Grace City Comics making special guest appearance @Albuquerque Comic Expo June 24-26!

Come check out our booth this weekend!
Grace City Comics exists to provide
family-friendly, and super-hero comics
at an affordable price.

"Where sin increased, GRACE abounded
all the more."

Grace City Comics
Las Vegas, NV
702-280-4523
email: gracecitycomics@cox.net

Welcome to Albuquerque Comic Expo!

The Albuquerque Comic Expo is New Mexico’s premier comic book, pop culture and entertainment event! Taking place June 24th-26th at the Albuquerque Convention Center, ACE will feature the absolute best in comic books, movies, television, and more!

ACE – it’s anything but conventional!

God's Work Among E. Europeans in Las Vegas: Hungary

So I'm reading "God's Smuggler: Brother Andrew"

(Thanks Eric B., for the book) It's the story of how God changed the life of a

Dutchman, and called him to share the good news of Jesus deep within the U.S.S.R.,and

give out Bibles, encourage persecuted Christians, etc.; earlier today I had coffee

with a Hungarian friend (I met thru a Romanian church member), and another friend (who

happens to be Hungarian). So, it turns out, my other friend used to work FOR Brother Andrew. We talked about the Hungarian Revo of 1955 today (and they talked in Hungarian), and John 3:16. We are hoping to start a Hungarian Bible Study soon. Tonight at coffee, I opened up the book, and sure enough, the next page talked about the Hungarian Revo of 1955. :) Is God Amazing, or what?

C a t a l y s t.

Catalyst...
The definition of this word, is, "a person or thing that causes an important change to take place" (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/catalyst).

I had an amazing opportunity to attend "Catalyst West Coast" (http://www.catalystspace.com/events/westcoast/) last Thursday-Friday (April 23-24, 2009) at Mariner's Church, in Irvine (the O.C.), California.

I went with all of the staff guys from Northstar. We had a blast chilling/bonding as a team, but also I was blown away by what I learned, and what God taught me. Many of us said the phrase "Catalyst is like drinking water from a fire hydrant" several times during and afterwards. This, although not from a cursory reading, is a good thing.

Andy Stanley opened up things by challenging us to never forsake the vision that God has given us for ministry. "The higher you move up, the more uncertainty there is," Andy said, "no matter what organization you are in." He went on to say, "Uncertainty, is not an indication of poor leadership, It's ok to be uncertain, but not ok to be unclear. Our plans may change, but the vision remains the same. Sacrifice plans for the sake of the vision. In times of uncertainty, be honest with your leaders and followers, and confidently express your uncertainty." http://www.northpoint.org

Me: The most important thing that Andy said I think, was that we all need grace. Not only the grace to be forgiven of our sins, but the grace daily from God to live, lead, love, and learn that we do not know it all.

My goodness, I don't like writing long blogs, and can already tell this is wanting to be long. What if I just gave everyone a "one-quote wonder" from each speaker, so you can get a "taste of being at Catalyst." ;-)

Guy Kawasaki, "Niche thyself" (unique, valuable) http://www.guykawasaki.com

Catherine Rohr, "Prison Entrepreneurship Program has a 98% employment rate."
http://www.prisonentrepreneurship.org

Craig Groeschel, "Be a Line 3 Christian...I believe enough to give my life for it." http://www.lifechurch.tv

Ravi Zacharias, "Secular Psychologists now say that the sacredness of life has vanished, we have plundered life." Ravi also said, "We need to understand the Dimension of Eternity, Set your minds on things above, on the indestructible character of God." http://www.rzim.org

Brian Houston (Hillsong Church), "Build HIS church, provide an environment where people can flourish." http://www.hillsong.com

Nick Vujicic, "I would be dishonoring to God if I didn't live my life believing that I can change the world." http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org

Conversation on Justice/Anti-Human Trafficking Panel (Jeannie Mai-Television Host, Naomi Zacharias/Wellspring International, Bethany Hoang/International Justice Mission): "27 Million people are in slavery today to sex trafficking." http://www.wellspringinternational.org, http://www.ijm.org

Erwin McManus, "We should be more committed to the dreams of others, than our own." http://www.mosaic.org

Rick Warren, "You can't win your enemies to Christ, only your friends." and "The job of a leader/pastor is to move someone from 'Come and see,' to 'Come and die.'"
http://www.saddleback.com

Jud Wilhite, "What's funny in photoshop, isn't funny in real life." and "Delegate, give power away." http://www.centralchristian.com

Francis Chan, "Our churches are stoppable. I'm astonished at how scared they are. When do we pray for boldness?" http://www.cornerstonesimi.com

Impacting Your City (Luis Palau http://www.palau.org and Kevin Palau, and John Bishop-http://www.livinghopechurch.com) God used them to serve the Portland community, and 25,000 came to the outreach event!

Perry Noble, "Leadership is as easy as listening to God..We can get too far from the vision. If we were more concerned about repentance than attendance, revival would sweep the U.S.A." http://www.newspring.cc

I don't know what more I can add to the above, other than the fact that we were drawn closer to God through worship (music), led by Hillsong, Steve Fee, and others.

As soon as I swallow all of the water that I have been drinking, I will let you know what I have processed, and how. You can pray for that. I know things are different, in a good way. And Las Vegas will not be the same because of what is to come (His goodness). I am hoping and trusting that many Eastern Europeans and youth who live here will get a drink.

Grace on "Good?" Friday.

Today here in the good 'ole U.S.A. we celebrate "Good Friday." Surprisingly yes, we still -do- celebrate it publicly. But what is Good Friday? and as some (including myself) believe, what is Good Wednesday? (Long story for another blog Lol).

You might be asking yourself, "How could that Friday when Jesus died be good?" Well that is a great question actually! It is horrible that we as humans killed on a cross (crucified) God's perfect gift to us, His Son, Jesus the Messiah. Did God know this would happen? Sure. Was it part of His perfect plan to rescue people like us from our rebellious ways? Absolutely! So, why is it good? Well, Good because, see, we as people have a HUGE problem. That's huge with 10 to the 20th power attached to it. S I N. That is our problem. Not just a church word, it's real day-to-day stuff. We lie to each other, steal, lust, puff, brag about ourselves, cut people off in traffic, take God's name in vain. See, we as people do all of these things, because, it's our nature to do so. And what do we deserve for this? It may sound harsh, but it's not, we deserve to be separated from God forever. See, God is perfect, and cannot look at any of us who have sin. The good news is that Jesus His Son, died in our place, on the cross, to PAY for the HUGE insurmountable sin debt that we all have. Isn't that good news? See why it's called Good Friday?

OK, you might be telling yourself. That's great. SO Jesus died for our sins. Now what? Well, it's not enough just to know these things. We must receive them for ourselves. If you know about flying, buy a ticket, yet never get on a plane, the ticket pretty much doesn't help you out, right? Well, Jesus has paid for our debt of sin, and He simply says "Anyone who receives Me, to those people I will give the right to become children of God, simply by believing in My name-" -paraphrased from the Gospel of John. Once we change our mind about our sinful lives (repent) and believe (trust) that Jesus died for us, we are radically, powerfully, rescued from our sins, and transformed into the new, amazing person, that God intends us to be. WE get a new Passport, a heavenly one, to the Heavenly Kingdom! : ) "God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of the Son whom he loves" (from Colossians), Isn't that something to be thankful for? If you never have admitted to God that you have blown it (sinned), and received Jesus' payment for your sins, isn't today a great day to do just that? On Good Friday?
: ) Simply just pray and do just that. God will hear. He's always listening to those who ask to be rescued.

And three days later, He arose : ) (Proving that He is the Messiah, and can make us righteous before God).

HE knows what is in the darkness...

I stumbled across this verse from Daniel the other day. It was really encouraging later to find out that it was something that God had encouraged some friends with previously, (2:22) but they hadn't found the reference yet to Daniel.

"It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows that is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him." Daniel 2:22 (Old Testament, The Bible).

This verse has really encouraged me, as I serve here in Las Vegas. It would be easy to "curse" the darkness that is present here (This Present Darkness). You don't have to go very far. Just drive down a major cross street and you will see it. But, instead of cursing the darkness, what if we claimed this promise from God?

God is the only one who can reveal "profound" and "hidden" things. As much as Modern Man would like to think he could do these things, he simply cannot. Man cannot even balance a national budget, prevent crime, stop abortion, prevent wars, stop human trafficking, stop the practice of child soldiers in Africa, or most importantly, Man cannot change a human heart...

If we would only be in touch with God, through a personal relationship with Him, through accepting the free gift that His Son Jesus gave us (His death on the cross for our sins). When we receive His forgiveness into our lives by faith, we then can know the profound and hidden things God offers, which are revealed in Christ (in whom are hidden all the treasures of knowledge and wisdom-Colossians 2:3, New Testament-The Bible).

Once we know Christ, we will realize what Daniel says above...God reveals truth, He already knows what is in the darkness. He is not surprised by anything that happens here in Las Vegas, or any other city in the world...And most importantly, "Light dwells with Him." If we want to be in the light, we should walk with Jesus. He said, "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life" (The Gospel of John, Chapter VIII, Verse XII).

So, the next time you are frightened by the darkness (physical or spiritual). Remember whose you are, and remember that He dwells in light. He is ready and willing to reveal the profound and secret things...Just ask Him.

Prayer IS the Battle.

So yeah it's funny how sometimes when God calls us to do something new, like say, picking up everything you own, and moving 1,941 miles across the United States of America, to a desert (surrounded by snow-capped mountains) that you might have to "figure out" things...Some of the questions I've been asking have been...

1) How do you reach around 15,000 Eastern Europeans in LV with an urgent message?

2) How do you even find those people?

3) How much cigarette smoke can you actually take in (second-hand) w/o getting lung cancer? (Seriously, in some of the cafe's it's bad. You need a fog light to find your way around ;)

4) How can I even meet the people in the first place, to reach them with the life-saving message, after I've found them, they being one of the 15,000 people in a city of 2,000,000 people?

The answer is, pretty simple once you think about it...

Prayer...

See, lots of us in the Western church think somehow that prayer is something we do AFTER the battle. The battle? That would be something that William Wallace would engage in...But what about the Spiritual Battle...could it be sharing a message from the Truth, sharing the life-saving message about Jesus, saving your marriage, feeding the poor, helping those with HIV, showing God's love to someone stuck in prostitution, etc...But, even though all of those things are important...We, I have lost the battle if I haven't prayed, First.

Prayer IS the Battle. Here is what Paul, one of the greatest prayers, and goers, said about it in The Bible "Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should. Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone." from the book of Colossians, in the New Testament. Chapter IV verses II through VI.

Walking by Grace in "Grace City."

So I've been here nearly four weeks now! Time flies. I am so thankful for all that God is doing here. I am serving part-time as Youth Pastor at Northstar Baptist (a church plant/re-start) in Northern Las Vegas. The last few weeks we truly have seen God's grace at work. Not only have many visitors been coming, for Pastor Mike's "Fireproof" series, but 3 people indicated decisions last week to Trust Jesus and His sacrifice to be forgiven of their sins, and start their bran-new relationship with God. Much praise, props, and thanks to our Great God for what HE is doing there. Please keep us in prayer this coming Sunday, Feb. 15th, we will be showing the "Fireproof" Movie, and also Mike will be sharing the gospel at the end. Also please pray for God's direction, and guidance for the Youth Ministry.

The other day I actually awoke at 6:00 A.M. (I know many of you are probably sitting at your computer in disbelief), but when God reminds you to wake up, through speaking to your heart, it's a great idea! : ) I had needed some time to get away from "The city." Sometimes the sites and images which just simply come into view by driving through the city can distract you. I had a great time getting away to Red Rock National Canyon, just literally <10 miles West of Vegas. We recently had some snow, and inspired by Photographer Peter Lik (whose incredible galleries decorate the strip's casino malls), who took a picture of Red Rocks, just after the impressive December Snowfall. So, I had a great time reading the Word, praying for myself and for the city, for Eastern Europeans, for Northstar, and for God to get the glory props and credit for what HE is about to do in Grace City...."Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more." Romans 5:20b

Also keep the Eastern European Ministry in your prayers. I have many leads, and God is opening many doors. Please pray for wisdom to know which avenues to follow, and which streets to u-turn. Also I am overwhelmed at opportunities to share the gospel with people from the follow countries: Israel, Brasil, Albania, Bulgaria,..and pray for those I've also met from Russia, Serbia, Bosnia, and other places. God is at work here!