Top 10 – This blog's ten most read entries in 2010

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1. Gold from your enemies - October
2. Two ways to Receive - October
3. Landed in Cairo - December
4. Solomon's Temple - July
5. The 10 Commandments — My version for the 21st Century - July
6. Becoming a right-now person - December
7. What you may NOT have thought about Christmas - December
8. You call this "Sunday morning"- November
9. One Red Paper Clip - September
10. Asking and Luck - September

We pray that God may continue to inspire us to give you 

spiritual intelligence for your life and food for your spirit 

in 2011.

Thank you for reading!

The weight

My friend, Bishop João Leite, didn't know where to put his backpack anymore...

The Holy Spirit kept hammering this thought into my heart while I was climbing Mount Sinai a few days ago:

Whoever wants to get to the top, get rid of all the unnecessary weight.

Okay, it is an obvious rule of mountaineering. But it’s only when you are there — climbing that solid mountain with a heavy backpack under the hot sun, your knees on fire, and a sore back that aches with every step — that this rule hits home, loud and clear.

It’s no different in life. If we want to arrive at our desired destination, we have to let go of everything that is not needed for the journey, all useless luggage.

Paraphrasing Hebrews 12: 1-2, we could say:

Do you realize what this means — all those heroes of faith, pioneers in trusting in God, who cheer for us from their seats of honor in heaven? It means that we have to put aside everything that hinders us, all the weight that holds us down, continue the race, and never give up! No spiritual fat or sin that paralyzes.

Look at Jesus who started and finished the race that we are still running. Watch and learn from Him. Because He never lost sight of the target — to cross that finish line with God and for God. He endured everything in the way: cross, shame, whatever it was. And now he's in a place of honor next to the Father.

As we stand at the doors of a new year, another 12 months filled with goals, challenges, and mountains to climb, we must carefully check what we are bringing in our luggage. It's a good time to throw away everything that hinders, to get rid of all the weight that would otherwise wear us down and prevent us from reaching our goals.

Grudges, regrets, bad memories, failures, words of death spoken to us, open wounds, root of bitterness, hidden sins, lies, addictions, resentments, traumas, sadness, bad thoughts, distractions, complacency — everything that weighs us down and prevents us from running.

“But how?” — you ask.

By making a decision. Decide that you will not keep carrying this weight inside of you. It's over. Decide that, the same way 2010 has ended, this problem has also ended inside you. And only you can decide that.

As for me, I have decided. Because I want to run in 2011, not move like a snail.

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I WON'T wish you a Happy New Year

That's right, I won't. And here's why. I'll tell it to your face.




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Mount Sinai slideshow

View pictures of our latest climb of Mount Sinai.


The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of thousands; the Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place. Psalm 68.17



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What you may NOT have thought about Christmas

Supposedly, the spirit of Christmas is one of joy, unity, family, love, giving and receiving gifts, and peace. But in reality, VERY FEW people experience those things.

Sadly, most people either do not have a family or are not getting along with family very well. Many are struggling financially even to keep up with their bills, let alone buy everyone they love a gift!

As a result, a lot of people are NOT so happy and peaceful this time of the year. So what’s Christmas like for them?

A disaster! A really depressing time!

Many take to drinking and drugs, others feel really lonely and depressed, and some even commit suicide. Now I ask you:

Is that what Jesus meant to promote?

What many people don’t know is that Christmas has very little to do with the spirit of Christ. Jesus never asked us to celebrate His birthday, but He did tell us to celebrate His DEATH regularly. Why? Because the heart of Christ’s message is the cross, not the manger!

It’s more important to have Jesus be born in YOUR HEART than simply knowing the historical fact that He was born 2,000 years ago.

Don’t get caught up in the emotionalism and commercialism of this season. That’s not Christ-like. Don’t put yourself under pressure to get everybody a gift or put up a Christmas tree. And don’t feel left out if you didn’t get gifts.

Instead, focus on the real reason the Lord Jesus came to this world and what it means TO YOU.

I guarantee you’ll have a much happier, more productive time. 

At Mount Sinai

From Cairo, we took a short flight to St. Catherine Airport, a tiny airstrip in the Sinai desert. From there, we journeyed on by bus to the foot of Mt Sinai.

At the foot of Mt Sinai – this is not a particularly great photo, but when I was viewing my photos later, this one reminded me of this verse:

"When Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying the two Tablets of The Testimony, he didn’t know that the skin of his face glowed because he had been speaking with God.” Exodus 34.29

Beginning our ascent. We started climbing around 8.20am local time. It was the perfect weather for climbing, not too hot, not too cold. Around 18º C (65º F)

This was taken after we came back down from the mountain. Dead tired, but our inner person is renewed. We have lots more pictures and videos, but will post them here when we get back. I look forward to sharing our experience with our church in Houston this Sunday — and here too.

Thank you for following this short photo blog of our trip to Mt Sinai and for your prayers for our safety.

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Landed in Cairo

Around 5pm local time we landed in Cairo International Airport….

… and then hit a traffic jam as we left the airport!

Traffic in Cairo is CRAZY… Drivers honking horns all the time, shouting at each other, swerving in and out of lanes, coming as close as a hair strand from hitting each other, sudden braking, tire screeching… Oh my God, may your angels be with us! We were on this three-lane road but somehow there were four car lines… They don’t mind the lane marks on the road!

This has certainly been my second worst traffic experience in my life… losing only to Lagos, Nigeria — but that story is for another day!

I’m in the back seat of the taxi and… wait a minute! Is the driver checking his Facebook?! Oh Lord… Well, we’ll head to Mount Sinai in the morning. All of you who are in agreement with us, be in church this Wednesday in one of the services. God bless you, more news soon.

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Leaving for Sinai

Just arrived at Bush Int'l Airport. 18 hours later and a connecting flight, I'll be arriving in Cairo. More when I get there... if I can get online!

Leaving for Sinai

It is my privilege and joy to go on this journey to Mt. Sinai to pray for those who entrusted their prayer requests to us.

Just left our church in Houston for the airport. Your prayers for our safe journey are appreciated.

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Becoming a right-now person

“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore…” 

Joshua 1.2 

After Moses’ death, Joshua had big shoes to fill. The great Moses, God’s chosen servant, the one who talked with God as a man talks to his friend, the miracle-maker… was gone. What was Joshua supposed to do now?

The answer was in the last word in that question. NOW.

Joshua was supposed to focus on the now. But he wasn’t. He was spending all his mental energy on remembering the past (Moses) and dreading the future.

Like a tennis ball being hit back and forth during a tennis match, many people spend a lot of their mental energy just bouncing off the racquets of their past and their future. All the time.

“Why did I mess up that relationship?... I’m never going to find someone like him…”

Past… hit. Future… hit.

“Oh, those were the good old days… Are they going to fire me because of this bad economy?”

Past… hit. Future… hit.

“Why did she do that to me? I can never forgive her for that… Is this marriage going to end up in divorce?”

Past… hit. Future… hit.

That’s exactly where our enemy wants us. While we are regretting or remembering the past and worrying about the future, we make no progress in the present. Sadly, the present is where all progress is.

God wanted Joshua to become a right-now kind of person. He needed to get going and believe that wherever he went, whatever he did, He would succeed as long as he followed God’s orders.

Moses is dead. All progress can only be made in the present. Become a right-now person.

Christmas - What does it mean?

What is the real meaning of Christmas? Let me tell you why it's important NOT to get caught up in the "spirit" of the season.




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Was she lucky?

“I had barely finished offering this prayer, when Rebekah arrived, her jug on her shoulder. She went to the spring and drew water and I said, ‘Please, can I have a drink?’ She didn’t hesitate. She held out her jug and said, ‘Drink; and when you’re finished I’ll also water your camels.’ Genesis 24.45,46

After praying and asking God to lead him to the right woman who would become Isaac’s wife, Abraham's servant used a request for a big favor as a test to reveal the chosen one.

Rebekah not only attended to the servant’s request, but went further and gave him more than he asked for.

An excellent and generous spirit, common to successful people, is often confused with "luck". Someone would say that Rebekah was "lucky" to have been chosen, but it was actually her generosity and spirit of excellence that qualified her to be chosen.

Are you greedy and sloppy — or generous and excellent in what you do?

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Sacrifice is a given

Few people realize that just like death and taxes, sacrifice is inevitable. We all sacrifice in life, one way or another. 

• The addict is sacrificing his health, time, money, relationships, etc. for his addiction
• Those with a broken marriage are sacrificing years of their lives, their children, etc.
• Those who live in fear are sacrificing their dreams and opportunities
• Those who work a job without joy or a future are sacrificing both
• The sick are sacrificing their quality of life, money on doctors and medicines, etc.

That's why when someone comes along and tells them they should sacrifice to actually GET OUT of that rut they're in, they get offended, hurt, angry, and say, "How do you expect me to make that kind of sacrifice to change my life? Haven't I suffered enough already?"

It seems not. They haven't suffered enough. At least not enough to see that they are already sacrificing now and have been sacrificing all their lives. Except that it's a sacrifice that only gives them pain but no gain.

If only they'd understand this:

In life, we don't get to choose whether to sacrifice or not. Sacrifice is a given. The only choice we have is to decide WHO we will sacrifice to and WHAT FOR.

Feel Like it or Not

Whether I feel like it or not,
I will wake up and get out of bed on time.

Whether I feel like it or not,
I will fulfill my duty to my body and do my exercise routine every morning.

Whether I feel like it or not,
I will do my work first and have fun later.

Whether I feel like it or not,
I will keep my promises.

Whether I feel like it or not,
I will forgive those who have hurt me.

Whether I feel like it or not,
I will make the necessary sacrifices to achieve my goals.

Whether I feel like it or not,
I will always tell the truth.

Whether I feel like it or not,
I will resist the temptation to spend money I don't have.

Whether I feel like it or not,
I will stay away from people who don't add anything to my life.

Whether I feel like it or not,
I will not allow my heart to rule my mind.

Whether I feel like it or not,
I will keep my eyes from looking at what they shouldn't.

Whether I feel like it or not,
I will do the right thing.

Whether I feel like it or not,
Whether you like it or not,
Whether the world loves me or hates me for it,
I will keep my faith.

Always.

Because I don't live by what I feel.

P.S. What will YOU do, whether you feel like it or not? Would you care to write it below and help someone who may be inspired by your decision? Thanks for sharing.

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