I Told You So; The Hardest Words Not To Say By: Chaplain Christine De Jesús

Although we live in a society that moves faster than it should, we have adapted to making split second decisions. We have also adapted to having multiple choices, and it is what we do with those choices, what matters. In recent days a dear friend of mine was incarcerated. Having literally played with his life, and with the law, since the age of 14, made this of no surprise. My friend is 39, and soon will turn 40, while in jail; with the possibility of spending 10 to 15 years for his wrongdoing. The injustice here is that it doesn’t matter the result of his trial, in the final analysis he will miss out on the birthday of his kids, holidays, family get together’s, and this will probably be the catalyst that his family finally needed to lose the house, leaving his children homeless. Of course there is nothing that I can do, otherwise I would have, but the truth of the matter is that I feel bad him. The other night while in prayer, I was trying to intercede for this person, and his children. Those that know me know that I am in a constant conversation with God. No, not because I am good, but because I need HIM, desperately. As I was praying for my friend, and looking and the "Domino Effect" that this will have in his life, the Spirit moved me to realize that many of us have been spiritually incarcerated, and didn’t even recognize it. Even worse than that, how many of us are trapped, and chose to ignore it. So I stopped my prayer for him, and started to request God’s will for his life. Unfortunately I had to remove myself from the situation, for it was causing me grief and pain. As always, my parents were gracious enough to step it. I was challenged by the Spirit of God to pray for those that are surrounding me, and unknown to them, are living in a spiritual jail of sorts. Please don’t get me wrong, out-bound missions is super important, but it is time that we recognize the in-bound missions, if improved, will by default, improve out-bound missions. My friend is, right now, a captive audience, and has made a decision for Christ, one more time. Having been a Chaplain at the Sanford Jail since 1987 my Dad, Pastor Sonny, has seen just about everything. In the many years that he has been there, only four people have told him that yes, they are guilty. Everyone else has had a great reason and/or explanation for how they ended up there. It is sad. At one point, during one Service, my Dad had three generations in the same room. Sad it is. When I saw my friend, through the little television monitor, awkwardly talking on the nasty smelly phone, I had to use every single cell in my body in order not to say: I told you so. To my surprise he said, "my parents told me, your parents told me, you told me, even God used to make me feel nervous when I was doing something wrong." I was surprised to hear that come out of his mouth, and I’m glad that I didn’t say a word to prompt him either. As prayer goes, even when praying for others, God brings healing in the midst of it. The healing that The Father allows is like no other, for it penetrates the heart, it discerns the thoughts, and it makes us realize, once again, who is in charge. As I go through my daily routine, I frequently thing about my friend, and consider all of the times that we shared long talks about the Word of God, and in a sense, I am heartbroken. By the same token, I believe that Father God has placed him in there, to keep him alive and well, giving him a chance to re-think his choices. To God’s glory, my friend has done so. Today, as you say your payers, please stop for one moment and think of those around you that are in a spiritual jail. They too need Christ, yet we seem to ignore the fact, and seem to ignore HIM. God cannot be ignored... So the next time that you have 30 seconds to make a decision, stop! My Dad says that when one is in doubt, one should postpone that decision for three months, by then the choice will be clear, or it would have gone away. Daddy is a very wise old man. And of all of the choices that you will be given, remember that there is only one way, and that is through the Son, Jesus the Christ. Don’t do something that will prompt a loved one to say: I told you so, the hardest words to say, when one truly loves.
Thanks for reading,
Receive all of my love,
Chaplain Christine De Jesús

Let's Get Ready Now!!!

A couple of weeks ago, the Rev. Aileen Walther, an Ordained Deacon with the Episcopal Church in Central Florida and Professor of Religions at Valencia Community College went to an event in Texas that had as a purpose the mobilization of the Christian church toward ministering Muslim people. This is what she shared with me:

"Gospel for Muslims was a program I decided to attend because I teach a course on different religions at a community college. Little did I realize how much it would open my eyes to the power of the Christian faith to transform those of a different faith. Being raised in the American Foreign Service, I was taught to respect each culture and religion and those who follow them, even if I might be in a different place and have made different choices. This was an eye-opening experience for me. I saw a woman completely covered in black cloth tell her story. As her story progressed, she through aside this clothing and everyone in the large auditorium saw a beautiful woman revealed before us all. The power of her belief was so strong, she put aside culture and her faith in Christ shone bright for all to see. She showed me how little I have truly proclaimed my faith. I will not make that mistake again."

What you just read above is the reality for millions of Christians in North America. We love to attend to church on Sundays and enjoy a worship service according to our traditions. However, we forget the many people that are having a different spiritual experience. Muslims, Buddhists, Taoists, Hinduists and many other forms of worship are practiced by people from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds. The question I have for you is this; Do you feel theologically prepared to speak and defend your Christian faith in the midst of so many other voices calling up for people with problems, addictions, and brokeness.

I personally believe this is the time for the church in North America to rise for the ocasion not just in Asia, or North Africa, but her, in our own neighborhood and backyards. We need to get prepared, I need to get prepared knowing their believes, culture, and traditions in order for us to contextualize the Gospel to them. Moreover, we must understand from top to bottom their religion in order to have a fair debate and proclamation opportunity . It is my prayer, all of us have a solid understanding of the different Muslim social groups in order for us to have

It is my prayer that we can understand the urgency of this message and get ready for some missional work In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The question being, is it that God is not speaking, or is it that I am not listening? By Christine de Jesús

Confession is good for the soul. When we confess our trespasses to one another, we learn, we grow, we pray, we give and receive forgiveness, and we move on… Confession time: Now that the dust has settled, my heart is still in China. And, yes, here we grow again. Not, it is not a misspelled word; here we ‘grow’ again…
In the last couple of weeks my life has turned upside down and inside out, as it is usual during my times of decision making. What surprises me is that I still get surprised. What gives?
The Lord has been good to me, so good indeed, that I simply have to share the Good News of Salvation! My heart has been filled with love for the Republic of China, the people, and there is no turning back. It is the deepest desire of my heart to return there, and do something that I am not exactly sure what it is. Another big question: When will this take place? This time I want to go on a Missionary Trip. I don’t want a taste of the field; I want be a worker of the field. You see, I have so very much to be thankful for, that I must share HIS deep love, I must. Today my Auntie asked me why would I do such a thing like that, since we have so much need here in The States. We do have a need for Christ here in Beautiful America, true, she has a point. However, take a drive down any major highway and you will see the advertisement signs for Churches of all kinds – just one example. (I love the First Amendment, I love the United States of America, and I love that In God We Trust.) Yes, I have responsibilities here at home; I am a single Mom raising an almost 17 year-old boy. I moderate a support group. I do a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, but I always manage to stay busy. I am furthering my education. I am trying to establish a home with a very significant other, making dreams and plans for the future, but the truth must be told. As much as I love my son, and the comfortable life that I have here, all of it is temporary, and will soon come to pass. Don’t get me wrong, I would give my life for my son’s without even having to think about it, but my son has accepted the Lord Jesus the Christ as his Lord and Savior. My mission, with my son, is accomplished. Now it is time for him to live up to his commitment to God and that responsibility is not mine. As I sit in bed in the middle of the night, going through my three books that I am trying to read, I find myself jittery with thoughts of China. If we can reach that one soul for Christ, that one soul can reach others. You see, the Chinese are very diligent people, living with a purpose and a goal. If one can be reached, as in anything else that they touch, they will be diligent about doing the work at hand and completing the task. But something horrid is going on, and this is no exaggeration. For one that is used to seeking HIM, and finding HIM, horrid it is. I keep asking God about my return trip to China, and I am not getting any answers. So, it begs the question. Is it that God is not speaking, or is it that I am not listening? My mind, heart, soul, and even my flesh are stirred up, but Heaven refuses to set my path before me, yet. So I have to go back in HIStory to seek for answers. There was this crazy fellow, his name was Noah, look up the story please, that built an ark. That was crazy, for the Earth had never seen rain. That was crazy, for the ark had been built on a mountain. That was crazy, according to all, but according to The Master, there was a plan. Surely HIS word came to pass, and after it stopped raining, Noah simply had to sit there and wait. He had done according to HIS Father, yet he had to sit and wait. Looking back one would notice that this seems to be a recurring theme of this blessed life of mine. Hurry-up and wait, Christine. Using my imagination, I picture Noah speaking to God. Okay Lord, I did as you told me, and now we are sitting in an unknown place, we haven’t seen the sun, and time seems still. In the process he released some birds in his quest for hope. It was that quest for hope that eventually gave him the go, the little creature, sent on a mission, never returned. No, I do not pretend to compare my life with the life of Noah. However I do picture Noah going crazy inside that ark; thinking to himself, these animals are smelly, noisy, my family is enduring this time of wait with me, they didn’t hear the instructions, only I did, they stood by me, and Lord, now what? So I must confess; I was growing restless. Today, as I explained to my Auntie that I must return to China, it became clear to me. It is not that God is not speaking, HE already spoke. It is not that I am not listening, I already did. It is that I simply have to wait, and learn to wait, and learn to wait...for the right time, HIS time and not mine. Blessed for me I am not trapped in an ark. In your prayers, please remember the Missionaries that are all around the World doing HIS labor of love. In your prayers, please remember yours truly, that the Good Lord will complete the works that HE began in me. Stay blessed, for HE is only one word away, “Jesus.” Call upon HIM and in due time HE will open the doors of the ark.
~Chris