Cecie's Story

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.  James 1:12

This morning, I sat in the room of Cecie Doucet, as her good friend Tom and I shared stories of our sister-in-Christ and how much she meant to us.  God so blessed Cecie with fellow Seattle Police Officer, Tom Sacco. Tom, who is Sicilian and a retired police officer, was sent to be her guardian angel.  God has blessed Cecie and she, in turn, has been a blessing to her church family.  James 1:12 proved itself to be absolutely true in the impact of her life. 

This week Dr. Rey Diaz will be preaching in all the services and sharing the dynamic story of the Good Samaritan.  It is so good to have Pastor Rey home for the Festival of Miracles Auction on Saturday night where we raise money for a place of refuge for the street kids in Honduras and in Kenya. 

Cecie cared so much for those children as we all do.  Being a child who was put up for adoption at birth, Cecie lived a life that would make a great movie.  How God reached someone who had gone through all of the hardships, and became a prominent Seattle Police Detective for 38 years and an on-fire Christian since the 1970s when she gave her life to Jesus Christ in the Jesus People Movement.  It was due to all of the difficulties and all of the ups and downs that prepared her to be the angel that she became.  So it is with you and me.  God is working a project in our lives, and be assured of this, that He who began a good work in you will see it to completion. Philippians 1:6. This is the miracle that causes us to believe in the potential of every life of every street child who is considered the least of these.  Which ones will have stories like Cecie or me or you? We don’t know, but we can be a church that believes in this miracle - that there awaits a crown of life to those who endure.  We are in the business of helping those who struggle to endure.  But we can’t do it without God’s help.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

College Spring Break

Written by Pastor Rey Diaz About fifteen years ago, I was challenged to do something I had never done before. I was about to embark on my first college spring break, so it wasn’t the best time to begin this practice. Actually, maybe it was the best time to begin this practice. Either way, someone challenged me to wake up 30 minutes earlier than usual and spend time with God. As a freshman in college, that meant waking up at noon instead of 12:30 for my first class at 1pm. Basically it wasn’t a huge sacrifice. So I did it.

I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know if God even wanted to talk with me. I didn’t know what to read in the bible.

The first day I didn’t want to look at my watch. But after what I felt at least 30 minutes had gone by, I checked and I still had 25 minutes to go. This wasn’t working.

I was given a bible reading plan, some verses to memorize, and journal to write down my prayers.

That was the beginning for me. Something changed. It didn’t happen over that spring break or even the first month. But something started that first week. It wet my appetite. It made me hungry for more. I started wanting more and more of God. I had to use an alarm to stop it.

Fifteen years later it’s part of who I am. My identity was established, secured in that devotional time. My fears and worries are addressed during that time. My character and integrity have been shaped in those mornings. Most importantly, my faith and confidence in God began to grow.

Today, I can’t imagine not connecting with God on a daily basis. Like the songs says, “This is the air I breath…this is my daily bread… I’m lost without you.”

Will you join us these next 30 days? Maybe you’ve never tried it. Maybe you used to do it but for some reason or another you quit. Either way, let’s give God the first few minutes of our days and watch what happens.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEDcKZB7r2A

God's M.O.

Written by Pastor Rey At the beginning of any book you read. During the acceptance speech of any award you hear it. Throughout the stories of the Old and New Testament you will see it. You will always find people thanking people. We are all aware that without the help, support, and influence of others, we probably couldn’t accomplish what we have done or become what we are today.

We don’t necessarily call them providential relationships, but that is what they are. I’m pretty confident that if we sat down over lunch, you could look back at the course of your life and identify some individuals who, in retrospect, you believe God put in your life. It wasn’t an accidental meeting it was scheduled. It wasn’t a coincidence you moved next door. It wasn’t a happenstance you sat next to each other. Something else was at work. And if you are a follower of Jesus, you know it was God’s hand.

God is very much interested in growing our faith. He uses all sorts of different ways to do just that, but for some reason God especially enjoys using people. It’s God modus operandii, his method of operation. God loves to use flawed, broken, and imperfect people. Check out the list in Hebrew 11 many call the “Hall of Faith”. It includes a murderer, adulterer, prostitute, liar, and a really bad dad. But these people have been used, in a very real way, to grow our faith and countless others.

I promise you that at this very moment, your heavenly Father is sending people into your life in an attempt to grow your faith. How open are you to God’s plan?

I also know that God has sent some of you to help grow the faith of others. How open are you to investing in these relationships?

One way of another God uses relationships to impact and grow our faith. I believe we can take advantage of this principle to work with God. By allowing God to use people in our lives, we can grow our faith. Bigger faith leads to more confidence in God. Bigger faith leads you to a place where you can’t trust God no matter what is happening around you. Bigger faith leads to deep intimacy with your Heavenly Father.

So how will you leverage this principle to grow your faith?

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God uses relationships to grow our faith in him

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=172cyKd4Pfw

Photo Credit

How's your heart?

Something we don’t think about often, but is so true, is the idea that what comes out of our mouths stems from what is in our hearts. And we are not talking about the physical heart, but rather the invisible part of you that poets and philosophers write about. You see, life is hard on the heart. The world lodges stuff in our heart that have no business being in there. And over time those things grow and grows until eventually they makes it way out.   And usually the anger or guilt or greed or jealousy that has been in our hearts, when it comes out it wrecks havoc on all the relationships we are in. Which is why above all else we need to guard our hearts. Everything we do flows from it. It is literally where life comes from. But how do we guard it? Hopefully you will follow along during the month of November as we teach habits that can help you guard your heart.

Based on a couple books (Renovation of the heart and Enemies of the heart) I have developed a list of questions I ask my children (and myself). Ask away.

• Is everything okay in your heart?
• Did someone hurt your feelings today?
• Did someone break a promise to you today?
• You mad at anybody?
• Are you waiting around for someone to come to you to make things right?
• Have you had any extended imaginary conversations with anybody lately?
• Do things come out of your mouth on a regular basis, that you have to apologize for? That embarrass you?
• Have you secretly celebrated someone failure in the past few days?
• Got any secrets eating at you?
• Anything going on you hope no one discovers?
• Is there is a question you hope no one ever ask you?
• Is there something you need to tell someone?
• Have you lied recently to someone you love?
• Are you worried about anything?

Proverbs 4:23 - Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.

Learning from Jesus

Pastor Rey starts off on a new series "Can You Hear Me Now?", diving into prayer life and growing closer to God. The first step as we learn from Jesus is to pause, slow down, and get away from the crazy.

Imagine learning to throw a football from Russell Wilson, or how to coach a team from Pete Carroll, or how to manage a company from Paul Allen, or how to talk smack from Richard Sherman.  Minus the last example, I think most of us would relish in the opportunity to learn a skill from one of the greats.

Now imagine learning to pray from Jesus himself.  Imagine if you could somehow figure out this whole prayer thing from the person who was most connected to God.  Well you don’t have to imagine because you can learn to pray vicariously through the disciples who once asked Jesus, “Teach us to pray.”

I have been trying to figure out prayer ever since becoming Christian.  I have tried praying silently, aloud, writing down my prayers, reading other’s prayers, walking through nature and praying, praying while I jog, praying through scripture, praying on my knees, praying on my back, praying with my eyes open, and every other way you can imagine.

And for most of my life the results have been mixed.  Sure I have experienced answered prayers but they are sandwiched between unanswered prayers.  Honestly I can’t help but think that I must be doing it wrong.  Not saying the right words or not saying them the right way.

I think we have all had our doubts at some point.  Can God truly hear us?  Jesus answers that with an emphatic ‘YES!’  And he teaches us how to.

He  begins his lesson by introducing us to God.  He reveals the nature of God to us.  He reminds us who we are talking to because I think they struggle with the same issues I struggle with.  I tend to overlook God.

From the very beginning Jesus reminds us – Before you pray, I want to you pause.  I want you to slow down.  I want you to take a deep breath and think about who you are talking.  God is your Father.  Holy and different than all others.  None can compare.  Though He is unseen, he sees and knows all about you.  He knows all about your needs and he is your rewarder.

The essence of prayer is relationship which is why Jesus tells us to pause and think about who you are talking to.  Declare God’s greatness.

Which is what we are doing this week.  We are pausing.  We are taking this week to declare God’s greatness.  To make a list of who God is to you.  To contemplate.  To meditate.  To recognize the God of eternity who has invited us to refer to him as Father.

Don’t miss out next week as we dive into the rest of the prayer.  For those who missed, here is a link to last week’s message.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hUkswuF-KE&w=560&h=315]

Like what you hear, but want more?

You can check get more information by checking out our website, or you can email us if you have more questions.

What’s the Appropriate Response to Witnessing a Miracle?

By Pastor Rey Diaz

Last week a friend of mine asked me, "What is the appropriate response to experiencing a miracle?" Shout? Jump? Scream? Cry? My friend experienced a supernatural healing from a cyst in his left vocal cord and his reaction (You can read about it and see the before and after pictures here: www.michaelpatz.com).

That same night, I experienced a miracle. And it was my turn to write - 'God is amazing. There are not words. I'm stunned. I'm shocked. I’m utterly overwhelmed.'

It's not an easy thing to witness a miracle. To see pure beauty. Relentless grace. Unending love. What's the appropriate reaction? I want to cry. I want to shout. I want dance. I want to fall on my knees.

A life permanently changed. A child finds their Heavenly Father's love and experienced his grace. Rescued. Redeemed. Transformed.

This is Dulce when I first met her near the garbage dump.

Dulce means "sweet." But Dulce's life has been anything but sweet. She was raised in the garbage dump by her siblings. No father. An absent mother. Her grandparents took her in but they had to continue working in the garbage dump to have food for their grandchildren.

So Dulce and her siblings learned to scavenge in the garbage dump. Last year, Dulce's brother, Kevin, was run over by a garbage dump, dying instantly. She grieved. She cried. But life continued. So it seemed her name was a cruel joke. There was nothing sweet about her life. 'Bitter' would have been more accurate.

 Psalms 68:5 - A father to the fatherless…

But God intervened. It's His modus operandi… To offer hope when it seems hopeless. To rescue when it seems impossible. To give life to the lifeless.

God intervened through AFE. Through people who were willing to serve. Dulce's family received a house. Her siblings started school. The family found support at church.

The AFE nursery took in Dulce. They loved her, protected her, and fed her while her grandmother and grandfather were at the dump during the day. Dulce then started kindergarten. And she has just graduated. She is on her way.

Why can't she be a future leader in Honduras? Why can't she bring about the change the country so desperately needs? Why can't she be an example to all the other thousand of children who are still captured in the cycle of poverty? So I ask again, what’s the appropriate response to witnessing a miracle?

Like what you hear, but want more? You can check get more information by checking out our website, or you can email us if you have more questions.

Faith that Overwhelms Fears

This week, Pastor Rey began Washington Cathedral’s new series: World Reborn. He talked about how not focusing on the fear of problems and challenges can help us to trust and follow God's plan for us.

By Pastor Rey Diaz

Black Friday is for people who love crowds, lines, and chaos.  I prefer Cyber Monday.  From the comfort of my computer desk, I can go to Amazon.com and buy Christmas presents for the whole familoggerly.  I love it.  It’s Dec 1^st and I’m already done with all my Christmas shopping.  It’s not just the convenience of shopping but the amazing delivery as a prime member.  All my packages arrive in two days (I promise you I’m not getting a kick back from the people at Amazon, although I should).

Well it turns out that Amazon works with 1,000s of smaller companies.  And although I’m 100 percent satisfied, I have never written a review.  I received a message yesterday that just shocked me.  Here it is:

As a small but passionate American business, we lack the big marketing budgets of larger corporations, and rely on word-of-mouth more than anything. If it is not too much to ask, please help us by writing a short review on Amazon.com. Unfortunately, less than 1% of satisfied customers write a review, but 99% of unsatisfied customers do. Your review therefore would be invaluable to us and helps strengthen the Amazon marketplace for all.

I couldn’t believe it.  The numbers are staggering.  The unsatisfied are basically a hundred times more vocal than the satisfied.  We hear complaints, criticisms, and negativity a hundred times more than the good stuff.

It made me think of our spiritual walks with God.  Isn’t the same thing usually true in our personal lives.  We notice and see the bad, the scary, the unfair, the unjust and the darkness.  But the good is sometimes harder to focus on.  Maybe that is why God is constantly telling us, “Don’t be afraid.”  Because our tendency is to focus on the fearful.  The problems.  The challenge.  The difficulty.  Basically, our fears are a hundred times more vocal than our faith.

Matthew 14:22-33 tells the story of Jesus walking on water.  The disciples, who are on the boat, think it’s a ghost and are afraid.  Jesus responds with some of his favorite words, “Don’t be afraid.”  Peter wants proof.  He tells Jesus, “If it is really you, tell me to come out and walk on the water.”

So Peter begins his walk towards Jesus on the water.  He was walking towards Jesus, but instead of gazing at Him, he lets his focus turn towards the waves.  He allows fear to take a hold of him and he begins to sink. Jesus, intervenes and saves him.

With love in his eyes he says “Oh, you of little faith.  Why did you doubt me?”  Jesus takes Peter and leads him to the same place he is trying to lead us to.  A place of fearlessness.  A place of trust.  A place of overwhelming faith.  Jesus wants to grow our faith .  He wants our faith to overwhelm fear.

So that in midst of our problems, in the midst of the storm, in the midst of the waves and chaos, our faith remains steadfast.  Secure and confident in God.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/DIbycm4MtWQ]

That’s why we follow Jesus.  And as a church, we want the same for your faith. There is a song that speaks of this type of faith.  I have used it as a prayer – “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders.  Let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me.  Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander.  And my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my savior.”

Would you take some time to listen to song? Oceans by Hillsongs United -

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy9nwe9_xzw&w=560&h=315]