M A Y
2 0 1 6
Our vision is to be a Holy Spirit driven church growing in the passionate love of Jesus so that together we can reach thousands and impact millions.
Pastoral Devo
God Looks at the Heart
This year has been full of “firsts” as I grieved the loss of my mom. Out of all the holidays, this last Mother's Day was the day when I felt the weight of her absence the most. I missed celebrating her as my mom and as Mother’s Day approached I realized that she was a person that I tried to emulate as a believer in Christ.
I didn't always think of my mom as a person who had a strong faith in God. I didn't understand the struggles she had with her identity in Christ or her brokenness from having been mistreated as a child. My judgment of how she handled tough times was clouded by my selfishness of my expectations of how I believed a mother should behave. I felt disappointed with her often times throughout my adult life because I judged her for not being a stronger person. What I didn’t know was that her heart was consistently focused on Jesus and she wrote to Him just about everyday as if she was writing to a dear friend.
After she died, my sister and I were cleaning out her house and we found her journals. We actually found close to 20 journals. These journals were filled with daily conversations that my mom had with Jesus. Some of the entries were about struggling with temptation, some were about celebrating answered prayer, and some were about her heart being broken as she cried out for God to comfort her. As I read through these journals it became clear to me that my mom had a relationship with Jesus that was completely based on love and trust.
My mom was not perfect; no mother is. She did the best with what life gave her and her faith healed the gaps of disappointment and discouragement when life didn't go according to plan. She definitely survived some tough circumstances with God's help.
When I read through her journals, I hear the voice of a woman that accepted Jesus as her Savior and friend. With His help there was nothing she could not overcome and no hurt that was so deep that couldn't be healed. Now I have nothing but a thankful heart for my mom. She has showed me how to have a genuine and intimate relationship with Jesus. She also has brought the following verse to life for me:
“But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’ ”
- 1 Samuel 16:7
I hope this devotional encourages you to thank Jesus for the gift of your mother. I challenge you to find ways to honor her. Thank her for planting and nurturing the seeds of faith that allowed you to grow your relationship with the Lord. Spend time with your mom and encourage one other. If she has left to be with the Lord, honor her memory by getting together with family to reminisce about good times you had together knowing that one day you will be together again.
God bless,
Christina Serafine
Children’s and Family Ministry Director
Upcoming Events
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Friday Night Service
We will meet every Friday in the Sanctuary at 6:30pm except for on the last Fridays of every month where we will be having our regular Burn 24-7 services. Please contact Pastor Julian at julian@ob1church.com for more information.
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We have an awesome, all-star team full of veterans and newbies. If you would like more information on how to join the team PLEASE reach out to me or grab me at church!
In His Love,
Davis
Davis@ob1church.com
OB1 Financial Update
Administrative Financial report
Thank you so much for your prayers, your faithful partnership, and for your participation in reaching the lost for God’s kingdom. For the month of April of 2016 we received $37,368.00 in the offering, which is roughly $3,000 dollars under budget for the month. However, we have been careful to not spend what we do not have. Please continue to pray and partner with us as we do our best to use wisely all of God’s resources for one purpose only—to reach thousands and impact millions and glorify His name.
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Email: admin@ob1church.com
Website: ob1church.com
Location: 4790 Santa Monica Avenue, San Diego, CA, United States
Phone: 619-223-7187
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