How a 15 year prison sentence turned into a 33 day journey to find Christ, Walter tells how he found Jesus.

Thought this YouTube Video may amuse you. It's amazing how funny we can get as Christians and how church issues and stuff can absorb us to the point that we loose touch on how we look to the outside world as we debate and deal with liturgical issues that seem so irrelevant. I guess form and motive do matter to God.

But, the real issue is motive! If that is right  we as the body of Christ will stop acting and pretending and just start living and being who w really are. Liberated to  be truthful no matter the audience.

Miami is an exciting city to be living and working in. Especially when your serving Christ, by serving His people. So, many times people are to busy to stop by the Oasis Church North Miami campus and see the progress. So, this is our opportunity to give you a sneak peak into where we spend our hours as staff and volunteers gathering, praying, strategizing, planning and administrating.

Please, remember to offer up a quick prayer for us, as we seek to Glorify God in our personal and corporate lives as a church. Check out this video and pay us a visit this week. If the Holy Spirit so leads you, join us on the mission of reaching people for Christ. As unique members of His body we can do great things, under the Headship of Christ (1 Cor 12)!

Message on love. When you think you understand it and are applying it, you realize you don't and lose your patience with someone. How do we bounce back when we feel hurt and want to retreat? In this video these are my reflections.

It's been a while since I wrote a blog. I try not to write one until I am deeply stirred by the Spirit of God concerning a certain subject. In this blog I want to write about "greed" and lack of "self control" in the Body of Christ. We all struggle with seasons where our passions have the best of us. We basically do what we want. We are not under submission to our Heavenly Father. One of the two pre-requisites of resisting Satan is self control and alertness (being aware of your physical and spiritual surroundings). Peter wrote in

• 1 Peter 5:8-9
  8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith,  (from New International Version)
  

The Puritans put a great emphasis on temperance. The need for Christian communities to be disciplined in the spiritual practices. I find this is the major cause as to why in our unfilled existence we allow greed and our passions to bully us into destructive choices. We never deal with the root issue of  "Body & Mind Control". Satan's victims are always easy. They are people who already have no defense system. They are people who are easily manipulated into deception and demobilization in their intentions to worship and work for God. The starting point in the downward spiral is "self". It is not some magic prayer or anointed worship service. It is their own lack of self control and ability to discern the spiritual climate around them. As pastors we can be asleep as to what is happening to us personally and the congregation around us. As parents we can lose touch with the oversight of our children's souls. Life has a way of draining out what is important. Jesus warned in

• Matthew 13:22
  
  2 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.(from New International Version)
  

Prophets are people called to encourage and correct the Body of Christ. They never speak as people above the community, but in the community. Their hearts hurt deeply for the self destructive choices of God's people. Jeremiah is a perfect example as he wrote so deeply in

• Jeremiah 4:19-2119
• Oh, my anguish, my anguish!
  I writhe in pain.
  Oh, the agony of my heart!
  My heart pounds within me,
  I cannot keep silent.
  For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;
  I have heard the battle cry.
  20 Disaster follows disaster;
  the whole land lies in ruins.
  In an instant my tents are destroyed,
  my shelter in a moment.
  21 How long must I see the battle standard
  and hear the sound of the trumpet?
  (from New International Version)

All choices have consequences. Freedom without self-control and accountability leads to destruction of self and others influenced by your position in life. Perfect example of this in our nation is the financial industry.In the CNN article Larry King's interview with Michael Moore is provocative in this respect:

Freedom without self control is destructive. The theology of retribution is the only hope for victims who can't seem to get tangible justice on earth. When children suffer due to evil parents, or a country suffers due to evil leaders God takes note. He will cast Satan into hell for his tempting (Rev 20:10), but He will also judge humans for being made victims to His dominion over their lives (Rev 20:15). When people are controlled by the "dark prince of the air" this means devastation for others. Woe to those who stay in the enemies house and fall victim to his use of their lives (Luke 17:1-3). Read the warning from Habakkuk, God will deal with evil Wall Street agents who misinvested peoples funds, political leaders driven by the greed for power, or parents who selfishly raise their kids with no spiritual or emotional nurturing. The days are evil, the God of justice waits patiently as the cup of His fury gets filled with Holy indignation. Woe to the people who stand under His cup:

• Habukuk 2:6-14
  'Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! How long must this go on?' 7 Will not your debtors suddenly arise? Will they not wake up and make you tremble? Then you will become their victim. 8 Because you have plundered many nations, the peoples who are left will plunder you. For you have shed man's blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
  9 "Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain to set his nest on high, to escape the clutches of ruin! 10 You have plotted the ruin of many peoples, shaming your own house and forfeiting your life. 11 The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
  12 "Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by crime! 13 Has not the LORD Almighty determined that the people's labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing? 14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
  (from New International Version)
  

Greed is a result of lack of self control and alertness and awareness to the true nature of reality. Satan capitalizes on our carnal passions in order to speed up our demise and the destructive force it represents to others. Will you recognize that no church, financial system (capitalism, socialism, etc) or human plan will ever deal with the core issues that plaque your heart today. The only remedy is submission to God by the presence of the Holy Spirit living in you. Humility and dependency on a Father who loves you and instructs you in the way you should live on daily basis. Christianity is living with Jesus one day at a time!

• James 4:6-10
  God opposes the proud
  but gives grace to the humble." 
  
  7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
  

God does not experience time in moments like us. He can spend "infinite time" (no past, present, or future duration) listening to a million prayers offered up in a single minute. He can spend all eternity examining the actions of our lives and calculate the best possible decision we can make to bring about the best possible outcomes. God is outside the space and time continuum we live in daily. That is why he doesn't need a cause to be "created". Who created God? Only things created in time need a first cause. Since God is outside of time, He is by nature an UNCUASED CUASE.

C.S. Lewis in this video expounds on this issue in the most beautiful way while on BBC radio (The lone surviving reel of audio with Lewis's voice). Listen and be led to your knees in Wonderful Worship & Adoration of the Infinite God, who in His goodness distributes to me and you "divine" wisdom, so we can make the best decisions in life possible.  We are objects limited by the experiences of time and space who are thus unable & hindered to consider all the variables necessary to make the best possible decisions. God IS NOT!!! James wrote:

James 1:5
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

Listen, Ponder, & Worship:

My father came to America in early 1970's as a poor Armenian car electrician. He was so poor and struggling that he would sleep in the same garage that he worked in during the day to save money. He saved and saved to the point that he was able to get lawyers and begin the process of getting his family who was still in Liberia, Africa to America.

He saved some more income and put a down payment on a home, though it was in the tough Hispanic neighborhood of El Monte Los Angeles. I saw through his example that in America if you work hard and save wisely you can pull yourself out of a desperate economic situation. It will takes years and sweat, but possible in most situations.

This is the message we have to emphasize to blacks, latinos. asians, whites, and all who have live in South Florida who find themselves after many generations and years repeating the values and mind set of a "poverty spirit". If you work hard and live "wisely" you don't have to live in unhealthy dependence on others (to some degree we all depend on others in a healthy way), angry at a supposed system you can't change or overcome.

God can raise you up with His DIVINE wisdom and power to be independent financially and to be a blessing to others. If not possible then the God of scripture doesn't have a real presence in our lives. He is only a wishful idea we go and worship every Sunday who doesn't really help us in our time of need. Why Worship a limited God!!!

Yet the God of scripture is close to us in a real way. This means as a Christians in South Florida we have to be on the forefront of society pushing for the education of our kids, pushing for a hard work ethic (You shall work 6 days and rest on 7th), etc. I don't agree with every view of President Obama, but I do like his message of self responsibility which he reiterated to the NAACP this week:

....... Obama also said, "Overall, there's probably never been less discrimination in America than there is today." Along similar lines, the New York Times headlines its report "Obama Tells Fellow Blacks: 'No Excuses' For Any Failure," and calls Obama's speech a "a fiery sermon to black America" in which he warned "black parents that they must accept their own responsibilities by 'putting away the Xbox and putting our kids to bed at a reasonable hour,' and telling black children that growing up poor is no reason to get bad grades." The Washington Times reports that Obama "mixed in his personal responsibility message that he and his wife have featured as they speak to children and parents." The President called "for 'a new mind-set, a new set of attitudes,'" and "said adults must take responsibility for their children and for their neighbors' children." The Financial Times also says "continued his 'tough love' approach toward the black community, calling on parents to take greater responsibility for their children and asking young people to have ambitions beyond becoming athletes and rap stars."

As Christians we should work in the Urban or Suburban context to help change the mindset and practical work ethics of a people trapped in a "poverty spirit". This change will happen as we emphasize a holistic approach to financial recovery and stability:

1. Pre & Post Secondary Education (college)
   
2. Hard & Honest Work
3. Consistent Savings & Smart Investments
4. Insurance Protection
5. Community Networking
6. Relevant and Competitive Entrepreneurism
7. Legal Protection through legislation & judiciaries
   
8. Most importantly: Christian Spirituality and Ethics (You can't do anything if you dont have the guidance & inner power, it's all day dreaming in the end, therefore we need CHRIST HELP)

But, in the end nothing can every help remedy a situation for a person if they don't take responsibility for their part through confession and make practical changes in their lifestyle through repentance. This was President Obama's message to NAACP, this is the scriptures message to all peoples and this will be my message to South Florida youth and adults taken captive to a "poverty spirit"

Please pray for Oasis Church North Miami and serve with us as we move forward in His Kingdom work,  in JESUS name!!!

This morning before my family woke up I went on a mission to Publix to buy some eggs, waffles, milk and donuts. The donuts actually were not originally planned. I felt good and fresh from a nice night of sleep. When I pulled up into the grocery store I noticed a Jehovah Witness woman passing out tracts and earning her way to heaven. Suddenly, it dawned on me. This lady is deceived and deceiving people from the real Jesus. I felt compelled to speak to her about Christ, so I did. As always the conversation went nowhere but in circles. Then as I went into the store I began my adventure of trying to buy exactly what I need and nothing more. Like I said, I got tempted in the bakery section with donuts. After my purchase I headed back home driving down Pembroke Road towards Douglas. As I was driving, it "HIT" me. I have the privilege of supplying food for my family which allows them to have the physical sustenance needed to be joyful, energetic and functional. This journey began before they even woke up. To top it off, soon as I walked in my second oldest son, Jeremiah, came running downstairs to give me a hug and to see if I brought home the "Frosted Flakes", better than that I brought home some donuts. "Yeah" he shouted!

In a lot of ways this is what the Christian Prayer Teams do every week and before every service. They prepare the atmosphere so people can receive and be full spiritually. Many times Satan shuts the channels to people’s hearts down with acts of deception, discouragement and distraction to a degree that people aren't even aware of their hunger and means to be fulfilled. They try religion, rather than a relationship with Christ and the Holy Spirit by faith.

So, it is our job or privelage to go before them to God's "Publix" (storeroom of Grace) and bring home the donuts on their behalf. Oh yes, on the way there you will be distracted by people…like I was by the Jehovah Witness woman, you will be tempted to give your attention to things…like I was with the "donuts" and you will sometimes forget the significance of what you’re doing -- Spiritually going to God and asking on behalf of others for Him to bless, empower, sustain and convict them of their sin and their need for Christ. These are all heavenly resources that God wants to bless people with on a daily basis, in the same way as parents we want our children to eat, be strong and grow healthy.

The heart of God is parental beyond our wildest dream or tangible comparisons. He finds great joy when He sees our eyes light up when He brings home the "donuts" and "bacon"! Why? Because He is a loving Father, it is in His nature to be that way! Alleluia!

Will we partner with Jesus, our Lord and the Holy Spirit this week in prayer? The whole activity is very important. Other people’s spiritual stomachs depend on you!!! I know it's hard sometimes, but think of the results Jesus promised us:

Luke 11:9-13
9 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

What do you do in an environment where everyone needs help, but you have limited resources?

This has been my struggle lately as I have been working and getting to know people in the North Miami area. North Miami in of itself is an economically impoverished area with a lot of beautiful things to offer. According to Wikipedia stats:

The median income for a household in the city was $29,778, and the median income for a family was $31,760. Males had a median income of $25,388 versus $20,712 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,581. About 20.7% of families and 23.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.5% of those under age 18 and 17.2% of those age 65 or over.

To make things more complicated, yet exciting the city is intensely diverse ethnically. Look at these figures:

The racial makeup of the city is 34.81% White (18.1% were Non-Hispanic White,)^[9] 54.89% African American or Black (with a large majority being of Caribbean ancestry,) 0.32% Native American, 1.92% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.16% from other races, and 4.85% from two or more races. 23.16% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

This Oasis Church North Miami campus, truly stands at the crossroads of a diverse economic and cultural intersection as the the surrounding communities like Miami Shores, Aventura, and North Miami Beach add on to the complexity of needs. For example the village of Miami Shores has a higher standard of living according to census figures:

The median income for a household in the village was $56,306, and the median income for a family was $64,963. Males had a median income of $42,373 versus $35,530 for females. The per capita income for the village was $26,134. About 6.9% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.2% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.


We are still wondering how the people of these surrounding communities will respond to driving into a more impoverished neighborhood, while still feeling connected to their middle and upper middle class neighbors? Do we need to launch diversity of culturally relevant church plants, or focus on an integrated community that learns to "understand" and "celebrate" the "other".

Since the infancy of the church there has always been a struggle for the wealthy to worship with the poor and vice versa. The Apostle James (the half the brother of Jesus) had to deal with this problem in the Jewish Christian congregations of the 1st Century. Look at what he wrote:

James 2:1-9
2:1 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.


One thing you can expect at Oasis Church is an awareness of the cultural and class differences of South Florida. We don't act naive about the real tensions this creates. But, as a pastor I believe local churches who claim to be "multi-cultural" need to have an intentional approach about developing and having indigenous leadership that reflects and represents the unique cultural, gender and class needs of the area. The same way the Apostle dealt with the Grecian Widow problem in Acts 6. All this while retaining an emphasis on the Worship of Christ our Lord, Biblical Learning, Prayer, Fellowship, Evangelism, and Community Service!

Why should any of this matter for Christians in the North Miami area?

Because it mattered to Jesus our Lord! He saw peoples need for desperate spiritual & practical  help. He cared enough to make his future leaders uncomfortable with issues of race, gender and class (Acts 10)! He understood the difficulty of cultural and economic diversity, but He didn't fall into the trap of the secularist who claims we all should fin for ourselves, or the racist religious Jews of his time who avoided "Gentile Dogs" (i.e. Parable of Good Samaritan). Rather, He asked His disciples to repent of such sinful attitudes and engage the Harvest while praying boldly for others to STAND UP AND SHEPHERD the sheep out of an action oriented compassion!


Matthew 9:35-38
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."



Will you pray and work with us in the North Miami area while stepping out of your cultural and economic bubbles?

Will you let others of different cultural and economical classes teach you how to love like Jesus did, by dying to yourself and living for the International MISSIONARY GOD, called JESUS?

As Christians we know that true joy and practical blessings flow into our lives as we put Jesus and His priorities first. That is the starting point!!!

Matthew 6:32-34
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I shared this message at Oasis Church as their new North Miami Campus & Missions (i.e. church planting) Pastor. It is so awesome for my family and I to be part of this healthy, culturally diverse, Christ-centered church that takes seriously the suburban and urban demographic of South Florida. I remember when I first read their "Who We Are" statement almost 7 months ago, I was overjoyed:

Oasis Church exists to be and make disciples of Jesus Christ. to blanket the tri-county region with a single, healthy, life-changing church; meeting in multiple sites at multiple times.

God brought us to this ministry by divine appointment.  I met Kevin (Interim Capus Pastor for NoMi) in line to vote this Nov. So many common grounds led to him giving me his card for the church. His understanding of ministry, the heart he and his dad conveyed made me say "You get it, you really, totally get it!"  I came home and told Jack we should visit and he should call this guy, they would hit it off. He put the card in his wallet.

I like this game because it has gravity and it's challenging.

Also because it shows you which side to be on: A burglar or a hero. You choose!

As a person with African and Armenian blood my history has been a blessing and curse for me. A blessing because I am able to understand my ancestral roots and have a sense of great identity. A curse because both my ethnicity's have suffered great atrocities in the last century: Armenians with the 1915 Genocide & Liberians with the 1st & 2nd Civil War which still shapes our present pysche as humans. Yet, truthful history informs me and the world why I am the way I am culturally. When I add my Christian faith to the equation, I realize that ethnically and spiritually I am connected to generations of noble, powerful "Fathers" and "Mothers" and generations of behavior that shaped my DNA. If someone one was to revise that "History" or "Central Themes" of my ancestral past, that person in my eyes would commit a great crime against my humanity. To deny truthful events or experiences is to deny a peoples existence as "real human beings". For to be human is to live in the real world and experience actual tangible real events. To deny historical truth, is to expose ones own "insanity", or to tempt others into that same"insanity". For example in a case where a person has been a victim of abuse (sexual, physical, etc) and seeks the help of a family member only to have that family member deny the crime could drive that victim over the edge. Like a young girl.........

A brother in the Lord recently asked me in response to my video "Selective Hypocrisy of Obama & Notre Dame: Why We Need The Real JESUS!"why I encourage public debate to the point that I would have no problem with homosexual marriage advocates from proposing their ideas in the public arena, including schools. That was a fine question that any Christian should be concerned about.

Firstly, whether we like it or not the phenomena is happening and it will continue to happen in greater ways. So the real question is how will we respond on a ground level to unreasonable ideologies of the homosexual community in light of Christian evangelism versus political maneuvering to eliminate their presence. Because if sin is the issue we should be legislating to eliminate the presence of fornication and adultery from all forms of public life too. Granted some sins are socially dangerous and should be illegal. Question: What makes a sin dangerous for society? Your answer should inform what issues are worth "fighting" for on the political front.