Potter's House Pasadena - CFM

Jeremiah 29: 11 - '...to give you a future and a hope...' Once upon a mountain top, 3 little trees stood and dreamed of what they would become. The first tree looked up to the stars saying, "I want to hold treasure; I want to be covered with gold and precious stones!" "I'll be the most beautiful treasure chest the world has ever seen!" The second tree said, "I want to be traveling mighty waters and powerful kings, I'll be the most powerful ship ever built!"  The third tree stood tall, gazing into heaven saying, "I do not wish to leave this mountain at all...instead I want to be so tall, that when people from below gaze upon me, they will look to God." Years had past and one day, 3 woodcutters climbed the mountain top...the first woodcutter saw the first tree and said, "This is perfect for me." With one swipe of the blade, the tree fell. "Now I shall become a great treasure chest," the first tree sa...

Numbers 23:20 - "...Behold I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it..." It is in the devil's nature to oppose, restrict, and curse the people of God. He will stop at nothing to make you and I very small...this is what witchcraft is designed to do; we, as the people of God must stand up and walk in the freedom that God has given us. Too many of God's children simply accept the circumstances they face, this allows the devil to tell you and I that the hell we are going through is either 'normal', or it's 'our fault.' This is a lie from hell! God's people are to be blessed...have dominion and authority - we no longer have to live under the tyranny of hell and its principalities - "...He whom the Son sets free is free indeed" It's time to do business with God and break the chains of witchcraft and curses off of our lives! First of all, you must recognize where the curse is coming from and ...

1st Peter 5: 6-7, "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." I give God all the glory for what He is doing in our lives. It's a beautiful thing to see the hand of God at work; it's one thing to talk about it, it's quite another to actually see Him at work! When was the last time, you spoke things by faith and then watched them unfold? Do you remember? Or, has it been a little too long since you've spoken by faith? There must be an element of humility at work in order to see what you're believing Him for. As a child of God, you have been blessed with a powerful gift - the gift of CHOICE. You choose your own destiny in Christ, you also choose whether or not you're going to walk in victory. This wonderful gift salvation was given to you, but since then, what have you done with that gift? The Lord wants to raise you up, but He will not compet...

Romans 12: 1 - 2, "I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice; holy and acceptable to God as your reasonable service. Be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind; that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God" God is truly faithful in what He's doing in our church just in the past 2 months. New people are coming in, the church is blessed, and people are rising up to do the will of God. I am so proud of the church that Jesus has allowed me to pastor! We are in the harvest - time of the year, and reaping the benefits of God's goodness through sacrificial giving, and personal evangelism. Our bible studies are going to start next Friday, and the leaders of them are already brain-storming about Halloween, and how they can make a significant impact that night! As for my family and I, we are truly blessed and well taken care of. The Lord has me...

"Do more than belong, participate. Do more than care, help. Do more than believe, practice. Do more than be fair, be kind. Do more than forgive, forget. Do more than dream, work." - William Arthur Ward The currency of the world causes things to be bought or sold, ownership, transactions, etc. The same is true with our faith in the Kingdom of God...our currency is FAITH. This stirs the Lord to act on our behalf. However, know this, nothing happens until we move. Proverbs 13:4 - "The lazy desire, yet have nothing..."  You can want all you want to, but until you put forth an effort, your desires many times will go unnoticed and unheard. Unbelief is attached to the stationary, the immovable...we must go forward, in order to see the hand of God move on our behalf. Exodus 14: 10-16 speaks of the children of Israel facing terrible odds, as the armies of Egypt were bearing down upon them...The key to the scripture however, is found in verses 15 and 16. Moses d...

                                          Matthew 18:3 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. This was Jesus' answer to some of His own disciples, who had been asking that somewhat half-curious, self-confident question, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?" Everybody is not converted who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ. Three things here— The Need of Conversion. "Except ye turn and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven." We may be disciples, in a sense, and yet be unfit for the Kingdom of God. Those who don't need to be converted are those who, at some time or other, have been converted, because, Isaiah 53:6 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to hi...

I finally got a chance to speak with pain; I had a lot of questions for pain to answer hopefully. The first question was obvious – Who asked you to come here? No answer Why do you afflict my life? Still no answer Then I realized I was asking the wrong questions, so I shouted out: Who do you think you are? Pain turned around and finally answered, ‘O just a friend.’ Well you’re no friend of mine! At this, pain started laughing hysterically then said, ‘I remind you of your frailty, your capabilities and your nature, without me you would start thinking that you’re perfect; or even God Himself! I thought about what pain said, then he rose up and asked me…’ Can I go now? I have work to do’ So I asked pain, where are you going? He replied, not very far, I’m still working in this house . I begged pain to leave…he said, “I can leave but there’s a problem.” What’s that? He answered, if I leave, you would have no motivation to seek God. With that, pain turned and walked away – ...

Psalm 139:1-7 O Lord, You have searched me and known me.  You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.  You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.  For there is not a word on my tongue,  But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.  You have hedged me behind and before, a nd laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;  It is high, I cannot attain it.  Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Or where can I flee from Your presence? This is possibly the understatement of the year when I express - "We need the Holy Spirit!"  His ministry is powerful, not only for the church but even in the world. John 16: 5 - 11 , But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I d...

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 (NKJV) The Great Apostasy 2 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.  2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 (NKJV) 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the ...

James 4: 13 - 14, 'Come now you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit." You simply do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.' How do you live your life? What are you doing with the time you have on this earth? One thing is for sure, you are not guaranteed another moment...therefore, it is to our advantage that we live our lives according to the plan and purpose of God. Many believers and non-believers live without God. Isn't that interesting? It's amazing how many of God's children make everyday critical living decisions without considering the will of God! We call people like this 'Atheists' - that term literally means, "Without God"  We would be absolutely offended if someone came up to us and called us an atheist! "How dare you call me that, I love God!...

John 3: 16 - 17, 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him, might be saved.' One thing is for certain - God loves you and He loves me! He sent His One and only Son down to us, to become one of us, that He may save all of us. This wasn't an easy decision to make. It has been said and agreed upon that the worse pain any human being can ever experience is the loss of a child by way of death. While I've never experienced this pain myself, my mother has. My sister died 9 years ago, and I could only watch in horror, disbelief and helplessness, as my mother suffered her abrupt end to life. I remember going to the wake, and it took most of the ushers to hold my mom up as she passed by the casket, the anguish and pain in her eyes was nearly unbearable. The only thing that ke...

Psalm 122:1-2 (NKJV) I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.” 2 Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! There was a magazine article of Jesus dressed in blue jeans, gold chain and flowing hair with the caption: 'Follow Jesus and forget the church!' That's the new religious direction people are moving in, but without the local church - there is no hope at all for humanity! We are trying to get away from the very institution, Jesus died for! You can hear the passion in the words David wrote concerning the house of our God. We can never stray from the true value of the local church and all that it stands for. Genesis 28:12-16 (NKJV) 12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the Go...

Hebrews 12: 29 - 'Our God is a consuming fire...'  I thank my God that we were able to witness this momentous occasion. My brother (Casi), and my sister (Veronica), tied the knot this morning! What a beautiful story of integrity, fidelity, and prayerful persistence! According to testimony...Veronica received a word from Pastor Dillard October 2014 that her prayers would be answered and the one she has been praying for would be by her side not too long from now...this has actually come true!! Through fasting, prayer, counseling and perseverance...that prayer was answered in a big way! Casi, a man of the penal system, made some serious decisions to turn his life around and give Jesus his life. This took a lot of soul - searching, and a lot of humility; usually a man of great pride and arrogance, now had to come to grips with the truth that he was in desperate need of the blood of Jesus. His love for Veronica had surfaced, but her commitment to Christ through him for a loop...

Proverbs 13:15-16 (NKJV) 15 Good understanding gains favor, but the way of the unfaithful is hard. 16 Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool lays open his folly. Prudent – ‘Acting with or showing care and thought for the future’ Synonyms – Wise / Well advised / sensible / sage / shrewd / cautious / thrifty Latin word provident…foreseeing or attending to This word has lost circulation over the years. Look at the time span: 180s – 2010 In the 1800s it was used .003% in the English language (about 30,000 times for 1 billion people) In the new millennium it was used .0005% in English (about 35,000 times for 7 billion people) As you can see it dropped dramatically. These statistics basically tell us what we should already know about our society and culture…that is we care more about Today, than we do Tomorrow. Over the past 200+ years, we’ve failed in exercising wisdom, planning, and taking godly counsel. This is why people continue to make the same mistakes over...

Judges 6:12-14 (NKJV) 12 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” 13 Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” 14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” Let me ask you, do you still believe in miracles? Do you believe that God can come through and save the day? Will God move in such a way, that no one can explain it? Does He still work like that today? That is the million dollar question for the modern-day Christian. This can be a hard pill to swallow because, while we are excited and believe God for other people - we find it nearly impossible to believe ...

Numbers 20:1-13 Moses’ Error at Kadesh 20　Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there. 2　Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3　And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: "If only we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! 4　Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? 5　And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink." 6　So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7　Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8　"Take the rod; you and yo...