I have heard this over and over and I have said it many times. I find it to be one of those new modern things that is #funnynotfunny. This new sense of humor that allows people to be honest and complain about their situation and then laugh behind “The struggle is real”. I appreciate that although it is often veiled in sarcasm, we can be honest about the things that we are struggling with. I remember a time when we would struggle in silence because you could never admit any kind of weakness. It was considered a character flaw. As a believer in Jesus, I have come to realize that while it is a funny term that has caught on with t-shirts and hats, it is TRUTH. Anyone alive today knows that THE STRUGGLE IS REAL. Getting supplies like toilet paper is a struggle. Figuring out how to make the rent is a struggle. Juggling work and home schooling is a struggle. Meal-planning with limited ingredients is a struggle. Washing the dishes for the millionth time is a struggle. Living under the same roof with the people that you love the most but want to choke sometimes is a struggle. Navigating how to live in a world of uncertainty is a BIG struggle.

As believers we sometimes forget the things that the Bible tells us about struggles, trials and difficulties. They are not the most popular sermon series topics, yet there are rich and valuable lessons for us to mediate on. We can use the word of God to lead us as we navigate our current struggles. The Apostle Paul was a man who understood struggle and hardship. If you want to read about some of those struggles go to the books of Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. All were written while Paul was in jail. Talk about the struggle being real. Paul was so aware of what God could do in the middle of a difficult time and he leaned into the struggle expecting God to be present. Let’s look at Romans 5:3-5:

“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Paul was able to see that suffering and struggle had a function. The process that Paul describes in these verses all lead to us being better and stronger and more dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit. I am reminded in our current situation that we must see what can become of our character and our dependence on God, right here, in the middle of “stay at home” orders and quarantine, and major uncertainty.

Here is another reminder that when there are difficult seasons in our life we need to depend completely on God. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV says the following:

But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul was able to make a clear connection from his weakness to his complete dependence on God. He not only saw the connection, he uses “gladly” and “content.” Paul knew that there was a purpose and he was willing to go through the process for God to work in his life.

I encourage you today friend to find the purpose that God has for you in all of this. Remember that “The Struggle is Real,” and God can use every part of it to develop in us endurance, character, hope.

You can follow Myrna Brito on Instagram @myrnagbrito and on Twitter @MGbrito.

“So after leaving the crowd, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat, and other boats were with him. Now a great windstorm developed and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was nearly swamped.” (Mk 4:36-37, NET)

If you’ve had your fair share of short or long voyages, I’m sure you can express the feeling when the rhythm your senses are accustomed to is suddenly broken by an unexpected yank or shove caused by the unpredictable seas. Hopefully, this did not translate into hitting yourself on a rail while you napped in your seat or going overboard while taking a stroll on deck. These undesired occurrences are simply a couple of the many possibilities that result from ever-changing and reconfiguring waters. In this case, a great windstorm disrupted the Sea of Galilee.

After a long day of ministry Jesus and his disciples retreat from the crowd to board their personal vessel and “other boats were with him” (4:36). When the storm develops, however, our attention is drawn to only one boat. Notice the difference between the two verses. A shift from plural to singular takes place. Our focus is zeroed in to one boat. Sometimes, storms do just that. They break off and isolate an entity from the rest. We are certain that a boat is designed to thrive in still seas and has proved to challenge the tempest but there are moments where even experienced and skillful sailors are caught by surprise and fear.

Have you ever tried focusing your vision as a wet wind sweeps your face? The task proves to be difficultconstantly wiping with your hands and squinting your eyes. On top of your depth of field being significantly reduced, add a powerful rocking motion all the while attempting to secure the vessel. Storms stretch us. They dismantle our skillset and sometimes violently shake us into nearsighted faith.
“Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (Mk 4:38, NIV)

The concept “naptime” is not foreign to neither of us. A day packed with ministry is exhausting and the ride was an opportune time to rest. Indeed, Jesus slept! Combine this with a natural phenomenon and you expose the heart and mind of Jesus’ closest followers. A misconception existed.

The truth is that storms reveal the make-up of our hearts. They reveal our misunderstandings, fear, and insecurities. For the disciples, it was all of the above. Some of the disciples were experienced fishermen and this tempest struck them in every way. All control was lost. Their fortitude proved to be insignificant. When this happens we have a tendency to make sense of the situation by drawing up conclusions to explain things. For them, it was to question Jesus as one who did not care. His character was questioned. Does this hold truth? Does it really hold substance? Does the presence of a storm in this broken world reduce Jesus as someone who does not care?

39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Fear is a threat to faith. It is a parasite that distorts and even paralyzes our perspective of hope. Perhaps in this time you find that the storm has exposed your heart’s inclination. When we place our assurance elsewhere, the storm will prove it to be futile. Our job, savings, skill-set may be insufficient. We need something greater than ourselves–the hope that will carry us in this life and into eternity. That is Jesus.

Jesus is Lord of creation. Notice that the storm developed and that it ceased at Jesus’ command suddenly. During tumultuous times, Jesus can introduce a great calm that is unchallenged and unquestionably present. Our misunderstandings, fear, and insecurities are quickly dissolved in a new context. Experience his tranquility. It’s possible to have our faith intact amidst chaos. His peace can be present in spite of the tempest. This is the assurance the disciples lacked in the moment but came to learn later in life as they were all persecuted for their faith. What does the storm expose in your life? Are there false gods? Fear?

Do not be afraid. Like humanity, all of creation is restless and in need of redemption. Remember Jesus is not only captain of this ship but possesses sovereignty over the natural disruptions that invade His creation. Jesus is Lord. He is our everlasting hope. Allow him to permeate your time and space, for our hope is in Him–in Jesus Christ and his second coming.

“He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed” (Ps 107:29)

You can follow Omar Rojas on Instagram @omar.rojas_7 and on YouTube as Verses Intro

Your thoughts start racing, your heart starts beating faster, your chest starts getting tighter by the minute, and all you could think about is that very moment. Time seems to pause. You want it all to end, but it seems to linger longer than you expected. Anxiety is consuming every part of you. Your thoughts start to worry you. You begin to believe everything it is telling you. There is no way out. You feel desperate, fearful, and lost. You look around you and time seems to passing by, except for you in that moment. You feel stuck! You are gasping for air, trying to get it together, but you lose it again. When will this end?  You are crying out for help, but no one seems to understand you. You feel lonely and hopeless. Is this a lost battle?

Anxiety,

You have stolen my joy.

You have confused me with your enticing words.

You made me believe that I couldn’t live with you, but truth is, you are consuming every part of me leaving me with emptiness and a wounded heart.

I was so wrapped up in your lies that I believed you were a part of me.

I have lost my sense of belonging and identity because of you.

You took away time and precious moments with loved ones.

You brought pain, fear, isolation, and death.

You said I belonged to you and I believed you over and over again.

You said nothing would change and there I was trusting every word you said.

Well, the tables have turned.

Anxiety,

I am no longer your slave. I am no longer your captive.

I am stronger than your lies.

I have the will and power, because I am God’s child (Galatians 4:7).

You made me think that life would never change, but let me tell you,

God changed it all. 

God gave me a freedom and confidence beyond measure (Ephesians 3:12).

I cried out to God and he came to my rescue from you (Psalm 118:5).

God has given me hope and a future and you are not in it (Jeremiah 29:11)

I have the found the joy, hope, and peace my heart longed for.

When lies start to confuse me and remind of me where I came from, just know that God stands before me.

As a matter of fact, He is fighting for me (Deuteronomy 20:4)

I am no longer alone.

God has won the battle.

He strengthens me and gives me the courage I once lost (Deuteronomy 31:6).

God is my sustainer, my helper, and redeemer.

He holds me with his righteous hand, he won’t let me fall (Isaiah 41:10).

Anxiety,

I am no longer your slave. I am no longer your captive.

I am a child of God (John 1:12-13).

You can follow Sara Rojas on Instagram @sara.rojas7

People are depending on you to lead through this crisis. Whether it’s your family, your employees or your ministry, people are looking to you for leadership. Here are some steps that will help you lead well:

First, anchor your faith to an immutable God. We have experienced disruptive change in our life these past few weeks. But there is one constant in our life—God. He never changes. Place your trust in him. Malachi 3:6: “For I the Lord do not change.”

Second, keep it together. Don’t let your emotions, especially fear, take a hold of you. Those you lead need to see strength and confidence from you. The best way to remove fear and gain confidence is to focus on God and how he will always protect you—no matter what is happening around you. Psalm 27:1: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Third, make short term decisions. Things are changing too fast for you to make long term plans. Your decisions may have a shelf life of a few days to a couple of weeks. So, make the best decisions for the short term. Ask God to guide you in this process. Proverbs 3:5: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

Fourth, look for new opportunities. Spiritual: People are more open than ever to hearing about Jesus. Look for opportunities to pray with and for others. Share the hope of Christ with them. Business: Things may not go back to how they once were. There will be new business opportunities emerge from this. Keep your eyes open; and as people default on their mortgages, the housing market may drop. This may be your opportunity to stop renting and finally buy a home. There will be a new demand for new services, and new business models will emerge. Keep your eyes open and ask God to guide you. The same goes for ministry.

The people of Judah experienced tremendous change and loss when they were taken into captivity in Babylon. But God said to them, “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

The Jews prospered so much in captivity that when they were allowed to return to Judah to rebuild, most stayed in the foreign land that had become their home.

Things may seem tough now, but opportunities are coming. Let God guide you and lead well.

You can follow John Brito on Twitter and Instagram @john_brito7

For a quick laugh at what some relationships are going through, check out this video “Couples during quarentine.”

It cracked me up to see myself in one of these scenarios and realized, we as people are so similar! We can say things we don’t mean when we are a little hangry, frustrated or tired. Thank Jesus, God speaks so beautifully and boldly to us through his Word.

“No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. ” Micah 6:8 NLT

Loving mercy – in my marriage that looks like forgiving even if there is no apology. It means not wanting judgement over my husband for offenses, it means wanting him to stand pure before God. It means being “the wrong one” in his place. It means replying back in gentle loving words. It means, be. like. Jesus.

Thank you for MERCY, Jesus!!! We all fall short of your glory and are so grateful that you don’t make us pay for our sins, for we know we would never be able to stand before you. And now we are able to share that same mercy to others that they may see your love. Help me to be like you. Amen.

Follow Daisy Rodgriguez @dmr07_

Lunch will be served at 12:00 pm. Registration will begin at 12:30 pm. Car kits will be sold at cost ($5 each).

Location: 13242 Mapledale St. Norwalk, CA. 90650:

Let us know your children are participating by including their names and ages in the form below:

[formidable id=7]

We equate a sword with a warrior, but an apron? That would be silly. Well, at least until we consider that King David used both; and we need both if we are going to successfully fight for those we love.

Here’s the context for our story. David and his 600 men were running from King Saul, who wanted to kill David. So, David went into Philistine territory thinking that Saul wouldn’t go after him there, and he was right, for the Philistines were mortal enemies of King Saul and of Israel. During his stay with the Philistines, David ingratiated himself with one of the four Philistine kings named King Achish. David would leave King Achish for the day and would raid different Philistine towns but wouldn’t leave anyone alive to report it. Then, the next day, when King Achish would ask him what town he had raided, David would lie and say that he had raided a town in Judah (Israel). Achish was delighted thinking that David was burning all his bridges with his own people. In this way, David gained favor in the eyes of King Achish of Philistia.

One day, the four Philistine kings gathered in Aphek to prepare to fight against
King Saul of Israel. David wanted to fight on the side of Philistines, but the other three kings told Achish that they did not want David to fight beside them because he could turn on them in order to win Saul’s favor. Achish told David to sit this one out. David protested, but eventually went back to Ziklag, a town in the southern part of Judah that had been captured by the Philistines. This is where David’s family and that of his 600 men were staying. (See 1 Samuel 29.)

David and his men were unaware of what the Amalekites had done to their family. They were about to be dealt a hard blow. The story goes like this:

Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their
town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground. 2 They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone. 3 When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families, 4 they wept until they could weep no more. 5 David’s two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel, were among those captured.6 David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the Lord his God. (1 Samuel 30:1-6, NLT)

David and his 600 men arrived at Ziklag to find their families gone, their camp burned to the ground and all of their possessions gone. The enemy touched them where it hurt them most: Their family. The men cried until they ran out of tears. I don’t believe that had they lost a limb in battle or seen a comrade fall on the battlefield that they would have hurt as much as they were from having lost their family.

Verse 6 says that, “David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him.”

The way we act when life hits us hard reveals our character. These men did the following:

1. They cried (which is normal and expected in a situation like this)
2. They became very bitter
3. They blamed someone else (David)
4. They considered violence against David (he was in danger)

Contrast their reaction to David’s, as we see in verse 6: “But David found strength in the Lord his God.” David chose to find strength in God than to let bitterness grip his heart.

When life hits us hard we can allow ourselves to become bitter, to blame others, and to resort to violence, or we can choose to find strength in God.

Verses 7-8 tell us what David did next: “Then he said to Abiathar the priest, ‘Bring me the ephod!’ So Abiathar brought it. 8 Then David asked the Lord, ‘Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?’ And the Lord told him, ‘Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!’”

The ephod that David asked Abiathar the priest to bring was an apron that the high priest would wear over all his other garments. David wasn’t a priest, but at that moment, through his prayer, he became one for his family. He prayed, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?’ And the Lord told him, ‘Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!’”

A warrior needs a sword and a ephod. He or she needs to fight for their family and intercede for them in prayer.

David didn’t allow his emotions to get the best of him. Instead, he sought God for guidance. We have a choice when Satan attacks our family. We can cry, get very bitter, blame others, without taking any responsibility, and even turn to violence. Or, we can become the priest that our family needs us to be.

God told David, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!” Don’t let the Devil take anything from you. Take it all back. God wants you to fight for your family. But you’ll need a sword and an apron. If we rely on on the sword we will be relying on our own strength; and if we rely only on the apron we will never take action. It takes a sword and an apron.

For the sake of space, I’m going to cut to the end of the story as found in verses 18-20:

David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back. 20 He also recovered all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock. ‘This plunder belongs to David!’ they said.

David’s men fought for their families beyond the point of exhaustion because they loved them. But they never would have chased the Amalekites and fought for their families had they not heard David’s prayer and heard God’s reply to him. They most likely would have hurt David and then had remained in a state of bitterness and despair.

Your family needs you to be a warrior, but every warrior needs a sword and an apron (ephod). You need to fight for and pray for your family.

Are you using the sword and the apron? If not, why?

All the forces of darkness attacked Jesus on the cross. It seemed that he was losing. The crowds thought so. His disciples thought so. Satan thought so. But then, he uttered these words that were followed by a knock out punch: “It is finished.” When the powers of darkness grapple us to the ground, and all feels lost: Get up! Fight your way out, and knock him out, because you have the Heart of a Champion.