My faith was so fresh, so exciting, so full of dreams!  We used to have the most awesome campus devos, led by the likes of Ron Drabot, Scott Green, Russ Ewell, Jim Hess and others.  We used to sing with such passion and purpose, and we all had such a vision for World Missions!!!  I remember my dreams for L.A. and my entire family being baptized into Christ, and--praise almighty God--that dream has become an awesome reality, with my dad being baptized into Christ this past January 15th, 2006!

Twenty years later, I'm not sure where all my Harvard "homies" are, or whether or not they are even still faithful.  I know some are still fully-committed to the LORD, and some are struggling mightily with their faith, and I pray for ALL of them.  And I thank God for the opportunity to work with one of my best friends in the world, Greg Cullen, which has been an incredible blessing to me.  In fact, I have so much to be thankful for, and I love the Kingdom like I love my own family--because the Kingdom of God IS  my family.  I understand "seeking the Kingdom first."  But I know something has been missing for me and for so many others these past few years, and I think I have finally begun to figure it out, at least for myself:  I forgot the fact that the Kingdom of God is WITHIN ME!   The very thing that changed the entire world in the first century dwells within me, and within every other disciple of Christ in the world!  The living, breathing, volcanic, wanting to erupt-and-spread-the-LOVA-Christ, Kingdom of God LIVES WITHIN ALL OF US, doggone it! 

But here's the question:  Are we living  like that right now?  Are we carrying ourselves like the passionate and compassionate Sons and Daughters of the KING, or are we walking around like sinful dogs and doggettes, with our tails between our collective legs in shame and fear?  And if the latter, WHY?!

Well, this past weekend, I found out why, for me.  I just had the privilege of attending a personal and professional development seminar called PSI Basic, which was encouraged by my business partner, dear friend, and brother in Christ, Henry Garcia.  It was four days of taking personal inventory, assessing personal & professional challenges and obstacles, taking full responsibility for the condition of my life, relationships, and business, and growing in the faith, hope, and love necessary to carry out and fulfill the great plans God has--and has always had--for my life. 

I came to a realization of how ANGRY I have been, and how I hide that anger behind a facade of humor;  I realized that I blame that anger on authority, in general, and on the leadership in our church, in particular, when the blame, in reality, lies squarely in my own lap; I have put off so much growth in my walk with God, with my wife, and with my children because of my anger and blame-shifting; I even realized that my father was a better to me than I have been for my L.T., because, even though my dad was NOT a disciple of Christ at the time, he spent both quality AND quantity time with me--ever since I was born!  He didn't know the Bible, but he sure knew how to love and care for me, his first-born son.  And I keep telling myself, "Well, as soon as I make this much money, I can take some quality time to get with L.T.," which is a bunch of hooey!  I'm taking action NOW  to be what God wants me to be TODAY, for all three of my children--and, especially, my wife.  There is so much more to tell you, but I will not spoil the experience for you if you ever decide to attend a PSI Basic Seminar. 

Now understand, it is NOT a Christian-only organization, and the reason for that is that they want to reach out to ALL faiths to give them hope.  My observation is that this could be some non-Christian's very first steps towards becoming a disciple of Christ.  If you give folks hope--even though they're not quite ready for Jesus--you can build great relationships, which you can water and pray over,  and watch God make grow!

I guarantee you, your faith will be rekindled, revived, and re-ignited, and I know a lot of you are feeling that need.  Well, it's time to do something about it, and you know your brothers and sisters in Christ will support you in any  endeavor you undertake to build your faith in God, your hope for the future and your love for all.  On this last page, I want to share with you all Scriptures which raced through my heart and mind, and were re-rooted in my soul:

Matthew 5:37--"Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."

Joshua 1:5-7 "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.  Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.  Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go."

Romans 12:19  "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

Galatians 5:22-26  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Matthew 5:43-48  "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor[h] and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Acts 20:35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hebrews 12:11  No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Mark 11:24  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Luis J. "LuJack" Martinez This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it