Daily Reading: Fasting Purposes Isaiah 58:6-9

Challenge 21: Make dinner for someone else

Prayer Target: Courage to step out, do the impossible, and be in God’s perfect will for our lives.

Today, I can’t help but to relfect on last night’s  Good Friday service.

The presence of God was so sweet. You could sense a spirit of gratitude and worship unto God for sending His Son to die on the cross. It was amazing! Then our Pastor came and shared a message from his heart on Forgiveness and becoming more like Jesus, Loving like Jesus, Working like Jesus, and Forgiving like Jesus.

More Like Jesus

Let us be more like Jesus
In everything we do;
Let’s live a life of service,
A life that’s fresh and new.

Let’s relinquish worldly things,
And not be slaves to fashion;
Let’s fill our hearts with love,
Forgiveness and compassion.

Yes, let’s be more like Jesus,
Being always in God’s will,
For if Jesus’ light shines through us,
Our earthly purpose we’ll fulfill.

Let’s strive to be more like Jesus and make the gospel attractive.

Ana Gomez

Prayer Target: Continual desire, passion and hunger for more of God

Today’sReading: Mark 2:1-5. “They brought a paraplegic to him, carried by four men.”

STRETCHER BEARER: A person who carries one end of a stretcher.

Today the call is going out for someone to stand in the gap!  VOSD Ladies have answered that call during these last 20 days and NOW we are those stretcher bearer’s for others.

Today we want to acknowledge our stretcher bearer’s:

“Where to begin…I have many people to thank.  First my personal Lord and Savior, my two beautiful boys and my little sister Destiny.  There’s something about those who believe in you and encourage you that God REALLY does have a Purpose for your life.  I felt loved and encouraged from the Gomez Family, Sister Ana, for discipling me, Sister Georgina for inspiring me and many more. - Angelica Deanda, Kidz Gang Destiny Shaper

“I appreciate my mom and dad so much because they work so hard for me and my brother’s and sisters to have a better life then they had.  They provide everything we need like groceries, school supplies, clothes, and more.  One day I’ll be able to bless them back because they’ve been a blessing to me.” – Joclyn Del Rosario, Gang Girl 12 years old   

   I am truley grateful for my mom & dad.  They prayed me in.  My sister, who always lived by example how a TRUE Christian should live.  My brother who NEVER gave up on me. My Aunt Kathy Heredia who discipled me to be a Passionate person.  And my pastors, Pastor Al & Georgina Valdez, they invested in my life in 2004 at the UTC and never knew God would bring me to their City. And last but not least, my husband, Pastor Aldo Arguello, thanks babe for just being you, because you are incrediable! xoxo.” - Charlene Arguello, New Comers  

GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE tonight at 7pm Dress Your BEST!

For information on who & how to write a letter to an inmate, please email Sister Romie at romievc@sbcglobal.net

Today’s Challenge – Lead Someone to the Lord

Prayer Target – Every member will be in alignment with the Vision of our Pastor’s and our Church.

 Joshua chapters 2 & 6

Rahab was a prostitute. She lived physically and morally on the edge of society. Her house was located on the wall of the city and was strategically placed to house travelers. This was a prime location for her business.

Rahab had heard of the God of Israel and acted in faith. She hid the spies and faced the risk of being killed if caught by the authorities. However Rahab knew she had to take a step of faith to get out of her present predicament. She made the decision to act in faith and hide the spies in her home.

VOSD Ladies,

WE ARE CALLED TO THE TASK OF EVANGELIZING AND DISCIPLING THE HURTING PEOPLE OF THE WORLD WITH THE MESSAGE OF HOPE AND PLAN OF JESUS CHRIST.

Just like Rahab, we have to be those women that will be obedient and abide and believe in His promise. No matter your stand in life, where you are in life, or who you are a step of faith in Jesus Christ can turn your destiny around.

God is still searching through those alleys and those dark places in our cities, to find the harlots, the drug addicts, the gang member, and the hopeless. We need to show them the way of salvation.

Let’s not forget to lead someone to the Lord!

Love your Sister’s,

Anita, Evelyn, Yolanda

Good Morning Ladies,

In today’s reading we discover the heart of a great woman Mary the mother of Jesus. She is one of the most widely known figures in Christianity. She is most commonly known for her sacrifice and the miracle of Jesus’ birth, but today I want to highlight a character trait in her that we can learn from as woman of God. What seperated Mary from the rest was her obedience to God and it became crucial to the calling God placed over her life.

 Zechariah responded with a question out of doubt and mistrust to Gods word and as a result we find out that his mouth had become mute and wasn’t able to speak until the promise from the angel of the lord had been fulfilled. The second promise God gave in this chapter was to Mary that she should carry the child of God. When the angel finished telling her this miraculous promise she responds with great humility and trust in God. She first asks the angel how could this happen if she was a virgin and the angel explained to her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she responded in Luke 1:38  

 “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”

Even though this promise God gave to Mary had never been done before Mary believed God with unshakable faith that was put to the test. Mary had to face her family, the town, and even her husband and she had an attitude of humility and gratefulness to God that he would choose her. Mary was the perfect vessel for God to use because  she knew who she was in God.

 Today’s challenge is to give a gift to the women’s home. So I would like to encourage you to participate in this challenge and give back to these ladies on the forefront of our ministry. 

Lets strive today to be like Mary who carried a countenance of obedience, humility, and selflessness. Lets catch the heartbeat of our Pastors and sow back into the backbone of our church!

Love you and God Bless,

Daniella Sanchez, Michelle Castillo and Sara Evangelista

Women of Faith

Oh, Sarah! What have you done? My first thought was how could she give her hand maid to her husband Abraham, how could any woman do such a thing? But how many times have we failed?  As I continued to study this passage more was revealed to me of how we can be like Sarah.   The Lord gave her a promise, that at her age she would have a son, and she would be a “mother of  nations” (Gen. 17:16).  Although the Angel of the Lord gave her promises, she still doubted. Sarah was not perfect, in the beginning her faith was weak, but with time, she grew into a great woman of faith, Sarah’s faith won her the honor of being the only woman among the top 5 examples God gave to exemplify true faith in (Hebrews 11:11).

Sarah was far from being perfect.  She lacked faith which resulted in her impatience allowing her emotions and actions to turn from rational thinking to being “irrational”.  Her actions resulted in the birth of Ishmael, and the lack of self control, lack of charity which resulted in her quarrelling with her husband Abraham, being unjust to Hagar, and disinheriting Ishmael.  She thought she could help God, by interfering in His plans.  In spite of her outbreak Sarah allows God to dig deep within and change her.  Her life takes a turn for the good.  She is known to be obedient and filled with faith. From having weak faith, to being named a woman of great faith!  Her faith brought forth the promised son, Isaac, and from him, ultimately, Christ Himself.  It does not end there, but this inheritance is passed on to us. For all women are declared spiritual daughters of Sarah (1Peter 3:6).

Sister Julie takes hold of this faith and because of her obedience her children are heirs of God’s great plan.  We have our very own spiritual mom, Georgina; that keeps the faith pure in her heart and has transmitted it to us women here today.  She leads us into spiritual growth by teaching us how to read our bible, pray, and fast.  Her faith is a result of this wonderful legacy.

So remember, God does not require that you be perfect, nor does He promise that your life will be, only that you are willing to answer the call.

VOSD Sisters,

As we dig into the word of God, we come across a woman in the Bible who is not spoken of much, although, she was a strong and vital part of Jesus’ ministry. Susanna was one of the three women who followed Jesus from every city and village and sharing her powerful testimony of the fact that Jesus healed her. She, along with Mary Magdalene and Joanna, supported the whole ministry out of their own means. The author, Luke tells us about these women; how they were such a vital part of proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God alongside the disciples.

Imagine these women walking with Jesus, unsure of what they could possibly contribute to the ministry. Much like them, maybe you may feel like you don’t have much to offer. But we couldn’t be further from the truth, like these women there are many things that we have to offer to the Lord. With all of the diversities in our VOSD Women and GANG Girls, all of our different life experiences and even our hurts, there is so much we can offer the Lord.

One thing we have in common with these women is that Jesus healed us all in one way or another. Out of gratitude for what God has done in our lives, how can we not give back! We need to continue to be those strong faithful women that support our church and ministries, just as the women did back then. Those who share in the costs of ministry, participate as partners in the ministry.

Not only did these women give of their own substance, they also ministered to the people along side of the twelve disciples. We have an upcoming generation of young girls, GANG Girls, which need to capture this same heart and spirit as Susanna and the other women of God. They need to be imparted into, to have time invested into them and to be told of your life’s experiences that they may learn from you.

Today’s challenge is to “Adopt a GANG Girl” our young ladies need women that will: impart, invest, mentor and teach them how to become a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Let’s be those faithful women who partner with our church to reach the hurting people of the world and to share the gospel. They Need You!

Luke 8:1-3
Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the Kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women that had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities-Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come 7 demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him out of their own substance.

Love you,
Celeste Aragon, Veronica Chavira, and Delilah Briceno (GANG Girl)

As we are half way into our fast, you can’t help but to feel a deep urgency for more of God as we, together, give our very BEST to Him every day in seeking and separating unto Him! Today, Let’s look at the life of a woman who experienced Jesus for herself.

Joanna

Joanna was the wife of Chuza, a steward of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee (his father, Herod The Great, attempted to have the Christ killed as an infant, while Herod Antipas saw the deaths of both Jesus Christ and John the Baptist. Joanna was among the many women who were disciples of Christ; After the martyrdom of Jesus, Joanna joined other women and went to the tomb with spices and ointments to wrap up the dead body of the Master. Arriving there, they found the empty tomb, thus being able to testify the survival of the Spirit after the death of the body, as Jesus had taught them.

Why Do We Fast? 

• We Want more of God
• To see lives transformed by His Power

Ladies,

We too can testify about Jesus who is alive and well in our lives and has personally resurrected us from the dead!! Let’s continue to draw closer to God and remember in our prayers those who do not know Him as we approach Easter Resurrection Sunday!

With Love,

Nikki, Briana, Zanelle, Averi, & Julie

PRAYER TARGET: That our church continue to be a lighthouse in our community, city and globally.

DON’T FORGET TONIGHT IS “THE GREAT ESCAPE” PRAYER GATHERING FROM 10PM-12AM!

TODAY’S CHALLENGE: Make a dinner for a family, invite them over.

DAILY BIBLE READING: Daniel 1:8-21

OUR DEDICATION DETERMINES OUR DESTINY

We had a great time studying about Daniel. We learned that Daniel was a man of dedication, determination and faith. Through his fast we see that Daniel had overcome obstacles of temptation that were put in front of him. In this time, Daniel did not allow himself to become distracted; he was a man of prayer who kept his faith and trust in God. He was a faithful man! Daniel only desired to be in the perfect will of God and wasn’t going to settle for less. Through his faithfulness to his fast, Daniel gained wisdom, understanding, physical strength and was placed in the perfect will of the Lord. Daniel was able to come to this place in his life because he let God’s Word completely engulf him. He truly hid God’s Word in his heart, I believe that is what kept him from sinning against God. Daniel refused to harbor or hide sin.

Daniel encourages us to “Stick It Out”. No matter what may come our way if we keep our trust in God, we are going to be BLESSED!! We must be dedicated and committed to this fast in order to see God’s full blessing in our lives. We don’t want just half of what God wants to give us. We should desire the whole thing!! We pray that you are blessed and that you stick it out and complete this 21 day fast with us. You can do it!

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of  blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9

Stay focused, you’re more than halfway there! 

- Monica Hernandez, Amanda Oliver & Julie Zegers

1 Samuel 1: 20 So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel saying, “Because I asked the LORD for him.”

Hannah was a women who could not bear children. Through out this chapter we see she didn’t just sit around waiting for her miracle but she took action!

Vs 10 In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly. 11 And she made a vow, saying, “LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

She prayed and had FAITH!  Faith to believe God could give her a son.What are you believing God for on this fast?  Maybe for a salvation for a love one a healing or even a child. Stand firm and believe God could do it. Just like he did for Hannah.

Let’s also lift up baby Myla in our prayers believing God could heal her and bring her home to her mommy, Daddy and her big sister.

Angela, Eleanor and Averi