Bobby Lepinay

Iron Man

As usual, we had a GREAT weekend at Harvest!  The ministry was solid, the Word received, the worship sweet and pure. 

I love our church!! :)

Deb and I caught "Iron Man" Friday evening and all I can say is,.... WOW!!  Most people would dismiss a 'superhero' movie like this, but trust me, it is FANTASTIC!  It is everything a blockbuster summer movie should be, with Robert Downey Jr. giving the turn-around performance of his career. 

I am even pondering using it for our "God @ The Box Office" series we just started.....if you have seen it, try to guess the topic we would do...??? :)

If you havent seen it, try to catch it this week and share here what you see in it here, ....what themes could we weave a Biblical principle into? 

This should be interesting..! :)

I will be out the rest of this week for a personal fasting retreat.  I would appreciate your prayers, as I am trusting God to speak to me in several areas. Sometimes you just have to get away with "Daddy", eh..!!

Love you guys,

PB

Pastor Gerald

Last August, we had a pastor named Gerald Martinez and his family visit with us at Harvest.  They pastor a Vineyard church in Albequerqe, NM where Nate and Jan Sewell attend. 

GREAT people with a huge heart for the poor.

Gerald and his clan parked an RV that had been lent to them by a wealthy person in their church in the NTF parking lot for a few days to enjoy our beaches here.  They had not been on a family vacation for many years, as they live among the destitute, the drug dealers, the prostitutes, etc...in the toughest area of their city.

I have not met more humble, gentle people in my life!  "Having nothing, but having all things", as Paul would say, pretty much described their family. 

Well, they had no idea that their little church back home had sent them away in order to meet with the Extreme Home Makeover team who had selected THEM as their 'project' for their April 28th show!! 

I have to say that I teared up again (2nd time this week....) at the amazing fact of God's provision for these guys, as I KNOW from talking with them that they had very little, but really did practice "Seek 1st the Kingdom, and all these things will be added to you as well."

Take the 1 minute watch the news feature here.  Wow...How encouraging....God is GOOD!! :)

Struggling With Weight

Over the past 3 days, I have had 3 conversations with people who really are struggling with the ability to lose weight/keep weight off.  These are some of the most precious, dear saints I know, and my heart really goes out to them, as I know that they really are fighting.

I myself am battling my own personal battle with the bulge!  It seems that being mid 40's makes the fight that much harder, but as I shared with these precious saints this week, the option is not really an option!

Here are some of the things I shared with them, that I believe apply to whatever struggle we face with our bodies, be it addictions, lusts,....whatever.....I believe these things apply:

1. Don't treat your body as an enemy.  I Cor 6:13 says that "the Lord cares for the body." (NLT).  Eph 5 says we are to "take care of our body."  Our bodies are to serve us as we go thru this life and experience life thru the 'vehicle' of our mortal bodies.  Our mindset needs to be that rather than fight our bodies, we need to seek to understand them, to bless them, to treat them well, as we would a friend.  Sometimes our bodies get 'ornery', get sick, diseased, much like a car if you dont maintain it right.  More on that later..?? 
2. Realize your body has 'genetic propensities'.  We are all 'flawed' from the fall of creation, and our bodies inherit propensities and tendencies from our forefathers.  You may have a propensity to weight gain.  Or it may be toward alcohol addiction. It may be toward sexual deviation (ie, homosexual bends, etc..etc..).  There is no limit to the directions the 'sinful nature' can go, but each of us has our OWN propensity that we must bring to the Lord.
3. Our propensities must be 'crucified'. (Romans 6)  This is where the challenge comes.  I can not allow my propensities to rule me, whatever they may be.  The real me, my spirit man/woman, must be sovereign and in control, ruling over my own personal Kingdom, ie, my soul (emotional life), my flesh (body).  If I allow my body or soul to run the show, ....trouble....BIG trouble!
4. Receive GRACE and dont try to fight by yourself! "The grace of God teaches us to say NO to ungodly lusts (food, sex, whatever is 'out of bounds')"  (Titus 2)  Grace is God's supernatural help to do what we naturally COULD NOT do in our own strength. 

Again, my heart goes out to those of you who really fight this battle.  As you can see from above, we ALL have our own battles with our bodies and it's various "misdeeds".  But my prayer is that your heart and soul would be comforted in your Father's love, REGARDLESS.  He loves us in all our imperfections, and is WITH us as we fight our own personal battles, unti the day we get NEW, redeemed bodies!

May you be relieved, and not burdened of heart.  May you fight the good fight with grace, knowing you are created in the image of God, cherished, beautiful in His eyes.

Again, GRACE, GRACE, GRACE to you, in Jesus' Name....!!

PB

"Anyone For Latin Dance Workout??"

I was between sets yesterday, laying on the press bench, when I heard a lady walking through the gym, trying to recruit people to go in the class she was starting in 5 minutes.

"Anyone for a Latin Dance Workout??", she said, repeatedly. 

Now, even if what I am about to say wasn't the case, there is NO WAY IN HADES that I was, or ever would go, in that class!!!

But that is besides the point.  I continue my story.....that does have a point...! :)....

Bless her heart, not one person followed her into that class.  I suspect that what went through my mind is probably what went through the mind of every single other person in there: Here was the teacher, very overweight herself, wearing tight gym stuff that causes skin that should not be seen anyway to be RIGHT OUT THERE.....just out there....kind of like the old men you see at the beach wearing speedos...???....or the middle aged guys and gals wearing thong bathing suits.....?.......calling out for everyone to FOLLOW HER into the class she was leading!!!!!?????

Hey, I have my share of 'unsightly areas', but that stays between me, my wife, and lots of layers of clothes, if you get my point! :)

Bottom line?  Every single person in there, including myself, had to be asking THE big question:  WHY? ...WHY would we go in there to do what you are doing,....to look like that?????"  Something is not adding up here.....

And then, as I layed there thinking about this, it occured to me....."Isn't this EXACTLY what the problem is with trying to get most people to go into a modern day church in America??"  We are saying, "Come, follow me into the church I attend!!" 

But we have a problem......IF THEY CANT SEE OBVIOUS RESULTS IN OUR LIVES....WHY?...WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD THEY WANT TO FOLLOW US IN????

I hope this somehow makes sense, but it sure made alot of sense to me in that moment.  An invitation is great, folks.  But without a '"compelling LIFE'" behind the invitation, I cant help but to believe that just like everyone in that gym, they are left wanting.  We have to give them the WHY to come to the churches we are inviting them to. 

They have to SEE it first in us!!

People want to see results before they take a step toward faith.  "Fruit",.... Jesus called it in John 15.  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, self-control. 

When they see THAT, our invitations will carry some weight.

Just a thought! :)

PB

Wow....

It's Monday, and I am FEELING it......:) 

We had a fantastic Sunday across the board, with worship being so rich, so sweet,.......It was like swimming in crystal clear water.  You felt quickened and ALIVE!

I am not in a 'long post' mood today, so I decided to post this piece I watched this morning that really made me tear up.  (No kidding....:)..) There is such a message in this!!

Do yourself a favor, kick out of "FAST MODE", and just take the 5 minutes to watch this in full.  I promise you that it will be the best thing you see today.....

PB

National Day of Prayer

Today is the National Day of Prayer.  Like Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc.....I think most people hardly give it a thought.  But for us as God's people, this day should be different. 

America needs God.   

Desparately.

I have copied some very interesting facts about the National Day of Prayer.  Take 2 minutes to read the following:

The National Day of Prayer is a vital part of our American heritage. Since the first call to prayer in 1775, when the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a nation, the call to prayer has continued through our history, including President Lincoln's proclamation of a day of "humiliation, fasting, and prayer" in 1863.

In 1952, a joint resolution by Congress, signed by President Truman, declared an annual, national day of prayer. In 1988, the law was amended and signed by President Reagan, permanently setting the day as the first Thursday of every May. Each year, the president signs a proclamation, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day. Last year, all 50 state governors plus the governors of several U.S. territories signed similar proclamations.

The National Day of Prayer is Significant The National Day of Prayer has great significance for us as a nation. It enables us to recall and to teach the way in which our founding fathers sought the wisdom of God when faced with critical decisions. It stands as a call to us to humbly come before God, seeking His guidance for our leaders and His grace upon us as a people. The unanimous passage of the bill establishing the National Day of Prayer as an annual event, signifies that prayer is as important to our nation today as it was in the beginning. Please take a few minutes today to bring our nation and its leaders to God.  We need God more than we ever have. I will leave you with this verse:  "If my people (us, the Christians) who are called by my Name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from wickedness themselves, I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land.  My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made..." Grace, PB

Clipped Out

Since we started Harvest, we have been using movie clips to illustrate truths we were teaching.  Some have been great. 

Some have been flat out 'duds'.

I have to be honest:  I am getting pretty well "clipped out".  In this season, I am looking for something more than 'that was cute' to lead into our messages. 

This past Monday, I came into our Creative Team meeting and announced that I was 'clipped out', and that we needed to try to do something more 'visceral', more cut-to-the-bone,......something more organic and original.

What was cool was that immediately, Jennifer, who leads our Harvest Actors Guild :), piped up and said that the Lord has been stirring her as well and she is writing, writing, writing away for series we have upcoming!  Very, very cool indeed....!

We will of course have to use clips for the God @ The Box Office series next month, but after that, we are going to give it a rest and do live stuff.  This morning, I read this quote from John Ortberg that really sealed it for me:

"We get so used to the Bible, we miss its edginess. The prophets were the original street performance artists. What they did was much more like radical street theater than it was like a church service."

We HAVE to go here...!!! :)  Pray for Jennifer and her stable of actors/actresses.  We are believing for anointing in this realm, that like the prophets of old, cut to the core and provoke people to LISTEN TO GOD.

To the future..!

PB