God bless!

                As a parent can you imagine being separated from your child? Doesn't it even bother us to think such a thought? Can we even consider a moment of not knowing where our children are? I'm sure as "special" as our kids can be, at no point would we feel comfortable not knowing where they are. Why am I talking about this? The same way we can't fathom the thought of being away from our children is the same way we shouldn't be comfortable with being away from our spouses. I'm sure many are saying "but Pastor I'm not married" so let's take it to the level of relationship between us and God. Every moment away from our spouses and or God should cause that unease within us. We should desire to be around them at all times, never to run from them but rather to run to them in good times and in bad. I know it's not easy but I also know it's not impossible. I will leave you this week with a remembrance of the fact that you and I have been united to God and our spouses, this weekend I encourage you to seek hard after God and do something special for your spouse. Not because I said so, but because we all made a covenant to do these things unconditionally.

Eager for Sundays service,

Pastor Joell  A. Perez

Mark 10:9 "Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."

God bless!

                Isn't it interesting how though religion is supposed to be all about unity for the most part it is more separated than the world itself? How is it that we can walk down a city block and count up to 10 churches on that one block? Who decided that there was different denominations and different interpretations? Who took it upon themselves to start "something new"? how is it that we can see people from a church in our neighborhood and we try to avoid them because they "don't go to my church!" When did the Messiah come down and speak to a particular individual differently than He has to us all? When did people start getting sick because they left one church and went to another? When did God start punishing people because they went to a concert to see a Christian artist? As you can see I'm very passionate about this subject because to me it is man that has manipulated all of these "feelings" . Are we are such blank canvases that instead of reading the Bible we take what is said by our leaders as gospel?

                Please don't misunderstand my tirade as a reason to rebel against your leadership (unless they are spewing this garbage into your head of course). We were formed to select church membership based on variables such as location, language, sound doctrine, demographics and ultimately relationships. In other words as long as they are not preaching anti-biblical doctrine or living outrageously sinful you are good. I say outrageously sinful because in case we were not aware, all of us Sin (including you), we just have to be weary of situations where people don't want to change but rather sit in Sin. In the verse from today we see how the disciples actually stopped people from doing the work of the Lord because they were not "one of them". Really? What made them different? Why do we look at certain Christians and judge them for where they go? Does this make us feel better about our own sin? I want to be clear with one thing "if we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior then we are Christians", this doesn't mean we are Sinless we all make mistakes but it does mean that the Jesus's Blood accounts for all of our sins (not just us at NBMI). The moral of the story today is we have to begin to be "United" by the blood rather than the name of a church. Let's get over ourselves and realize that it's not about our ministry but about the ministry that Jesus established.

Shaking my head at us all!

Pastor Joell A. Perez

P.S. this is very much experience speaking today as I have sat on both sides of this issue J

Mark 9:38 "Teacher," said John, "we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us."

God bless!

                In life there is always going to be someone who makes you nervous when you speak to them, whether a teacher, boss, leader, pastor, authority figure, etc. I'm sure you know that feeling of discomfort, as you speak your words get twisted, your thoughts get squed and you find yourself blabbering about things you shouldn't. Each of us has experienced it at one point or another, so why am I bringing any of this up? Well that feeling we had was birthed due to a lack of intimacy or relationship and many of us still feel like that when it comes to God. Yes I said God, when the thought of being in His presence arises all of a sudden we break down in tears or surprise (and we should be excited) but the fact remains why the impact? The impact is there because though it should be a normal occurrence to be in His presence for many of us it is not. Don't feel bad the same thing occurred to the disciples, in the verse we are covering today the disciples are said to be "afraid" to ask Him a question. If they really knew His heart for them, would they be afraid or would they be assured that He would comfort them?

                It's so easy for us to sit back and read scripture and bash the disciples but the truth is, we are worse at this because we see their mistakes and continue to make the same ones! I'm not trying to make us feel bad today but I am trying to get us to the point where we come out of denial and realize that the image of God that many of us have is just plain wrong. He would never harm us, He would never forget us and He will never leave us. It's not in Him to do wrong, He is righteousness and always will be. The moral of the message today is simply to come before the Father with mistakes and all, He will correct us and will make sure we get on the right track. Don't be afraid to talk to Him and don't be afraid to go back to Him if you have strayed, we all have and He has received and will always receive us all!

Thanking God for His awesome mercy,

Pastor Joell  A. Perez

Mark 9:32 "But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it."

God bless!

                Let me paint a picture for you: a young boy is asked to play basketball one day in a park, it is his first time playing the sport so he isn't able to even hit the back board with the ball. This young boy grows frustrated and vows to do better, he begins to practice daily, wakes us early and does nothing but think, eat and breathe basketball. A couple of months later he is asked to play basketball again but the result is totally different then the first time  (a million times better), why? Of course we know it's because he has been practicing and it has made him a much better player. In scripture it reminds us repeatedly of how we are to seek after Him without ceasing, praying day and night, why?

                The same reason the boy practiced basketball is the reason we need to pray and seek His face. The more we do it the better we will get at it and the easier we can perform the benefits that come along with it. Why am I talking about all of this? The verse of today is a verse where the disciples are unable to cast out a demon from a boy because of what Jesus describes as a lack of prayer. It's not that praying is the key to it but rather the key is the result of praying which is relationship developed through prayer. How many of us can honestly say that we pray every day (besides before we go to sleep and eat that is)? How many of us read the bible every day (not just reading the verse below the devotionals)? This isn't meant to make any of us feel bad but quite the opposite, this should motivate us to learn from the mistake of the disciples. Just like the disciples we will find ourselves in situations where only our relationship with God will bring results and clarity, these items will not be there if we don't fine tune our relationship with God. Do you want just a bit of Him or all of Him?

Praying..

Pastor Joell  A. Perez

Mark 9:29 "He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."

God bless!

                Have you ever sat by a window on a rainy day and seen the skies pitch black as the water fell violently towards the ground and wondered how this awful looking day can get better and all of a sudden it stopped raining, then the clouds passed over until they disappeared and ultimately the sun came out and began to shine? Though at some point it seemed impossible for the skies to clear up, it eventually did. The verse we will review today is one where right before the young boy was healed the devil gave him a shake to try to knock him out (are you getting shaken right now?). It may seem like the world is about to end right now but I come with good news for you today; it isn't. In fact I would venture on telling you today that what you are going through today is the devils last attempt to knock you out of your current situation. I'll give you more good news; he will be unsuccessful at detouring you from Gods great purpose for your life. Many may look at our current state and think "there is no hope, they are done" but God wants us to know today that when the devil stops He starts! Look at today as a great opportunity for you to shine in the Glory of God. I will leave you with this bit of information: God made today with the specific reason of blessing you and me, are you willing to receive it?

Waiting for something BIG,

Pastor Joell A. Perez

Mark 9:26 "The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead."

God bless!

                Can you imagine being Jesus for a moment and having established such a flawless testimony for some time where you lifted up the dead, healed the sick, freed the possessed, etc. and someone decided to question your ability? If you can? If you can? Of course He can! This man that we will read about had a serious issue with faith (just like all of us) but it was enhanced when he was in the presence of Jesus Himself and didn't have the mindset to understand and accept His greatness. He asked Him "If you can", Jesus immediately questions the man and says "If you can?", why do you think? My thoughts are simply that He was a bit frustrated already with the people (yes Jesus grew frustrated also see verse 19) so when questioned I could see Jesus with a disbelieving face and a response to the man but then He looks at the man straight in the face and gives him the message that I bring to you today:

Everything is possible for one who believes!

                I'm sure I'm not the only one who needed to hear this message today, as God put this message on my heart He simply reminded me that all the efforts I have attempted in life have not been in vain. It does count for something and though we may not see the ideal result as of yet He encourages us today to stay focused, remain strong and KNOW that He will do whatever He promised for us because He does not lie! Man has lied but He is the Truth and He cannot deny Himself and He won't deny you the happiness that you seek. Hold on because change is on the way! Our job is simply to accept His change in our lives with an open heart knowing He will only give us what's best for us. Can we believe?

Hyped up for change,

Pastor Joell A. Perez

Mark 9:23 ""?If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for one who believes."