Welcome to the El Camino Baptist Church blog. We wanted a place where our ministry leaders could share things that God has laid on their hearts. Please feel free to comment and join in the discussion as we share how God is moving through His church.Other places to find us on the web are our website, Youtube, and Facebook. You can also check out Hoss' music blog at hosshughes.com.









Saturday, April 30, 2011

God's Power

In the classroom of my time alone with God this week, He has been reminding me that He is the Almighty, All-Powerful, Loving, Sovereign God. He has been showing me the incredible power, His power, that is available to me, that is already in me, just waiting to be unleashed. I am reminded that I am a very slow learner.

God showed me this week in Luke 4:14 that after Jesus was tempted in the desert, after He fasted for 40 days which had to make Him feel at least physically weak, He "...returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit." That same Spirit that is in Jesus is in us. I can tap into that exact power, for God's glory, any time I want.

But what do I usually do? I depend upon myself and other humans. I work harder and longer and get others to work harder and longer with me. I think and problem solve and organize. Yes, I sit daily at the feet of Jesus and listen for His direction. I genuinely abide...for the moment. But once I get my marching orders, off I go. Even though I have His incredible power within me, and even though all I have to do is talk with Him moment by moment, and listen to Him and believe Him; for some reason I choose to move forward, step by step, on my own power. What am I thinking? That's like the difference in a lightening bolt and static electricity. Complete absurdity.

God shows me time and time again who He is. He is incredibly real in my life. I need to trust Him more. I need to tap into His power more. John 3:30 says it beautifully. "He must become greater; I must become less.” I need to do away with my independent spirit and trade it in for more of His. Moment by moment I need to let Him be God, because clearly I am not!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

A New Bible For My Little Girl

Romans 10.17 tells us that, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."

I have seen this illustrated in our family as we have often read and quoted Scripture to our little Emmy, Livy and now Abby. For Easter we gave Emmy her first "Big Girl" Bible - a complete Bible - not just a kids Bible with selected stories or fun pictures. For the past few months, she has been begging for her own Big Girl Bible so she can read about God and Jesus. When we gave it to her for Easter this past Sunday, she was beside herself with joy and since then has been carrying her new Bible (complete with pink cover and flowers) around with her everywhere. Every chance she gets, she begs me to read to her about the disciples, Jesus and more.

God has used my little girl to remind me of how important hearing the Word of God really is in the lives of those around us - and in our own lives. Thank you God for this not-so-subtle reminder of the power we to often overlook in our daily busyness of life - power that we need to be taking time to read and hear.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Miracles

This past Monday, my wife, Katie, and I found out that God is blessing us with a baby boy. His name is going to be Levi Joseph (God has joined together in harmony and will increase). As I sat watching the ultrasound I thought about the miracle of birth. How so many things have to go right at every stage. How the female body adapts to having a whole other person inside of it. How the baby's body grows and matures as the weeks go by.

There are some that say miracles no longer occur. I say they are fools. There are 6 billion people on earth right now because of 6 billion miracles.

Not only is our first birth a miracle, but our rebirth as well. That the Holy Spirit can change my heart and mold my life according to the purpose of the Lord is nothing short of miraculous.

How many miracles have you seen this week, this month, this year?

Hoss

Mother Daughter Garden Party

This Saturday, April 30th, is our Mother Daughter Garden Party luncheon. It is a fun event for women and girls to gather together to eat lunch and chat, make a craft, and hear an inspiring, motivating speaker. This year Chris Bengds will bless us as she speaks on, 'How Does Your Garden Grow?'

It is also a nonthreatening opportunity for women to invite their friends and family members to attend with them. The luncheon is designed to help women see how pleasant and fulling it is to be a part of the Body of Christ, and to meet Jesus personally. Through the casual interactions and the planned out program, relationships can be strengthened, new friendships encouraged and a relationship with Jesus introduced.

The registration deadline was Easter Sunday, but we shopped for extra, so please contact us as soon as possible to secure some of the available spots. We don't want to leave anyone out. We don't want to miss an opportunity to introduce someone to Jesus, or to help someone grow in their relationship with Him.

See you Saturday!!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Being Shaped by God

Today I'm continuing my reading in a book by Henry Blackaby entitled "Created to be God's Friend" It's the account of how God worked in Abraham's life. I'm going to share a section of the book that talks about worship, it is as follows: "It is preeminently true that no one can be shaped by God and consistently blessed by God who has not established his heart in worship! It is in worship that God has purposed to reveal Himself, in ever-increasing measure. Continually notice how God shapes the mind and heart of Abraham as he worships. Worship is deliberate, steady, focused time with God. Worship anticipates not only an encounter with God, but also a clear next word from God. Worship is God's way of developing character and directing the life into the center of His will. The ultimate outcome of consistent worship is a life totally yielded to God on God's terms.

Blessings
Pastor Dick

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Easter Sunday

My youngest son heard that in one locale that they were trying to change the name of "Easter Eggs" to "Holiday Spheres" so that no religion is being promoted. Now personally I would like to see the Easter Bunny blown into oblivion because it distracts from the Resurrection and takes a once appropriate illustration of life bringing and transforms it into a fairy tale myth which has no part in the Church. However, I see this attempt to do away with Easter Eggs as just another way the world would like to shove Christianity into the basement and lock it away.

However, I have this to say about why I observe Easter. I serve a RISEN Master. I serve the TRUE God who was crucified, dead, buried, and ROSE again the third day. There is an empty tomb because my SAVIOR LIVES.

Easter celebrates the most significant day in history. It is not the day when God came to earth but the day God demonstrated that He conquered death and sin on our behalf. Now I can live in forgiveness and freedom because I know my REDEEMER lives. It doesn't matter what the world says about Easter or how they try to stomp it out. No one has the power or ability to squash the Almighty God, Jesus Christ. I will continue to Worship and Serve Him and celebrate Easter as the day my GOD ROSE TRIUMPHANTLY FROM THE GRAVE.

Warm Fuzzies

Sunday afternoon my four year old daughter, Emmaleigh, came home from AWANA where she learned something new to her - the Gospel Fuzzies Glove presentation of the gospel. It's not surprising that she would be excited about a new craft project from AWANA - she is a wonderfully creative little girl and being able to sing along to the gospel message while wearing a black glove with colorful "fuzzies" (pom poms) on each finger was certainly a treat for her.

What did surprise me was that when our neighbors (who are not believers) came walking by, she sang the gospel fuzzies song while showing them what each color meant - my daughter presented the gospel without shame - with excitement - to our neighbors without ever considering what they might think or how they might respond. She was so excited about Jesus and this new way to share the Good News, that she could do nothing other than speak out.

The next surprise was how it made me feel - I felt proud as a daddy watching his little girl share about Jesus. But I found myself wondering what my neighbors were thinking while she sang this little song to them. The surprise to me was that I was wondering this at all - while my four year old daughter never gave it a second thought.

I have known these neighbors for over five years and never shared the gospel with them (they do know I'm a pastor), and it took Emmaleigh to tell them the good news of Jesus Christ. God used this incident as a window into my own heart - a heart that needs to be much more focused on sharing, boldly, with those around me.

What are your thoughts as to why we often find ourselves saying nothing to those most in need of hearing about Jesus?

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

A Great Answer to Prayer

As a church we prayed for Asia Bibi. She was jailed in Pakistan for sharing her faith in Jesus. She underwent a tremendous amount of persecution. Muslims wanted her executed. You may recall that we put out petitions that many of you signed that were mailed to authorities in Pakistan. On Monday, a news release stated that the President of Pakistan had pardoned her and that she had been released from jail. Immediately after release, she went into hiding to protect herself and her family from these same Muslims who want her dead. We praise God for hearing our prayers and releasing our dear sister in the Lord! She faced the potential of death, endured separation from children and family, and endured intense persecution. Now we need to spend some time praising God for His goodness and continue praying for Asia that God would protect her and her family.