Art-postolic.

This past Sunday's guest speaker, Reverend Art Alexander, spoke to us under an apostolic anointing and gave voice to the deep concerns of our hearts. Pastor Art took pages from the life of Joshua and transplanted them into our own lives, giving us insights and counsel to help us in our individual walks of faith. Today, let's consider one point that Pastor Art unpacked for us:

• If you want to be used of God, let go of doubt.

"If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won't correct you for asking. But when you ask for something, you must have faith and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like an ocean wave tossed around in a storm. If you are that kind of person, you can't make up your mind, and you surely can't be trusted. So don't expect the Lord to give you anything at all." (James 1:5-8, Contemporary English Version, italics mine)

Pastor Art said to us, "A lot of people believe their doubts and doubt their beliefs." Every day we face the hazards of life with competing voices in our heads: the words of knowledge from God and God's faithful servants and God's written word clash with the voices of discouragement and hopelessness. For some of us, this has become a constant fight. And, like the description found in James chapter 1, we have become completely untrustworthy. Our faith is so wishy-washy that no one, not even God, will position themselves to respond to our needs. Why? Because our actions say, "Well, Lord, we're here in church and we read the Bible and pray, but we really don't trust You; we have to try to make our own solutions."

Severe pressure has a way of causing us to doubt ourselves. Pastor Art noted some of the issues faced by Joshua: he was the successor to Moses, Israel's famed leader. He was tasked to lead battles against several enemy nations. He had to lead hundreds of thousands of people into unfamiliar territories. All his mentors and colleagues had died in the wilderness except for Caleb. Joshua, feeling the pressure, came into his promotion filled with doubt.

Doubt is a slippery slope that often results in fear. Perhaps that is why God, in calling Joshua to leadership, repeated the admonition to not be afraid. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified: do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)

What about you? Where is your heart today? Are you afraid? Are you terrified? Are you discouraged? Is there one area of your life where you feel that failure is imminent? Take heart, and appropriate the word of the Lord to Joshua: it is a word for all of us. Be strong. Be courageous. Be careful to obey the law of the Lord. Be diligent in meditating on His word. Be happy and eager to do what God says. Be filled with faith.

Lord, You know our hearts. You know who trusts You and who doubts You. Give us grace to always be found as Your trusting and trustworthy servants. We give to You the areas of our lives in which we have been doubting and wavering. You, our Captain, have called and equipped us; we will do as You say. We love You exclusively. We trust You unequivocally. We give ourselves to Your service completely.

Joshua... And You.

For several years, the story of Joshua has cycled through Bronx Bethany: from time to time, guest speakers will pass through and remind us of God's word to Joshua. It's an old story that some of us are very familiar with.

One of the dangers of "old stories" is that, after a few rounds of hearing them, we stop listening to the words. We stop asking God to show us new things. We start assuming that because we have heard the passage before, God must be repeating it for some other person and not us.

In Sunday's sermons, Reverend Art Alexander spoke from Joshua chapter 1. The temptation is to solely ascribe the message to persons in leadership positions; however, it is a message for every person who heard. As Pastor Art shared, we cannot exclude ourselves from the call of God because of assumptions about our age, station in life, or preparedness for the task.

For today, let's read Deuteronomy 34:9 and Joshua 1:1-9, taking the time to think about what these passages say to us.

What has God granted to you?
What has God asked you to do?
How have you responded to God?

Caution: God At Work.

During the second service, Pastor Aurelio (while in the middle of his sermon) gave Pastor Sam a prophetic word. I won't repeat the prophecy here, but I do think it might be helpful if we consider how to respond in instances when the Spirit of God empowers a man to speak prophetically.

We respond in prayer.
We respond in faith.
We respond in support.

Of course, we have two assumptions going into today's blog: first, we are assuming that God still speaks prophetically through His servants; and second, we are assuming that it indeed was the Spirit of God who prompted the prophetic word shared by Pastor Aurelio. (I hope the Church of the Nazarene still believes in the ministry of the Holy Spirit as indicated in Scripture: if it doesn't, then tell me... so I can bail out.)

So, our response in light of our assumptions:

We pray for our pastor. We pray that he will seek God to confirm the word. We pray that he will measure the prophetic word against the written word of God, because God will never contradict His written word. We pray that there will be no hindrances that block him from walking in obedience to God. We pray that the word of the Lord will be fulfilled.

We engage faith. In our case, it's easy to receive the prophetic word by faith because the word given by Pastor Aurelio is the word we have heard from so many other guest speakers. We also have our own personal relationship with God and can hear from Him ourselves. If someone asks "What has God said about Bronx Bethany?", then most of us who have attended Bronx Bethany over the past few years can give a clear answer. We are agreeing with what God has said. That's faith.

We respond in support. Why? Because the work of God's kingdom is never done alone. As Pastor Martha shared towards the end of service, we each comprise one small part of the body of Christ, and each small part is needed in order for the body to work to its optimum level. So beyond praying, beyond believing God, we have to do something. The saying is still true: faith without works is dead (See James 2:17).

So, as we close out this week, let's ask:

In light of the spoken prophecies, in light of the written word of God, and in light of the example of Jesus Christ, what can I do to support the ministry of Pastor Sam, Bronx Bethany, the Church of the Nazarene, and the Church around the world?

The Best Precedent!

"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children..." (From Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

What will our legacy be?
How are we using our time and resources?
Are we leaving our loved ones the best legacy, which is a knowledge of the word of God?
How are we demonstrating that we are people of prayer?

Pastor Aurelio asked us these questions during this past Sunday's sermon, and we would do well to know the answers. Scripture is full of examples of men and women who were tagged for certain characteristics: Daniel was tagged as a man of prayer. David was tagged as a man of worship. Abraham was tagged as a man of faith.

We can think of modern men and women as well. There are those who have become so legendary in their passion for God that we know them instantly. Finney. Moody. Wilkerson. Cymbala.

And here at BBCN, yes, even our own Publio. The man who went from door to door, prayed over maps of the Bronx, walked through the neighborhood claiming souls for Jesus, laughed, danced, and loved honestly and deeply. We can say there was no question of his love, his faith, his worship, his prayer life. Everyone knew Publio was authentically and unapologetically Christian.

What will people say about you when you're gone?

Joyful, Joyful...

This past Sunday, Pastor Aurelio shared with us the importance of public testimony of our faith, particularly in the context of family. He stressed the value of parents allowing their children to see them pray, give, and worship our great God.

Pastor Aurelio also shared an important truism: children will remember what they see more than they'll remember what was said.

As parents, as leaders, as men and women of influence, let's be careful to live in a way that encourages our children to become complete followers of Jesus. How can we do this?

-Make an object lesson of our tithing. Show the children that we have taken the time to separate out the ten percent that belongs to God. Allow them to see open, joyful giving of our money into the work of the Lord.

-Make an object lesson of our praying. Permit the children to hear you as you pray for pastors and leaders. This indicates to them the importance of holding up our leadership in prayer. Encourage them to also bring their own leaders to the throne of grace in prayer: teachers, mentors, or other persons of influence.

-Make an object lesson of our enthusiasm for the things of God. Attend services as a family. Verbally express your excitement and love for the Lord, the Lord's church, the Lord's people, and the Lord's leaders whom He has given responsibility for preaching and teaching.

Of course, none of the above can be accomplished if you yourself are not a lover of Jesus, His church, His people, and His leaders.

Lord, help us to be excited about You! Help us to love You passionately and unreservedly! Help us to give freely and joyfully! Help us to be public about this passion we have for You, so that others will see and want to become involved in Your great work. In Jesus's name we pray these things. Amen.

Sent On A Mission.

Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. -Joshua 1:6

Joshua had spent years serving as Moses's assistant. We see in Exodus that when the Tent of Meeting was set up, Joshua would often remain there even after Moses had left (see Exodus 33:7-11). It must have been quite an experience for Joshua to be a first-hand witness to the encounters Moses had with God.

Later in life, Joshua himself experienced the power of God. Moses commissioned him as successor (see Deuteronomy 34:9), and it was Joshua who experienced great success as he led Israel into the promised land and conquered Israel's enemies.

We can take encouragement in knowing that it was God who dictated the mission, and God who gave the strength and resources needed to accomplish the mission. Joshua 1:1-5 recounts the word given to Joshua by God for his instruction and encouragement. That might be a good place to end today's blog. I hope that, as you read these verses, you will know and believe in your heart that God can also give you a clear vision for His work in this age.

After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give them - to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates- all the Hittite country- to the Great Sea on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Though Dead, He Speaks.

On this past Sunday, which was the first anniversary of the death of Pastor Publio Fajardo, we held services that combined the congregants of our English-speaking and Spanish-speaking congregations.

Our guest speaker, Pastor Aurelio, spoke on Joshua chapter one. We were challenged to consider our own mortality. We were also challenged to seize the opportunity to live lives that, when we are gone, will be spoken of by others as lives of influence.

I'd like to encourage you to read Joshua 1, and maybe we can take time today to remember men and women of influence that have paved the way for us:

A parent;
A Sunday School teacher;
A pastor;
A friend.

Lord, we remember these men and women that You sent into our lives, and we are grateful for their godly influence. Lord, please show us what we should be doing, who we should be reaching, so that when we are gone they will remember what we did, what we said, and who we were. Not for ourselves, not for any accolades, but for them to want to live as we did, to Your glory. Amen.