God's Word - Alive & Powerful

Hebrews 4:12

 ¹² For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 

Throughout history the Holy Spirit has shared the wisdom of God with mankind through the Word.  We believe whole heartedly that the Bible is the inspired Word of God.  We believe that if you obey His Word it will penetrate deep within your mind, soul, and spirit to transform you.  In Psalm 119, the Psalmist refers to God's Word as able to keep our way pure (v. 9), preserve our life (v. 25), strengthen us (v. 28), make us wiser than our enemies (v. 98), light our path (v. 105).  These are just a few examples listed by the Psalmist.  If you believe, trust, and obey God, He will truly transform you by His Word today.

Have a great day!  God bless you.  

Louis & Elisa Quintana  

Yield Eternal Results

Titus 3:4-7

 ⁴But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

One of our favorite things to watch on T.V. is someone undergoing an extreme fashion makeover.  What a joy to watch these individuals get excited about their new look.  Seeing the before and after pictures is sometimes awe inspiring.  What an awesome transformation on the outside that takes place.  Unfortunately, nothing an individual does on the outside to improve their physical appearance has an eternal effect.  Only the awesome spiritual transformation that occurs inside a persons heart and mind when they give their life to Christ yields eternal results.

Yield eternal results by living out Romans 12:2, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Have a great day!  God bless you.

Louis & Elisa Quintana

Changed Into His Glorious Image

2 Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Everyone has a story.  What's your story?  Who are you? Where do you come from?  What life events have framed your world?  How did you get to where you are today?

Chances are, the condition your life is in now may not have happened overnight.  Many of us are on the road we are on due to choices and decisions we have made along life's journey.  Some good, some bad but mostly happening over time.  Ever have those thoughts within your own mind before and after you do something.  You might say, "I'm so glad I made that choice/decision," or "Why did I just do that?"  The truth is, even if you have given your life to Christ, you are going to have to make choices and decisions everyday that will lead you to victory or to defeat.

In 2 Corinthians 3:18 it says, "So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image."  Being "changed into his glorious image" is a process.  God can bring instant victory into someone's life if He chooses, however, more times than not, there is no accelerated path to change.  The path to change requires hard work through obedience, discipline, dying to self, and a whole lot of faith.  When you stay on this path the fruit of a Godly character and a clear conscious is a reward worth living for.

Have a great day!  God bless you.

Louis & Elisa Quintana

Where Do You Stay?

John 15:1-4

¹ “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

Growing up in California we thought everyone in Texas spoke with that famous Texas drawl we saw depicted in the movies.  To our surprise we found that most Texans our age don't have an accent at all.  There are definitely different words and expressions used here that we didn't hear growing up.  Like the word "fixin" means preparing or getting ready.  People say, "We are fixin' to go to the store."  The expression "That dog will hunt" means "it's possible" or saying "That dog won't hunt" means "it's impossible."  An example of this could be someone saying, "I think the Lakers are going to win the championship."  Your response might be "That dog will hunt!"  The expression, "Where do you stay?"  took us awhile to understand.  What people were asking is "Where do you live?"

As we think about how God transforms our lives when we make Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, the later expression makes a lot of sense.  In John 15:5, the greek word for "abide" is the word "meno."  It means "to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy)."  Many of us understand this because we know that "there is no place like home."  We "visit" our friends homes but we "stay" in our own home.  Home is where you spend quality time with your family.  It's a place you cherish and make life long memories with Dad, Mom, brothers and sisters.  As we "stay" in Christ we are positioning and connecting ourselves to the source of life.  How do we do this?  We do it by "staying" in faith, "staying" in His Word, and "staying" in fellowship with other believers.  The evidence of "staying" is that your life will begin to bear fruit.  The fruit of the Spirit evidenced in your life is a testimony of God's awesome transforming power at work today!

So, "Where do YOU stay?"

Have a great day!  God bless you.

Louis & Elisa Quintana 

Yield To The Holy Spirit

John 14:16

"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever,"

Ever find yourself in a situation when you're standing in line at the store, waiting to be seated at a restaurant, or put on hold on the telephone for what seems to be like an eternity?  The longer you wait the more you grow impatient.  You want service and you want it now!  Why is it that we can't wait for some things but then don't mind waiting for others?  The truth is, there are some things you can change and there are other things you can't.  The good news is that the things you have direct control over and the things that are controlled by others can be influenced by the Holy Spirit.  Influence that comes by way of changing you from the inside out or changing your circumstances from the outside in!  No matter which way, the Holy Spirit was sent to be your Helper.  

What do you need help with today?  Yield to the Holy Spirit and He will lead, guide, and direct you on your journey everyday.  

Have a great day!  God bless you.

Louis & Elisa Quintana

Marriage - God's Picture of Love

Ephesians 5:31-32,  

31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the Church (see also Genesis 2:24).

Since we have been married we have had a greater understanding of God's love and covenant with us.  Our love has deepened as we view our marriage as a similitude that God has given to show us what our relationship should be like with Him.  From Genesis to Revelation marriage was on God's mind!

Allow God to show you His love and teach you how to share it, especially if you are married.  

Have a great day!  God bless you.

Louis & Elisa Quintana

Keep Love In The Center

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, 13

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  ⁸Love never fails...¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

We have learned a lot about each other over the past twelve years but when we sit and really think about it we have learned more about ourselves.  Engaged couples often ask us, "what is marriage like?"  Our response:  Being married is awesome, wonderful, exciting, and adventurous!  However, it is like taking a hand held mirror, holding it in front of your face, and instantly getting an up close view of who you really are.

Early in our marriage there was a tendency to focus on each others weaknesses and inconsistencies rather than focusing on each others strengths.  We quickly learned that neither of us needs to say much to point out these things, the longer we're together the more they are exposed.  We also learned that the more we focus on them, the more it strains our relationship.  We have learned to focus on each others strengths which encourages us to want to change in the areas we know need improving.  These changes help bring us into greater unity and harmony and helps to keep love in the center of our relationship.  It's a continual learning and growing process.

Today focus on the strengths of your spouse, children, friends, family, co-workers and keep love in the center of your relationships.

Have a great day!  God bless you.

Louis & Elisa Quintana