus? That is what the apostle John wants to teach you today. May God bless you and keep you always. 

Pastor Dimas

Help my Unbelief

 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23-24).



As humans, one of the key issues we deal with in our daily life is unbelief. Because of past experiences, usually, you find it difficult to believe in a person or some entity. Other times, your disbelief comes from the lack of knowledge of a particular situation. In general, you believe in something when it is tangible. That is, something you can touch, feel, smell, eat, etc. The Christian life is not based on emotions or feelings, it is based on faith. The author of the book of Hebrews says that without faith “it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). The Bible defines faith as “the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1).

This encounter between Jesus, His disciples, and this father is interesting. Here is a man, who was desperately hoping that Jesus’ disciples could help, who was heartbroken over the state of his son. This encounter has some similarities with your life. Like this father, how many times have you gone to the Heavenly Father in prayer desperate to find an answer to a problem you are facing? You prayed and prayed, and no response. You asked the church to pray for your needs and no answer. You wait and wait, and no response. And, it is during these moments of desperation, you begin to feel doubt. You start to lose heart because you perceive that the Lord is not listening. It is in these moments of anguish that like this father, you need to cry out to God and said, I believe, help me in my unbelief. Jesus’ words were both a gentle reprimand and the reminder that man needed at that moment.

Occasionally, you need the same reminder. When unbelief comes into your life, you must cry out; "Lord, I believe, help me in my unbelief." The power of faith is the consequence of the power of God. All things are possible to Him; therefore, all things are possible to me, believing in Him. If we translate that into more abstract words, it just comes to the principle that the power of faith consists of it taking hold of the power of God. It is omnipotent because it knits us to Omnipotence. Faith is nothing in itself, but it is that which attaches us to God, and then His power flows into us. God hears our pleas. Jesus isn't saying that we can accomplish anything we want if we have enough faith; this isn't an endorsement of the Word of Faith teachings. True faith doesn't presume that God will do what we want but that God can do what He wants. We must believe and have faith that God will fulfill his purpose in our lives. May the Lord bless you and keep you always.

Pastor Dimas

Sed agradecidos

 “Alaben a Dios porque es bueno, porque para siempre es su misericordia” (Salmo 136:1). Hoy en los Estados Unidos y en muchos otros países se celebra el Día de Acción de Gracias. Es un día separado para dar gracias a Dios por todo lo que ha hecho en nuestras vidas. Como creyentes en Cristo, no necesitamos un día especial para dar gracias a Dios. La razón es que, como hijos de Dios, debemos vivir una vida en constante agradecimiento por todo lo que Dios hace en nuestras vidas.  El salmista vive con esta actitud. El escribe que debemos dar gracias a Dios porque Éll es bueno. La siguiente frase expresa el motivo de este agradecimiento; porque su misericordia, su bondad es para siempre. Este tema se repite otras 36 veces a lo largo de este salmo. Pensemos cuántas veces le hemos fallado a Dios. Sin embargo, Él nos permite volver a la Presencia de Él. El profeta Jeremías escribe; "Por la misericordia del Señor no somos destruidos. Grande es tu fidelidad" (Lamentaciones 3:22). En este día, demos gracias a Dios por su amor y fidelidad hacia nuestras vidas. Demos gracias a Dios porque aún en medio de los problemas y situaciones que enfrentamos cada día, nunca nos deja ni nos abandona. Demos gracias a Dios por el hermoso regalo de la salvación a través de su Hijo, Jesucristo. Damos gracias a Dios por nuestra familia. Demos gracias a Dios por nuestra familia espiritual y por nuestras amistades. En fin, demos gracias a Dios por todo lo que sucede en nuestra vida, porque su misericordia es para siempre. Que tengan un feliz Día de Acción de Gracias en agradecimiento a Dios. Que el Señor te bendiga y te guarde siempre.

Be Thankful

"Praise God for he is good. For his mercy endures forever" (Psalm 136:1). Today in the United States and many other countries we celebrate Thanksgiving. It is a day separate to give thanks to God for all that he has done in our lives. As believers in Christ, we don't need a specific day to give thanks to God. The reason is that as children of God, we must live a life in constant gratitude for everything that God does for
us. The psalmist lives with this attitude. He writes that we should give thanks to God because He is good. The following sentence expresses the reason for this attitude; because of his mercy, his goodness endures forever. This theme is repeated another thirty-six times throughout this psalm. Let us think how many times we have failed God. However, every time we fail, He allows us to return to the Presence. The prophet Jeremiah writes, "By the Lord's mercy we are not destroyed. Great is your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22). On this day, let us be thankful to God for his love, mercy, and fidelity towards our lives. Let us be grateful to God because even during the problems and situations we face every day, He never leaves us nor forsakes us. Let us thank God for the beautiful gift of salvation through his Son, Jesus Christ. Let us be thankful to God for our families. Let us thank God for our spiritual family and for our friendships. In short, let us be grateful to God for everything that happens in our lives because his mercy is forever. Have a happy Thanksgiving. May God bless you and keep you always.

Pastor Dimas