The excellence of wisdom

A Proverb that blew me away and I hope that it does the same for you....

"Now therefore, listen to me, my children,
For blessed are those who keep my ways.
Hear instruction and be wise,
and do not disdain it.
Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
For whoever finds me finds life,
and obtains favor from the Lord;
But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul;
All those who hate me love death"

Proverbs 8:32-36

In his word, God desires for us to listen to him, not the other way around. He will not force us to listen, it is a decision that we must make on our own. For when we listen to him, we are blessed. It may not be a physical blessing, but a spiritual blessing. May we always be listening to our heavenly father, and apply his word to not only our lives, but also in our hearts.

Cut it off and cast it away!

Jesus said In Mathew 18:8,9 "If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell."

Why would Jesus illustrate such a horror? Pluck out my eye? What?! Do we want to be lame? Do I want to walk around with one eye and look like a monster from a Harry Potter flick? What Jesus is talking about is sin. Thats how extreme we should view it. If we don't see sin as it truly is, then we will sugar coat it and continue in it. Jesus expresses his love by giving us an example, by letting go the things that will indeed infect the heart and contaminate the rest. Since we have a relationship with Jesus, who is loving, graceful, forgiving, Holy and righteous, then we must have a new relationship with sin. Which is to not engage in it, have no desire, do not practice it with others and most importantly, do not justify it. If it causes you to sin, they chop it off. Let go! Stop turning to sin and turn to Christ. Repent.

His love for you is so great that body parts do not matter. But that you have given your life to serve him and live for him. You do that and he will restore what was lost.

Lock Down!

Friday May 21 at 7pm, it is on. Fusion, Stronghold and Focused Youth are once again getting together for a Lock-In! The Lakeshore worship team along with Corona International Christian Fellowship will provide worship that will glorify our king. There will be a Nerf war, circle pong tournaments, bean bag toss tournaments, movies throughout the night, and team building activities. It will be $5 for food and drinks. Also, you will need a permission slip and a medical release form in order to join the event. If you have any questions, contact Josh or Mario. See you there!

Values that have (eternal) rewards

"The core values of an organization are those values we hold which form the foundation on which we perform work and conduct ourselves." -author unknown

The purpose of core values is shape the foundation on which you are building, they are guidelines to help you steer your ministry,or company into the right direction. When it comes to a ministry, they must have strong core values to stay on track and be reminded of what thier doing just in case the focus is lost. At Fusion, Ashley and myself have prayed about the core values of this ministry. Whats our purpose? Why do we do what we do? What matters to us? It questions like that, we ask and when we take a look at the scriptures and how Jesus reached others, then we've found the answers to what we have been looking for.

Fusion's core values:

1) Save the lost
Why does this ministry exist? To save the lost. Luke 19:10 Jesus said "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost". His purpose of his coming was to preach the kingdom of heaven, glorify his father, and save sinners from eternal seperation.

2)Preach the Gospel
What are you going to talk about? We will be as Christ and speak life. The Gospel brings life to those who are dead spiritually. In Acts chapter 2, you see the apostle Peter preach the gospel to many and the scriptures say that they were "cut to the heart". The people were convicted, the blinders have been removed, and they said "men and brethren, what shall we do?". Peter then replies with repentance and then baptism. And because of Peter's obedience to the Holy Spirit and scriptures, about 3,000 were saved that day. WHY? Because he preached the gospel.

3)Make Disciples
What is the purpose? To make disciples. Before he ascended into heaven, in Matthew 28:19 Jesus said "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". It was a clear commandment. From there, the disciples made disciples.

4)Bear Fruit
What do we do? We go and bear fruit. Jesus said in John 15:16 " You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, and whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you". When we encounter Christ, his presence transforms us, we are no longer the same. We didn't choose him, but he first chose us, and since he chose us and saved us from hell, a place of torment and eternal seperation, we must bear fruit that reflects his heart and character. And in that, our Heavenly Father will be glorified.

5)Repeat
Now What? We repeat the process. We save the lost, preach the gospel, make disciples, bear fruit that lasts and start the process all over again. Why? Because the Harvest is plenty and the laborers are few.

These values have eternal rewards

A night that glorified our maker

Friday, April 16, 2010 will go down as a memorable night for 50 teenagers. 4 different youth ministries gathered together for a night of worship and fellowship, at a local backyard where Jesus was lifted high and many hearts were touched by it, even the leaders were inspired and impacted.

It was a night were they all came together as one body and worshipped one king. It didnt matter what school they went to, what church they attended or if their youth leaders spoke better than the other. All that was tossed to side, matter a fact, none of those factors even matter. What did matter is that the person sitting next to them, in front of them and behind him would have thier back in a moment. These teenagers battle the world everyday and this night helped them realize that when the world is crashing down on them, the person standing next to them, would protect them with prayer and words of encouragement. I gave them the illustration, of being in the battlefield, instense moments like the movie "saving private ryan" or "Black Hawk down", no matter what the soldiers would do, whatever it took to survive. But they took it a step further, they also made an oath to protect their fellow soldier. When the bullets fly, your friend will protect you, when your out of ammo, your friend will gladly give you thiers, and when you need words and encouragement and prayer, your brother or sister in Christ will be there. But no need to fear, because Jesus has already defeated the enemy!

Next stop.... Gods Will

Q-tips?..check. travel shampoo?..check (hey, bald people need to clean thier scalp too). Bible?..check...ipod?..check.

When you go on a road trip, you make sure you have everything. You check, double-check, and triple-check for the most important things. But before you get your personal belongings together,you decide what route your going to take. And Your choice of route can be just as important as your destination. So what am I talking about? I'm talking about The Roadmap.

The Roadmap shows you how to get to where your going. It acts as a guideline. For example, it lets you know when your off track and how to get back on track. If there are side streets or to remain on the original path. Whatever the case may be, it is there to help you. Though some tend to ignore the map or even the detour signs. And when that happens, trouble will appear and difficulties will often occur. Ignoring the tools that tend to help you out, will do a few things that will hinder the journey. Like, delaying the normal time to get there,slow you down,take you into the wrong direction or even prevent you from moving forward.

In the next few days, we will be letting you in on our "Roadmap". Why we do what we do, what is our purpose, and our core values. Without the map, we lay idle in the driveway. All packed up with no place to go, all excited, but lack the destination,gas in the tank,but have no clue how to get there. Stay tuned to find out what were all about. Next stop...... Gods Will

This is God

One of the favorite quotes from Rev. Billy Graham:
"When a man comes in contact with God, He can never be the same again. God takes the weak and makes them strong, the vile and makes them clean, the worthless and makes them worthwhile, the sinful and makes them sinless"

"I will give you one heart and a new spirit; I will take from you your hearts of stone and give you tender hearts of love for God." Ezekiel 11:19

Don't ever think that someone is too far from God. Don't stop praying for thier salvation. It may take days, weeks or even years for a friend or loved one to come to Christ. Jesus specializes in restoration and he is a master of forgiveness.

Phillipians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

God still moves

So the Easter Egg hunt with the community was seriously off tha hook! (yes, I said that). We have been preparing big for this past weekend for some time. We bought many decorations, balloons, arts and crafts for the kids, tons of easter eggs, lots of candy, and last but not least, prayed for those attending that were not saved. The mandate of the church is to seek and save that which is lost, and that is our mission. Many friends, families and nieghbors attended the outreach, all numbering around 350+. All I can say is that God still moves.
We at Lakeshore have no doubt that God honors commitment,discipline,fasting and devotion. The denying of ourselves and lifting up his name and BELIEVING with no doubt he can make the impossible....POSSIBLE. When you trust in him,live in faith,die to self and Glorify him in all circumstances. I'll tell you what, God can still move. Romans 8:28

Lakeshore's first Easter event/service

Hours of planning, many prayers, over 1800 flyers passed out, countless postings on Facebook and Twitter, many personal invites to families and friends...whew. Lakeshore has been working hard for this weekend. If you don't know, this Easter weekend will go down into Lakeshore history. The mandate of the church is to seek and save that which is lost (luke 19:10). That was Jesus' mission, and it is ours as well.

Saturday, April 3,2010 we will be at Eagle Glen community park from 10am-1pm. We will be having a gigantic easter egg hunt, bar-b-que galore and games for the entire family. Its a time of having fun, getting together as a family, but also being Jesus in the community. Which is to love others where there at. To encourage, to disciple and most importantly, to save. We have a passion to do the will of God. Not to do "church". But to be "the church". Were looking forward to reaching those who have questions and to those who are looking for comfort in Gods word. May we see a multitude come forward and glorify our Heavenly Father. Amen

Waiting upon the Lord

We all go through seasons in life. Happy,sad, and joyful and painful experiences. All of which we can bear fruit in, and seek God the most for his wise counsel. But one of the most difficult seasons is not trials, but waiting. Waiting upon the Lord. When we go through trials, we know that their is going to be an end. Because trials, for most, don't last forever. The pain may linger for quite some time, but eventually the trial does not last. But waiting to hear from God can be testing. Is it a good test? Of course. It stretches us, strengthens us, refines us, all of which God is allowing. Isaiah 30:18 says "Therefore the Lord will wait; that he may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him." God is patient and he is gracious to us. May we never forget his promises and his faithfullness. For Jesus will be glorified in you.

Peace and Grace

Give Thanks!

So the fun-raiser video was made, edited, finished and aired to the church on January 31. All I have to say, was Thank You. People approached me and just wanted to clean out thier garages and spare room of items they did not want. Step 1 has taken place and now were in the Step 2 phase of placing them on line and praying that these items will be sold. We are blessed to have a church family that is willing to help out with the youth in every way possible. Were looking forward to purchasing the things that we need and the places that we can go. "Give thanks for the Lord is good. His love endures forver." Psalm 118:1

What God can do

This is one of the best quotes that I have ever heard of...

“When we depend upon organizations, we get what organizations can do; when we depend on education, we get what education can do; when we depend upon man, we get what man can do; but when we depend upon prayer, we get what God can do.”
— A.C. Dixon

The depths of His Love

What do we know about Love? Human love has boundaries, limits, demands,obligations and requirements. We love others because of the favors they can do for us. We love others because of the places they can take us. We love others but not as much as we love others. What is up with our love? Its tainted. But we are to love others the way Jesus loves others. We must take our eyes off of our hearts and love them the way our Heavenly Father loves them. Ephesians 2:1-10 express the depths of God's love. It is so deep v7 says that "he might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable ( limitless, surpassing ) riches of his free Grace...." (amplified version). Did you see those words? God wants to clearly demonstrate his limitless, immeasurable and surpassing Grace to us. Those are attributes of a loving God. We meet people or have friends who love us so much, that they would probably donate a body part or sell thier house for us. Think about this for a moment..... God sent his ONLY Son, Jesus to die for us (John 3:16). Remember, Jesus was with God when they created the heavens and earth (John 1:2),and He is Holy (Leviticus 11:44). Our Heavenly father gave up his beautiful son for us. But heres the good news. In Ephesians chapter 2 it shows us the depths of God's love. Verse 1 breifly explains that we were dead in our sins. Verse 2 speaks about how we walked habitually in the world. How we were following the course and direction of this fallen nature. Obeying Satans lies,schemes and traps. Careless and rebelious opposing Gods way. Verse 3, we were controlled and governed by our fleshly desires and passions. Entangled by thier sick addictions, and possessing corrupted minds. And because of all that, we became Gods wrath. All of us deserve his just judgement. Why? Because we have sinned against a Holy God, we have fallen short of his glory (Romans 3:23). Friends, our sins have seperated us from God. But heres the beauty, in verse 4 reveals his heart. "But God is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us" (NKJV). Because of his never-ending love, and of his immeasurable depths of Grace, God sent his only son to take away our sins. And because of that sacrafice, he have been reconciled to him. Even while were dead in our sins, he continues to forgive us. When we do not love others, he loves us. When we hate our brother or sister. He continues to love us. When we question him. God, the father, still loves us. Remember, he is rich in mercy and full of Grace. Grace means unmerrited favor. Which also means giving us something that we don't deserve. What has he given us? The gift of eternal life. That is something noone else can give. You cannot buy that at a garage sale. You don't have to earn his love, you don't need to work for it. He has already given it to you. We just have to recieve, accept it and then walk in it. As the song goes, "your love is deep, your love is high, your love is long, your love is wide". Come and see that the Lord is good. Come and swim in the depths of his love. Be Blessed

Fellowship

Friday, January 22, 2010, 20 young people gathered at a local house, not for a pool party, or to play a game of Mad Gab, or to decorate someones front lawn with extra soft, 2-ply toilet paper. They gathered together to fellowship. Thats right, fellowship. Not drink booze or tap the beer keg, or play with dads shotgun. But to hangout with other young believers that share the same faith and worship the same God. Out of all the places they could've been, they decided to hang out with other teens at a house where Jesus was the center of attention. Twilight was'nt mentioned, newly purchased cell phones was not a topic of choice, and the latest Tweet did'nt seem to throw anyone off. "To Save a Life" was the movie of choice and we had decided to meet up at a house not to far from the theatre. Once everyone showed up, the house got louder and louder with conversations from the rain being an incovenience, to the place of where they were going to eat at next. But then a drastic change in the evening occured. Once the announcements were done, worship had takin over. The sound of the accoustic guitar, and 2 voices, started to bring the youth into a place of meditation and peace. All of a sudden, they didnt care about what happened 5 minutes earlier, or how hard the rain was pouring. All they wanted to do was worship God. Some sat on the floor, some cried, and the others had thier hands raised. Nothing is greater than seeing a crowd of young people, ranging from 14-18, coming to a place where they dont care about anything else, but worshipping Jesus. They dont want another Taco Bell in town, they dont want a parking space close to the exits at their schools. All they want to do is worship with other young people who love Jesus. It reminds me of a verse in Acts 2:47 "praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved". Through thier worship, it shows that thier hearts belong to the Saviour and noone can take that away from them. They love to fellowship with others who battle the same struggles, they want to be around similar guys and girls who have the same questions they may have. But most importantly, they know the value of fellowship and its reward. We fellowship with God, so we can know him. We fellowship with others, so we can grow in him. Make it a priority to be around others who strengthen you in your faith. Let it be a wing and not a weight. The wing will lift you up while the weight will only bring you down. Surround yourself with wings and you'll never have to worry about the wieght.

Fun-raiser

Last night Josh and Ryan created a video blog for Fusions first official Fun-raiser (say that 10 times) LOL. All I gotta say is that you cant leave these too guys alone together. They have way too much fun. But the purpose of the Fun-raiser is to purchase material and attend conferances and or outings that will equip the youth to strengthen thier faith and encourage others in their walk as well. All items are tax-deductable, and everything donated will go directly to Fusion. You'll see the first video on Sunday, Jan 24th. If you would like to know what you can donate specifically, any type of electronics, DVD players, Ipods, computers and furniture. If you have any questions you can email Josh@Lakeshorecitychurch.com or Ashley@Lakeshorecitychurch.com. By the way, I do realize it's spelled "Fun-raiser", lets have fun serving The King of Kings and never take our focus off of the purpose.
Be blessed!

New Beginnings

There's a new beginning for everything and everyone. We must all at one point, start something new. One stuck out to me the most. The disciples that Jesus chose. Before they witnessed his crucifixtion, before they had thier final meal with him, long before the multitudes came to hear him preach. There had to be a beginning. As I read in the Gospel of Luke chapter 5, I noticed something. Simon Peter,James and John witnessed Jesus speaking to the multitudes from thier boat then shortly afterwards,after catching no fish, Jesus suggests that they cast thier nets to the other side. After a doubtful remark from Peter thinking that they wont catch a thing,he obeys and lowers thier net. And then what, low and behold, they catch so much fish that they call for help and thier nets are breaking. All who were in the boat were astonished. They could not believe thier eyes, it was impossible, how could've that happened? Jesus performed a miracle that was impossible with man, and with God, all things are possible. James, John and Simon Peter could not doubt nor deny what just happend. Then Jesus said to them "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men" (v10). And then this is what blew me away, after they arrived on land, verse 11 says this "they forsook ALL and followed Him." (emphasis mine). The word forsook means "to leave behind". They left everything! Like everything! Think about that... We cant even leave our cell phones on the desk while we walk to the kitchen. They left EVERYTHING! One question comes to mind. Have we left everything to follow Jesus? We see him transform the hearts of many and we hesitate his ability to heal at times. The one guy who had the most hardened heart is now the guy who leads the prayer team. The girl who loved to sing secular lyrics in karaoke bars is now praising God on the stage on Sunday nights. For these gentlemen, this was the beginning of following Jesus. This was the beginning of seeing more miracles. This was the beginning of letting go of the things that didnt matter, and trusting in Him. Thats what faith is. Hebrews 11:1 says "What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is evidence of things we cannot yet see" (NLT). Lets begin to let everything go to follow Jesus. Let us trust in him for the questions and concerns that we have. Let us not lean on our own understanding, but lean on his word. Once we begin to do that, then we can have our new beginning.