the Tassy Cinco...

Place…

Dr. Luke quotes “…and (God) determined the times and places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us…”

Do you believe you’ve been place right where you are? If you think “your place” is a waste of time, God thinks other wise.

So keep that in mind when you wrestle with lack of clarity, frustrations, anger, troubles, and just plain stupidity in this world. The goal is not our comfort many times, but people being pointed to Jesus, period.

Just something I’ve been growing in myself. Peace. jt

Little Details…

Do we really believe Jesus is in the little details? I sometimes get anxious about whether the system is going to help or hurt us. We always think things could be run better… whatever it is? That ref doesn’t really now what he’s doing… That homework is a little complicated… Really, the environment is all of the sudden important so we get charged ‘X’ amount for a car with a larger engine…

Then we find that systems are designed in such a way that you almost find yourself contemplating how we can get around it. Jesus help us!!!

Some of you remember our drivers license pray requests… Well, every year we must do an assessment of our car. Our car is a 1992 Toyota Land Cruiser. Yep, we’re driving a car that was made in my Junior year of college. Crazy, but AZUL (yeah that’s what we call her) needed a major over haul when we got her, but she’s been running like a gem. It time to renew her paper work, which means long lines, navigating news laws, paying a fee that’s probably making someone rich, and dealing with language issues… so we outsourced it to a young man we heard could be trusted.

Praise the Lord for an advocate. This guy got our car the night before, got up at the crack of dawn, paid what we needed and got through line by lunch time the next day. It doesn’t always got that way, but we weren’t complaining… We just found out some friends of our, who have a new vehicle where hit with a fee that was 7x the amount we paid… eeeeeeeeekks!

Do I believe Jesus is in the small details? Jesus is our advocate, right? Even if the process doesn’t go well, or we think it’s suppose to go one way and massively take a crazy turn… Jesus is never surprised by the little details. Jesus said this to his disciples before getting falsely accused, going through an unfair trial and then to the cross… John 16:22 “…Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”

Don’t let the uncertainty of little details wig you out. Trust, Commit, and keep your JOY. 

Power of Prayer…

When my bride felt called to work with and on behalf of the Human Trafficked young lady. Stories keep coming close to our situation. When one writes about this topic we need to be very careful. The corruption and simple evil of it all warrants much prayer.

A young man involved in another part of our ministry, lost his two sisters to the trafficking ring about a year ago. We prayed and fasted over this and other situations about a month ago. A mentor of the boy had his church pray for the guy and his missing siblings recently. Just this week, authorities found the two girls!!!

Okay so prayer doesn’t always get answered the way we think. God’s ways are not our own… But God does like us to depend on Him. The Bible says “Pray continually”… this is to be like breathing… walking… rising… running… sitting… looking… blinking… trusting… committing… waiting… I think you get the point.

Prayer is about dependence on a God who works wonders for those who believe. Oh, by the way, we also found out that the authorities placed the two girls in the home Katie visits each week. Coincidence…NOT… Just a God who cares and connects the dots when we pray.  

Lead by Serving…

Okay so I was processing while doing one of the jobs my bride hates = Ironing. Changes happen. Really, changes come and make us process our call. What’s obvious and crazy is that the main things still stay the main things. Love God, Love others, & Go make disciples of all nations… period. 

The more I serve the more I realize the platform to do those three things become realities. Do I really look at change as the catalyst to serve more? Leading is not about my position or authority but most times in Jesus Christ’s authority that empowers me to serve.

Jesus came to serve not to be served, right? His disciples got distracted with their role / station / job description / place… so Jesus says “…Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many.” Matt. 20:27-28

Remember your Call… which may include things that

Discernment = God advice first

Attitude = Right motives

Surrender = Get rid of the disease of me

Sacrifice = Give up something of value

Commitment = Go the extra mile

Mark 10:43-45

Lead out by serving! Paz.