You're in swaddling cloths too!

Aside from wrapping babies, swaddling clothes were used to prepare dead bodies for burial. Jesus was born and wrapped in dead mans cloths as a sign of his call to die. When we are born again we become wrapped in dead cloths, and we are called to die daily! The dead cloths are this flesh, (Body of Sin). Romans 6:6

Consider this reality: You are walking around today DEAD ON THE OUTER MAN but ALIVE ON THE INNER MAN. The outer man (the flesh) is the life of sin; the inner man (the spirit) is the Life of Christ. The more you die to the flesh, the more alive you become to the spirit! Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes and so are we!

The swaddling cloths will become old and slowly waist away!

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. - 2Corinthians 4:16

Your flesh should be in constant state of decline and decay. Decay means to decline in quality gradually and steadily, or cause something to undergo such a decline, to decrease gradually in magnitude, the fading away of a musical note

The power of sin, lust for sin, desire for sin and all that is of the flesh, is in constant decay within the life of the believer. We are wrapped in swaddling clothes, like Christ. This speaks of our daily dieing and rising with Christ. The Christmas story is not about a baby lying in a manger any longer. It is about a savior God, who bids man to come and die with Him. God is not asking for a blood sacrifice any longer, he is looking for men and women who will be living sacrifices. Those who will die daily with Him. If we say with Paul “I die daily” 1 Corinthians 15:31, we will know what it is to be risen daily into new life.

What if I owned an automobile that needed to be taken into the shop at least once a week for servicing? It had some malfunction, which caused it to stall every few days. You would probably tell me that I either needed a new vehicle or a new shop. What if I told you that the shop I took it to every week was called a gas station and the service it received was gasoline? You would obviously have a different attitude since automobiles are designed with a dependency on fuel. All who operate motor vehicles are in constant need for a source of gasoline. To consider filling a tank with premium gas and enjoying peak performance only to later fill the same tank with water and experience engine stall, is to understand the intensity of Paul’s confrontation. “You foolish Galatians…Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” Galatians 3:1-3 The Christian life is designed for constant dependency on Christ as our source. Just as we received the Spirit of God by believing in the finished work of the Cross-, we also must receive power to live out that finished work by faith in the Cross. It is the cross alone for salvation and the cross alone for sanctification. A few degrees away from this truth are enough to throw us entirely off course. God is still calling us to the highest standard of faith, to be a Cross-centered church.

For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

1Corinthians 2:2

Years ago I heard a riddle that says something like this; let’s say you could climb into a space craft that had the ability to travel at the speed of light. You are 25 years old when you boarded the ship and blasted off, and were gone for 100 years, how old would you be when you returned? The simple answer would be 125 years old. But we know that questions like this don’t have the simple answer. The answer is that you would still be 25 years old when you returned. Apparently at the speed of light the particles that make up our human body would undergo a process of breaking down into smaller particles until we essentially become the very essence of light. You would be removed from the realm of life and transferred into the realm of light. If you found this content remotely interesting, you may have some geek-like tendencies. If not however, please allow to seaway into my reason for sharing this with you. Much like the realm of light travel, there is a mysterious unseen realm that transcends space-time. I know that sounds kind of weird and mystical or even silly, but if you will bear with me for a few moments I want to explain some amazing things to you today.

The dictionary defines realm as a particular area or space, a domain or a kingdom. God has created a realm for man to step into. In this realm are some incredible solutions! May I be so bold as to say that in this realm are the solutions for every known problem in the world today? From addiction to world poverty, the true source of social justice and reconciliation emanates from this sphere of divine creation. There are three kinds of people in the world today. Those whom God is calling into this realm, those who have answered the call and stepped into this realm and those who stepped in at one time and have walked away. It is THE REALM OF THE CROSS. Which person are you?



May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. -Galatians 6:14

To the world the cross was a terror, to God it is a tool. To man the cross was shameful; to God it is the path to victory. To onlookers the cross was a gory display of torture; to Jesus Christ it was glorious display of love. Some amazing things occurred at the cross and are waiting to be experienced today. God calls us into this realm so the realities of the cross can become our realities.

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. -Romans 6:3-9

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family.

Thanksgiving Day- a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness.

Let us never forget what we are truly thankful for. I would like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for my salvation. Without Christ I am nothing.

Texas A&M students to unveil architectural concepts for faith-based drug rehab center

Texas A&M architecture students will unveil designs for a new facility to house the Victory Family Recovery Center, an inner city faith-based drug treatment program in Houston, during a public presentation set for 5 p.m. Nov. 19 at Victory Family Church, 712 Llano St. in Pasadena.

Five alternative architectural designs for the 14-year-old center will be presented in models and sketches developed by students in a fourth-year healthcare architecture studio led by George J. Mann, holder of the Skaggs-Sprague Endowed Chair in Health Facilities Design at Texas A&M University.

“The students were challenged to create a facility that better portrays the transformative mission of the Victory Family, which has been hampered by the run-down, dilapidated buildings currently in use,” said Steve Treviño, the center director.

The nonprofit Victory Family Recovery Center currently provides a no-cost, Christian faith-based six-month residential recovery program for men and women with substance abuse problems.

“Our mission is to bring Jesus to hurting people, restore families, change lives and provide a safe haven for people where their addictive natures can be overcome through the power of Jesus Christ,” said Treviño.

Located at 222 Royder St. in Houston, the center is mostly housed in a two-story apartment building that was donated to Victory Family Church in 1992. At the time, Treviño said, the building had become a magnet for drug and criminal activity.

The recovery center opened in 1994 as a registered 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization in the rehabilitated apartment building and it has since expanded to included two adjacent homes.

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The Message of the Cross- 1Corinthians 1:18

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Every pastor should be preaching this. The reality is that they are not. Churches today have deviated from the gospel of the Cross and drifted into a gospel of self.

This is not a recent phenomenon. The church in the New Testament was already dealing with this problem. The apostle Paul addressed the Galatians as *“Stupid” because of it! *Foolish in most translations

“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?”- Galatians 3:1-3

The flesh exalts human-effort, the Cross extinguishes it. This is why the message of the Cross is “foolishness” to the one perishing spiritually. The Cross attacks the best of mans efforts in order to reveal the best of God; which is Christ.

More Dying not Doing.

The death and burial of Christ is the only death and burial, which leads to resurrection. It is the only environment that we can cling to, which leads to life. If we cling to the world or to self, (which is natural life) we will experience spiritual death. If we cling to the death and burial of Christ, (which is a crucified life) it leads to resurrected circumstances or experiences.

If we descend daily into the crucified life, we will ascend daily into the resurrected life. The key to changing our situations is not more DOING but more DYING.


"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. " Luke 9:24

Try explaining "breve latte" to a Chinese in Starbuck- Success!

MAN vs. CITY

In the photo above: Steve is enjoying a serving of dove. Yum!

Attention readers of Press The Kingdom, this is Julie, Steve's tai tai (wife) posting today.

Steve has a favorite show on t.v. that he likes to watch it is called Man vs. Wild. On this show Bear Grylls the host is dropped off in the middle of no where and must hunt for food, find shelter and learn to adapt to his environment in order to survive as he finds his way back to civilization.

Many of you know that we are in ShenZen China and we are currently coming to the end of our third day. We have had an adventure to remember thus far. We have arrived at a place where no one speaks more than a few words of English, the food is not items that we would find on our American Chinese buffets and we don't blend in very well with the locals. The people of China have welcomed us and are being great host to the Trevinos. We are greatful to our new family in China.
I must say that Steve is the man to travel with. Steve has managed to adapt and survive in the environment God has brought us to. Within a few hours he was able to get online to update his blog, text home to see if all was well and download his pictures using a converter for all his electronics. He got me an iron and ironing board from the front desk of our hotel using hand signals. He turned the t.v. on in our room with the remote of strange Chinese writing on it and not to mention we discovered only 1 of 78 channels are in English. We bravely adventured out without our guide the other day and was able to eat, shop and find our way back home. Even after our taxi driver took us to the wrong place first. But Steve once again saved the day! I have enjoyed watching him use hand signals to communicate and learn to speak phrases in mandarin. It has been a fun and exciting adventure with Steve and his parents in China. I feel safe and secure knowing that Pastor Panda is leading the way. (Pastor Panda is the nick-name given to him because of his dark eyes) Let us see what tomorrow holds for us all.
Good night and God bless from ShenZen!

Audrie and Alyssa are the best!

To our wonderful girls,

You amaze us with your ability to adjust and continue in all situations. Our minds are at peace because you are going above and beyond everything being asked of you. You girls may not realize it but you are being used of God right now. Because you have given us the permission and peace to follow where God leads us. We miss you so much. We Miss hearing your voice and laughter. We love you forever and think about you every minute. We hope one day to bring you both to Hong Kong, you would love it here!

Sunday Morning in Hong Kong

We walked from the church Sunday morning in Hong Kong to a mission house for more Bible study time. The all women congregation of mostly Filipinos work here in Hong Kong as domestic workers (house keepers). Sunday is their only day off so they spend all day at church. Since the space they rent for Sunday morning worship is paid hourly, as soon as service is dismissed they tear down all their equipment and decorations and hurry over to the mission house for lunch and more teaching. Their spirit is hungry for more of God's word and their hearts are very humble. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch and Julie shared a great teaching about the Garden of Gethsemane experience of Christ as well as the believer.

20/20 Vision for Schools

My friend Jeremy Del Rio speaks here on the 20/20 vision for schools. This could be the single most transforming initiative for public education ever. Let this vision stir you and your church to action. This could change everything!

Somebody Cares Ike Report

Workers Affected by Hurricane Ike Have 30 Days to Apply For Assistance

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) has announced that as a result of Presidential Disaster Declaration FEMA-1791-DR, TWC is accepting applications for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) from individuals whose employment or self-employment was lost or interrupted due to Hurricane Ike starting September 7, 2008, and continuing. Applications for DUA must be filed by Wednesday, October 15, 2008.
Texas counties included in the disaster declaration are Angelina, Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Cherokee, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Houston, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler, Walker, Waller, and Washington.
DUA is available to individuals who:
worked or were self-employed in or were scheduled to begin work or self-employment,
can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to the place of employment as a direct result of the disaster,
establish that the work or self-employment they can no longer perform was their primary source of income,
do not qualify for regular unemployment benefits from any state,
cannot perform work or self-employment because of an injury as a direct result of the disaster, or
who became the breadwinner or major support of a household because of the death of the head of household.
Applications filed after Wednesday, October 15, 2008, will be considered untimely, unless the individual provides good cause for filing after the deadline.
Individuals will need their Social Security number, a copy of their most recent federal income tax forms or check stubs, or documentation to support they were working or self-employed when the disaster occurred. To receive DUA benefits, all required documentation must be submitted within 21 days from the day the DUA application is filed.


To file for disaster-related unemployment assistance, click here
or call the nearest TWC Tele-Center from Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time at (800) 939-6631 Houston local: (281) 983-1100

Overcoming Ike