blog and podcast

What does it mean to live by faith? Romans 1:17 reads "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith'. It's easy to recognize that saving faith is believing that Christ died on the cross as a payment for our sins therefore bringing us into a right relationship with God. But what does this have to do with the way we live the rest of our lives? I used to think that faith saved me from hell, but the rest of my life was up to me - I had to please God in order to stay in that right relationship with him. But the truth is, the same faith that saves me from hell, allows me to draw strength from God every day from the point I first believe until the day I die. God would not save me just to see me struggle through life on my own strength - but he wants us to walk beside him each and every step of the way. As it is written: "And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." Read again the story of the blind man in Mark 10:46-52. See how his faith heals him and also allows him to walk with Jesus along the path. -PETE

There is no greater compliment that you can pay someone than to imitate them. Isn't that true? It is an act of flattery and admiration to mirror the behaviors, attitudes, and style of someone else. There is no greater compliment that we can pay to God than to mirror the image that he gives of himself...Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:15 tells us that Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God. Our living sacrifice, our act of true worship to God is to approach our lives from the perspective of our "new self" not our "old self". Our old self is that person that did not know God, we did not know how to please God or worship God, so we did whatever seemed right in our own eyes. But, the "new self" is the person that looks to Christ for guidance and instruction. Our "new self" finds pleasure and excitement from knowing that our lives are pleasing to God. Don't let your life be driven by "RULES" of do's and do not's, but instead by the "REASON" to bring glory and worship to the God that you are greatful to for loving you and for saving you. -PETE

Mr. Aguilera talked to us about Jesus doing miraculous things. And that Jesus calls us to be one body. "In Mark 6 Jesus just got done feeding the 5000 and tells his disciples to take a boat across the lake. Later as Jesus was on the mountian he saw his boys struggling against the wind. The fact that Jesus could see his boys in the middle on the night, freaks me out!..." Listen to the mp3 for the rest of the story.