Broke? You don't want to miss this.

In a world where it is becoming increasingly difficult to be financially free, people are willing to look anywhere for some advice that can serve as a "lifeboat" to help save them from the sinking ship that is their finances. The problem is, often times the services advertised as "help" are actually sharks waiting to devour anyone who is jumping ship.

Loan sharks start out very friendly, disguising their lucrative plans to basically own you by pitching their offer as an opportunity to silence debt collectors once and for all. "Borrow from us, and never worry about that credit card company (charging 25% interest) coming after you again!" or "Don't lose your house, we'll help you pay rent this month!" Did you know that some loan sharks charge up to 719,000% interest? Yeah, you read that correctly.

I've spent the past few months working diligently on clearing up my outstanding debts and becoming financially free. I believe Jesus meant it when he said "You can't serve both God and money." When you are in the position of a "borrower", the lending agent has more control than they would lead you to believe. You can get upset, argue, and even choose to not pay... But don't be fooled, they will get theirs eventually (plus all the interest and fees they imposed because of the time it took to collect from you).

If you are in the middle of a financial mess, rather than racking up a balance on a MASTERcard, or borrowing from a company you never heard of that seems so generous in their weekly flyer, take a minute and read this story of a woman you may be able to relate with...

"A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.” 

So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”

Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.”

So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”

And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.” 

(2 Kings 4:1-7)

What do you do when you are at risk of losing it all? When you feel like you have NOTHING left to work with? Are you listening to the plans others are making for your future, or do you trust the future God has planned for you?

God is quoted saying, "For I KNOW the plans I have for you. Plans to PROSPER you and not to harm you. Plans to give you HOPE and a FUTURE."

He also says, 

"Seek, and you will find. 

Ask, and it will be given to you. 

Knock, and the door will be opened."

Does this mean that God will give us everything we want if we ask? No, not at all.

It's a promise that if we seek Him and ask Him for His Will he will deliver.

"But the word says that God wants to give me the desires of my heart?! How come he hasn't? How can I trust someone who has let me down?"

God wants to place HIS DESIRES in our hearts, so we crave the things that God wants for us. When we focus on the stuff we don't have (enough money, latest tech, travel experience), we forget the gifts from God that matter (peace, joy, family, health, salvation through Jesus, life itself).

In a bind? Turn to Christ. Put down the credit card application. Stop stressing for a moment and have a one-on-one with God. I'm certain that you'll find Jesus working in your crisis.

"I don't need to go to church."

We’ve missed the point. We’ve been led astray.

See, we’ve changed something beautiful, and we’ve made it our way.

Something that was built so great, yet at the will of our hands,

We’ve turned it into a house built on pillars of sand.

There’s a disease in the "church", called self-gratification,

And if we don’t take action now it’ll be our own condemnation.

We continue to make it about ourselves and not about Him,

Choosing our time of worship around our favorite songs and hymns.

We spend our time absorbed in making a name for our “church”,

And yet we turn our faces away from the lost and hurt.

We’re quick to help others when eyes are upon us,

Yet when no one is watching we whine and we fuss.

See, things need to change, that’s without a doubt.

We need an attitude adjustment, a spirit-led reroute.

We need to start seeing people as Christ himself does,

And stop asking ourselves what's in it for us.

It was the most unlikely of people that God Himself used;

The broken, the doubtful, the outcasts, the abused.

We have to treat each person as a gift from above,

And give them an chance to share Christ’s love.

The church was built for much more than we know,

And if we do it His way, it’ll undoubtedly grow.

Not for the money, and not for our fame,

But to help the poor, the sick, the lame.

Take your eyes off your pastors, your needs, and your band,

Put your face to the floor, cry out, lift up your hands.

Stop asking for your own gain, realize His request.

You don’t need the church, but the church needs your best.

You were made to be a part of a heavenly whole,

A body of believers, millions of souls.

You can take your own path, and go your own way,

Or take part in the victory for which you were made.

10 Things That Can & Will Destroy A Leader

Leadership isn't easy. Anyone who's ever served in a position of leadership knows that people can be difficult, and the responsibility of equipping and guiding them can be challenging. Here is a list of ten things that can and most likely will ruin any leader if not tended to quickly enough.

1. Laziness:
A leader will get results that are equal to the amount of work that is put into leading. The lazy leader will fail to equip volunteers, employees, and followers, who will then in turn look for a better leader elsewhere. Your people will do just as much as you do, so if you want productivity, set the example and get your hands dirty.

2. Envy:
When a leader is caught up looking around at the success of the leaders around them, they miss out on the golden opportunity God has placed in front of them. Each leader has a unique calling, and that calling can be missed when a leader is too busy wishing he had the organization or success of another leader. Cheer for the success of others, and they will be glad to help you reach yours.

3. Blaming Others:
A leader who is constantly pointing the finger at others is a leader who is pointed towards failure. A true leader will assume responsibility for mistakes and errors in their organization and will spend more time seeking a solution and less time seeking a scapegoat. A leader knows that when a follower fails, it usually points to miscommunication or a lack of training from the leader.

4. Lack of Vision:
The easiest way to steer someone off track from their goal is to give them two destinations. A leader knows what they want, and is not distracted by flashy opportunities elsewhere. Until the goal is reached, a leader does not pursue outside ventures that can jeopardize or prolong the completion of the primary goal.

5. Procrastination:
When a leader continually pushes a responsibility to a later date, the leader shows an inability to follow procedure and a lack of concern for the deadlines of others. This leader has little regard for others, and only prioritizes his own to-do list. Procrastination also hints at a fear of failure for small tasks and can cost an organization. This leader will likely end up causing the organization to pay interest rather than collect interest. Be wary of the procrastinating leader.

6. Being a "Yes-Man":
A leader who cannot say "no" is not much of a leader. This leader finds himself overly-committed to many things that he or she does not want to do. This leader runs the risk of burning out, selling out, or running out of funds to pursue the ultimate goal of the organization. It is okay to say no, especially to an opportunity that does not fit the mission and vision of the organization the leader is in charge of.

7. Ego:
When a leader finds himself unable to listen to the criticism of others, he is in serious danger. This leader carries a "know-it-all" attitude that will take his organization to the grave if not dealt with. This leader will ignore warning signs, and is unwilling to learn new things. This ego will cause the business to either fail or plateau, and followers will begin to see the lack of growth and seek opportunity elsewhere.

8. Savior-Complex:
When a leader begins to feel as if they are the reason for the success or well-being of their followers, they adopt a savior-complex that places their followers in a position of dependence. This leader now has unreasonable expectations from his team and is surprised when his followers aren't brimming over with exaggerated appreciation for all of his "hard work" and "care".

9. Thin-Skin:
This quality pushes a leader to make changes whenever they are faced with criticism and insult rather than investigating into whether the remarks are valid. This leader is easily swayed by any comment about their leadership, appearance, company, or team and operates out of a very sensitive spirit causing them to rarely take risks and be manipulated by a team member with a personal agenda. This leader barely realizes that they are a leader, and instead tries to please his team in order to gain friendships and avoid pain.

10. Lack of Integrity:
This leader operates out of self-interest, and will break the rules for personal gain and comfort. This leader is on vacation while on the clock, spends the organizations funding on personal expenses, and may even gossip about team members. This is the most dangerous quality, especially in our day and age where there is easy access to records and information spreads so quickly through any department. The truth will expose this leader eventually, and their credibility will be destroyed. This leader is ridiculously fortunate if they ever get a second chance to lead, and will have to do some major trust-building in their new organization.

Church Decisions

Many churches are driven by different forces. The decisions a church makes can be driven by finances, the building, personal influences, or the purpose of the church.

When a church is driven by its finances, the reoccurring theme is "How much will this idea cost us?"

If driven by its building, the answer always sounds something like, "Well, it's a nice idea but we can't do something like that in our church. Something can be stolen or broken!"

If driven by a person, a few phone calls or intimidating words will seal the deal for any decision.

But, when a church is driven by it's purpose, amazing things can happen. This begs the question, "What is the purpose of the church?" We are called to make disciples of all the earth, bringing them the Good News. This means we are to invest time, money, energy, and tremendous effort into loving people, serving them, and introducing them to a God who died to turn their wrongs into nothing more than their past.

I know, investing so much into people who may literally wipe their ends with what you've given them seems too risky and not worth the pain, but as the old adage goes, "No pain, no gain." Jesus gave himself up for a people who would slander his name, abuse his grace, and ridicule his teachings. As he died on the cross, he said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." We have to take up the same attitude when dealing with those who use the church one weekend, and badmouth the leadership the next. They don't know how precious the work the church does really is, but can we blame them for it? No, because He didn't.

We are the redemptive work of God through Jesus. We are the builders of His Kingdom, voluntarily here to introduce the peace of Christ to a world in chaos. If we allow the stress of this life to consume us, we are allowing the fire God has given us to be quenched, and we become useless for the work of the Gospel.

As the church, we must wake up every morning KNOWING that there our people literally dying to hear the message of Christ, and we must operate out of a desperation to do the will of the Father. From the moment we step out of bed we need to put on the mind of Christ, and treat every conversation, thought, and action as an opportunity to bring the light into our world.

Let's not worry about money, church attendance, a building that will eventually crumble anyway, or what someone will think of us. Rather, let's focus on building the Church, a body that will never crumble or decay, and will never go bankrupt. God will open up His heavenly storehouses on us and provide us with what we need to build His Church.

God bless you today, and this week.

Pastor Alex

The Challenge.

It's one of the worst feelings in the world; finishing a game or project and thinking to yourself, "I could have done so much better." This happens daily in sports practices, public speaking, and the art world. An opportunity presents itself, and for whatever reason, we only give 75% effort. If we've done something like it before, shouldn't we be able to improve with every new opportunity?

It's the same way when we are walking with Christ. Every day is a new opportunity to be more like Jesus than the day before. As days, weeks, months, and years pass, we should have so much experience that we start to really model Christ in a noticeable way! But why don't we?

The answer is our mindset. We live as if we have all the time in the world to get it right.

"When this and this happens then I'll start to live like Jesus."
"Let me clean up my life a bit before I take this religion stuff seriously."
"I keep trying to stop sinning but I keep failing. Who am I kidding, I'll never change."
"When I make enough money, then I'll start giving to things I think are worthy causes."

We have a backwards mindset that thinks that time will take care of our misfortunes, bad habits, and mistakes. The truth is that if over time you keep making the decisions your making, you'll continue to get the same results. You're not happy now, and you keep doing the things you're doing, guess what? You'll still be unhappy later!

See, God pairs His grace up with our effort. This produces lasting change. We will never be perfect, but we should never stop striving to be.

With this thought, I want to challenge you.

You have TWENTY FOUR hours to have the best day ever. How will your decisions be different today than every other day you've tried and failed?

P.S. If you can do it once, you can do it again.

Weeds and Seeds: Knowing the Difference

I'm not the most experienced gardener, but after tending the FH garden for a few months, I learned a couple things about gardens and life.

First, it takes patience to grow something worth growing.
The best things in life take time. Good things usually don't come easy, and a lot of work is involved in building something great. A move made from a hand led by impatience can be fatal. You can't plant a seed, and the next day expect to dig up a crop. Your emergency will not speed up the growth process. Some things just need more time, no matter how talented you may be.

Second, you MUST pull up weeds.
Making no decision is a decision. If you watch your weeds grow and decide to do nothing about it, you won't have a garden for long. Weeds will always grow, so if you love your garden, you will always have to work it. There will never be a time where you don't have to work, so you better love gardening. You have to pay attention to the threats in your life, church, business, family, etc. A drop of poison in a pot of soup is still a drop of poison. Save your garden, remove the weeds. Procrastination will lead to severe damage, if not fatality.

Third, the work is worth the labor.
When something does grow, it's the most rewarding feeling ever. Life is beautiful, if you make it beautiful. Watching something you've tended and placed in God's hands flourish is one of the best feelings ever. If you don't work, you will never experience this type of joy. The fruit that you gain from a life of hard, honest, and valuable work is amazing. What's even better is when you get to share that fruit with someone else.

What are you growing?

What's your excuse?

"I would be rich, but..."

"I really wish I could, I just can't find the time."

"I would help you, but I'm running late to work."

There's a life we wish we had, but too many things stand in our way. Between work, school, family, and friends, we gaze at what we don't have but truly long for from a far distance. Like a weary traveler in the desert would gaze at a far off body of water, we marvel at the mere thought of our dreams. But after awhile, we begin to think that the life we are yearning for is just a mirage; pleasing to look at but impossible to achieve or enjoy.

I believe that we are all born with two innate qualities: passion and purpose. 

We are all born with a passion to make the world a better place. Working with children, I've learned that the younger the child, the purer the mind. This purity has less to do with innocence and more to do with a simplistic bravery to take on the world's problems without overcomplicating things. 

When I ask a child, "What should we do to help all the hungry people around the world who have no food?" I receive a simple answer; "Give them some of ours!" There answer isn't a political mantra, a solution to be found on a ballot, or a petition for redesigning global nonprofits. It's a cry for the lost art of selflessness; giving out of ones abundance to meet the need of another's deprivation.

When I ask a child, "What should we do about the wars that happen all over the world?" the answer is simple: "Teach people to forgive each other and get along!" The answer isn't hopelessly admirable, but we adults like to throw this in the pile of "impossible ideals" and say things like "If only it were that easy kid."

It is. That's the issue. It really is that easy. If we cut out the excuses, this world would be a very different place. How do you teach a foreign nation to get along with others? How do you implement a strategy to feed the whole world? How do you stop genocides, racism, crime, and hunger at a global level?

The answer isn't found in government programs, systems, or equations. It's simple: lead by example.

How can we expect third world countries to feed their poor when we have starving families in our country, yet serve SUPERSIZED meals that are half-eaten and then thrown away? How can we teach peace and civility yet glorify crime and killing in our favorite TV shows and movies? How can we expect to promote safe sex and wise decisions while simultaneously offering the most degrading and twisted semi-pornographic scenes as a form of evening entertainment?

We make excuses to cover up how far we've drifted from purity. And then, we try to justify raising our kids in the same rancid filth that corrupted our hearts and hardened us from the simplistic purity that had potential to actually change the world.

And then we are surprised when...

We get a call that our high-schooler was caught stealing at the mall.

Or a call about our son beating up another kid in school.
Or we catch our daughter sleeping with a guy she just met.


Lead by example. A concept that Paul passed down to Timothy when he wrote,

"Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity."

We can't offer solutions we aren't willing to follow through with ourselves. The practice of doing so is called hypocrisy. And until we realize that our choices affect other people just like they affect us, we will continue living selfishly as if we were the only one's living on this planet. Turn the water off while you brush, flick a switch when you leave the house, order only the amount of food you need, and understand that you don't need 20 pairs of the same sneakers in different color schemes.

Your passion will help you fulfill your God-given purpose. Whether it's on a local or global scale, there is something you have been handcrafted to accomplish in your lifetime that would help the world rather than hurt it. And when you lead by example, practice selflessness, and pray for God to speak to you, your calling will be clear.

"The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." -Jesus

Pursuing Christ,
Alexander Sosa