Eddie Rivero

"If your dream does not include the 'impossible', it's too small." - Joel Osteen

Ask Questions

Proverbs says, “Though good advice lies deep within the heart, a person with understanding will draw it out.” (Proverbs 20:5 NIV)

Ask questions. That's the secret of growing. You’ve got to draw learning out from other people.

So I’d encourage you’d to put together a list of 15-20 questions to ask whenever you’re with someone you admire. Questions like:

• What are the most important decisions you've ever had to make in the ministry?
• What are the five books that have made the biggest difference in your life?
• How do you manage your time?
• How do you relax?
• What are the lessons that you’ve learned that you wish you could pass on to somebody else?
• What are your greatest failures and what did you learn from them?
• What are your greatest successes?
• What other people have influenced your life?
• How do you deal with problems?
• How do you deal with criticism?”

Building the Church

Great artricle by Ron Walters, VP of Church Relations, The Pastor's Corner

At first it seems impossible. How can a Boeing 747, weighing nearly one million pounds, ever get off the ground? Nothing that big could suspend itself in air. Feathery birds can fly but not massive tubes of metal. Nope, it just can’t happen. It’s impossible. 500 tons of shiny steel will never be airborne.

But the truth is; it has to fly. In fact, it can’t do anything but fly.

Here’s why: When an aircraft moves down a runway the air pressure around the wings changes. The air moving over the rounded surface on the topside of the wing is forced to travel in a curve. As it does, its air speed increases which causes the air pressure to drop. Meanwhile, on the bottom side of the wing, the air moves in a straight line and, because it’s moving slower than the air on top of the wing, the pressure is intensified.

Now, here’s where it really gets exciting! Any high-pressure area always moves toward a low-pressure area. Meaning, the underneath-air pushes up on the wings trying to get to the area over the wings. Therefore, the faster the 747 rolls down the runway, the greater the pressure on the bottom of the wings. And the greater the underside-pressure the more lift to the aircraft.

As the jet increases its speed there’s more and more pressure pushing on the bottom of the wings. And in moments, bingo! One million pounds of 747 lift off the ground.

What at first appeared impossible becomes an everyday occurrence, because it has to. It’s not a miracle, it’s simply a physical law designed by the Architect of the Universe.

The role of the church—God’s handmade instrument to engage and change the culture—is not dissimilar to the principle of flight. Everything tells you it’s impossible, there’s too much opposition, the odds are against us. But, whether your church is a 747 or an Ultralight, divine rules apply. The same great Architect who crafted the universe has also birthed the Church. And, He’s laid out biblical principles that govern her survival and effectiveness.

And yet, at times, it still seems impossible; unmet needs are staggering, the leadership shortage continues, sin abounds, and staff clashes threaten to bring down years of ministry. It all seems to spell doom to His church.

But, this Master Builder has issued an iron-clad guarantee: “The gates of Hell will not prevail against it.” This is His church, and His promise is irrefutable.

The job of leading His church is daunting to be sure. But, the great Architect has purposely placed His handpicked recruits—you and me—to insure the proper building and maintenance of the Body. He’s even gifted us with the necessary tools for the work. Nothing will derail His church.

Ours is no ordinary role. No calling in the world is quite like God’s call to lead His people. Pastoring is the ultimate life and death profession. Our job requirements differ from every other occupation; the demands are intense, the hours are long, and the stakes are high. Tending wayward sheep has never been easy.

But, it is doable.

At times our jobs may look impossible. But in every generation frail leaders, just like us, have taken the reigns for the task. And, surprisingly, God does the undoable. He uses mortal pastors to accomplish His work. It’s not a miracle, it’s simply a spiritual law designed by this same Architect.

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Losing By Intimidation (1 John 4:4)

Some 80 years ago, as Notre Dame was preparing to play USC in college football, Fighting Irish coach Knute Rockne was aware that his opponent had a far better team, so he devised a plan to intimidate the Trojan players.

Rockne scoured the city of South Bend and hand-picked 100 of the largest men he could find--each at least six-foot-five and three hundred pounds. He put them in Fighting Irish uniforms and at game time marched them onto the field ahead of the real team. (Obviously, this was before the days of limited rosters and eligibility restrictions.)

As USC watched these giants line up on the sidelines, they forgot about their talent and their undefeated record, and they began mentally preparing themselves for a beating. Though none of the specially recruited men played during the game, their presence on the sidelines was enough to knock Southern Cal's game off balance. Knute Rockne's trick had worked; he had intimidated the Trojan players into giving up before the game even started, and Notre Dame won.

Our 'opponent' tries a similar trick. He tries to intimidate us by appearing larger than life-- but we must remember that he, too, has been sidelined. John said... "Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4)

Don't let your problems intimidate you. No matter how big the enemy may seem to be, remember that you have God's power on your side. And He is greater.

God has two words for you today: further & faster

Thoughts from Joel Osteen...

Your life can change for the better in a single moment.

You can be going along, doing your best, living a life that honors God, but feel like you’re getting nowhere.

Or you may feel like no one’s noticing. You may be tempted to start giving up on your dreams because at this rate, there’s no way it could come true. That’s where God comes in!

In one moment God can accelerate your life and change everything!

In the Bible in John 2, Jesus is at the wedding celebration of some friends when the party runs out of wine.

Instead of wedding joy and bliss, this setback could have ruined the feast and damaged relationships. And as you know, you can’t make new wine fast. It takes time...a long time.

In fact the process of planting the seed, growing the grapes, harvesting them, producing the wine and then letting it age takes between five and seven years! And for the best wines it can take 30 years.

But in one moment Jesus accelerates this process and does in seconds what normally takes 30 years!

This is not merely a story about what happened a long time ago. It’s a picture of God’s love for you and how He wants to accelerate your life today!

If you’ll step out in faith, if you’ll believe that God can do anything and stay faithful where you’re at, one day you’ll look up amazed and say, “I can’t believe I got here so fast!”

You may be facing disappointment, pain and setbacks today, or even criticism from those you love, but don’t get discouraged. Adversity could be the very thing God uses to take you to new levels.

Remember, God can turn your life around in a moment and move you “further and faster” than you ever dreamed.

By Joel Osteen

from 2 disc message series, Accelerate: God's Plan to Propel Your Life

 

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Osama Bin Laden... the end of a dark chapter in the history of the United States

Last night, many of us saw the news announcement that the president was to make an important announcement.  We soon learned that the news we had been waiting for, almost ten years later, had finally come.  On 9/11/01, our nation was rocked by the hell-inspired plan of Osama Bin Laden to destroy the twin towers and bring terrorism to our shores.  This dastardly act inspired many of our sons and daughters to enlist in the US armed forces to defend and protect our nation.  We thank them for their service and dedication.  We also honor the memory of so many how gave their lives for this just cause and those who returned home having suffered injury in the service of their country.  I don't take pleasure in the killing of a human being but as our president stated last night, "justice has been served".