January 30, 2024: Special Guest Speaker- Pastor Michael from Bethel Church in Santa Clara

At todayś meeting, Pastor Michael Gondi from Bethel Church (down the street from Wilcox) spoke. He began his message by telling about his two toddler boys- at their home, the boys love to make a mess with their toys. The grandparents enjoy buying them toys. Pastorś wife does not mind, but the mess bothers him! He made a point of this story, to show that in our lives, we also can have messes! The Bible verses he used were: 1 Peter 5:6-9 ¨Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.¨ 

Pastor used these verses to show how pride (not the good kind of pride, but the type that causes a person to think they don´t need God) vs humility (the condition of being humble in spirit) Pride says: ¨I can do this on my own.¨ Humility says: ¨I don´t have it all together, I need to connect with someone.¨ The Bible verse states that ¨God will exalt you in due time.¨ We don´t always have what we want, but God will help us, if we stay humble, He will lift you up. God wants us to go to Him, to surrender to Him; our relationships, our time, etc. What do I want my life to look like? Surrender to God! See what God can do with a little faith on your part; Pastor Michael says that prayer has really helped him; prayer and surrender to God. Pastor suggested putting up a noteboard (it could be notes to yourself on your phone) to set goals, and to make time for the Lord as one of those goals.

One thing you can do is to focus on each 24 hours; how can I maximize ¨planting seeds¨ (of the Gospel) in the lives of  others? Consider an apple seed; it takes time to grow; you water it, you don´t give up, even though it seems like forever, one day a little baby apple tree will sprout up, and in time, that tree will  produce hundreds of apples in its lifetime- just think- it started with one seed! 

What we need to focus on is today- to surrender to God- (and the things we are praying for) we might not see the results right away. Itś not easy. Whatever we are facing, the moment we surrender to God, we move from the natural to the supernatural (where God is at work) Sometimes we might ¨trick¨ ourselves into thinking we know best, but God has the better plan! Ask God to use you- as a vessel (to share Christ with others) 

Some people think that making money is the most important thing; making money (should not be our only goal in life) God made us for His purpose; our God cares! (He´s at work today!) He cares for us, and He love us!

*Words in parenthesis were added by Mrs. T. to clarify Pastor Michaelś message.

*Ermi fund: $2.00

*There were 13 in attendance at today´s meeting.