Pastor Dan’s Blog

Legacy Of Blessing

My parents have taken great care of me and my sister over the years. They have constantly place our needs above our own, even sacrificing their own comfort to ensure a better life for us. By no means am I suggesting that they are perfect but they were perfectly selected to raise my sister and I by the Lord.

Over the years they have provided more than a roof over my head, they provided a head start in life. I make not qualms about it, all I have and all I am is a direct reflection of their influence and sacrifice. My first home was made possible by my parents (come to think of it all my homes were!), my first car was a gift from my dad, my education was their sacrifice, my morals and standards were a by product of the God they tirelessly served. They took my family on countless trips to Hawaii & Cabo San Lucas. It has always been my dream to some how give back to them a small token of what they have given to me over the years.

On January 10^th, 2010 my parents celebrated 50 years of marriage. They didn’t want a fancy ceremony or big deal made out of their accomplishment. So we made a decision to take my parents on a first class trip to the Bahamas to celebrate their wedding anniversary. I was especially blessed to officiate their renewal of vows on the beautiful Bahamian beach.

As the tropical sun began to set my mother & father’s eyes filled with tears as they expressed their love to one another. They renewed their vow and gave credit to the Lord for their longevity. They kept kissing throughout the ceremony even when it wasn’t time for them to do so. It was then I realized just how blessed I am to have them in my life. Their example is one I strive for daily.

I am one blessed man to have been blessed with my parents.

Tags: 50 year, dan & norma vera, example, sacrifice

Every Storm Has A Miracle

Every storm has a miracle.

 

The past couple of weeks have been extremely difficult for the family & I. Little did I realize that the messages I was speaking on The Perfect Storm would be a road map for navigating through our own personal storms. It is true that the rain falls on the just & the unjust alike.

 

We recently laid to rest my sister in law, who had battled with cancer since she was sixteen years old. She left behind eight children and an abusive & addicted husband. The turmoil the family endured only intensified upon her passing. The five youngest children, ranging in ages from eighteen months to thirteen years old, would need to be removed from the abusive environment and placed in the care of my mother in law. It was heart wrenching to leave those children there while every fiber of my being wanted to bring them home with us. The wind . . .

 

Upon returning home to California, I tore a couple ligaments in my ankle. I now have a “cankle” which is when your ankle is the same size as your calve! The waves . . .

 

The home we bought last year has a failure in the retaining wall. The previous owners had built an additional wall on top of the old wall that was not structurally sound. The wall began to push into my neighbor’s yard. I received an estimate for replacing and repairing the wall at over $50,000.00! Needless to say we don’t have the money to do it. Our house has lost value since our purchase thus no room to borrow against it. The thunder . . .

 

On top of that the economic pressures upon the lives of our people have effected our giving at the church. Our finances, which have never been an issue in the last eight years, have now caused us to lay off staff and make cut backs. We have had to hold on to payroll in order to weather this storm. The lightning . . .

 

I do not share these things to complain but to testify; that every storm in life has a miracle in it.

 

Check this out:

 

My sister in law was led to the Lord by my wife before her passing, the children are now in a godly home and a brother in the church stepped up and built the retaining wall for me for only the cost of materials ($5,500.00)! Now my ankle is still sprained & our financial trials are still raging but my God is bigger than the storm!

 

I just had a $50,000.00 miracle but you cannot have a $50,000.00 miracle without first having a $50,000.00 problem. The greater the problem; the greater the opportunity for God to show off His power. He is the God of the storms in life. Look for the miracle in the storm because, He is coming!

Tags: miracle, storm, testify

Mother’s Day

Happy Belated Mother’s Day to all the Mother’s out there.

 

For this man however, it was an early Father’s Day, for sure! I received a wonderful gift by watching my wife take her first public steps in ministry. This past Sunday, on Mother’s Day morning, my lovely wife, Angie, spoke her first message. It was both insightful and powerful. She made people laugh and cry. She shared from a mother’s heart that touch many, both men & women to their core.

 

I just want to take this time to express to my wife just how proud I am of you! Your message ministered to me. I love you!

Tags: Mother's Day

Daddy!

My phone rang early on Thursday morning. The voice on the other end of the line was cracking and crying. The noises & voices in the background were clues that this was not going to be a call of good news.  The sounds were unintelligible but the voice was recognizable. It was my eldest daughter Jazmine.  

 

She had just been involved in a car accident. My panic was a bit eased by the fact she was calling me, which meant she was still alive. I was able to make out her simple cry, “Daddy I need you.” With those simple words I was out the door.

 

I quickly jumped in the car to find her. The details she gave as to her location left me confused but I knew where she was heading and I knew if I followed her course I would find her. As I drove would look intently at each vehicle on the side of the road hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Sure enough as I headed in the direction that she was going I found her.

 

This event taught me in times of trouble:

1.       Call On Your Daddy

2.       Your Father Will Earnestly Search For You

3.       Your Father Is More Concerned With Your Condition Than Your Faults

 

I am glad to report that she is fine in spite of her frayed nerves.

Tags: accident, concern, daddy, search

Don’t Ignore Irritations

I just returned home this evening from performing a wedding for a family member of one of our elders at the church. Like the hundreds of weddings I performed in the past I came to the point of exchanging of the rings, which is usually the highlight for the bride. She shows off with pride the sparkling stone that represents her partners vow to her.

 

Like in weddings past I shared the usual points regarding the ring, it is unending & made of precious stones and metals. It reminded me as I glanced down at the band I wear on my finger of the vow I made to my wife nineteen years ago (we will celebrate our twentieth in November). The ring holds incredible significance and value to me.

 

From the moment I got the ring, it snagged everything. Sheets, sweaters, shirts and jacket linings were not safe. A little prong holding one of the diamonds was sticking out. It was an irritation. Unfortunately, I paid no attention to the irritation; I just learned to live with it, to put up with it.

 

Then one day after nearly thirteen years of putting up with the irritation, I looked closely at my ring and realize I had lost a diamond. I am not sure where or even when. I had ignored the signs for so long that I knew something was wrong but just neglected to address the issue properly. The result was lost of a diamond.

 

My wife promptly bought me a newer improved version of the original for the next Christmas.  I politely requested that she return the new one. You see, the old one meant so much more to me now, even missing the stone. It is a daily reminder that if I neglect or ignore the irritations in my marriage I could someday loss something more precious than a diamond, my wife.

 

My ring symbolizes more than a vow I made to her nineteen years ago. It is a reminder and an example of what happens when we neglect the irritations of life. It reminds me to fix things not learn to live with it.

 

Don’t neglect the signs in your relationships, finances or body or else you might lose something more costly than a stone.

Tags: irritations, neglect, wedding ring

Relationships

God has greatly challenged me to build bigger people this year not a bigger building. That is not to say we do not want one or dishonor those who have done so already. I am being pressed in my heart to pour even more into people. A life not shared is a life not truly lived. If we take care of people the building will take care of itself.

When Jesus came He did not give His life so that He could dwell temples or buildings made of stone. He gave His life so that He could live in the hearts & lives of men. From the beginning of time the Lord came not to deliver man from sin but to restore relationship. He had to deal with sin because it was the barrier that existed between God & us.

 It is wrong to think Jesus came to save us from sin . . . it limits the scope of His work. He came to restore relationship.

 If God valued us so greatly that He was willing to send His only Son as a ransom to buy us back again, shouldn’t we also value people? Shouldn’t relationships be the most important ingredient in our life? The greatest thing we can share with others is our time. I cannot remember many of the messages ministers have spoken in my life that have touched me (there are many) but I can easily remember the people who have impacted my life.

 

  First is my dad.

Here is a man who barely finished his sixth grade education, son of a migrant field workers, who was the second oldest of a family of twelve. His drive and determination to ensure his children had a better life caused him to work endlessly during days and finish his education at night. A GED was not enough for him, he wanted his high school diploma then he continued his education and graduated from college. He ultimately retired as an inspector for non-destructive testing at United Technologies.

 

He refused to settle and pursued a better quality of life. He was not one for a lot of one on one talks but his life was a book worth reading. His example has left a permanent image on my mind & life. I am not in the fields today because he paid the price for me to have a better quality of life. His grandchildren will never know the struggles he endured as a child.

 

Many have may not have faced the fields but your legacy of alcoholism, drug addiction, abuse, poverty, fornication, adultery or divorce has been passed from one generation to the next. It only takes one person, like my dad did, to rise up & stop the cycle.

 

It just takes one person to pay the price for the freedom of the generations to come. Will you be that person for your generation?

Tags: Dad, relationship, value

Process of Promise

When the angel Gabriel visited Mary with the announcement that she would be mothering the Son of God she responded with the question, “How can this be since I have never known a man?”

 

Although the Son of Promise was given to her she did not fully understand the process by which this would happen. The angel responded that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her & she would conceive. Mary then declared, “let it be unto me as you have said.”

 

There is a deeply profound principle at work here. Although Mary did not understand the process, it did not hinder the promise. You see, we need not understand every facet or detail of how God will fulfill what He has promised to do in order to receive it.

 

Simply put, you do not need to understand the process to receive the promise. His promises are not based on your ability to grasp the process. Moses didn’t know how the Red Sea split, it just did. Lazarus didn’t understand how he was raised again but he was. The blind man whom Jesus spat in the dirt & told him to wash in a pool about a mile away didn’t understand the process but his obedience granted him sight.

 

You may not understand this Christmas how God will do what He promised He would do but you need not understand the process in order to receive the promise Just declare to the promises of God, “Let it be unto me as you have said.”

Tags: Christmas, Mary, Process, Promise

Merry Christmas

The Christmas holiday’s are easily my favoriate time of the year. I love the lights, the music, the colors but most importantly the people that we enjoy those precious moments that become lifetime memories. As you clamor for the perfect gift, fight the holiday crowds and frantically wrap your tokens of love don’t forget the most important part of all . . . Jesus.

Over two thousand years ago three wise men sought out the new born king. Upon finding Him they presented the child King gifts of gold, frankincense & myrrh. One could only image Mary’s reaction to such extravagant gifts. Each gift was a confirmation of what she had already knew in her heart about Emmanuel. The gold was a gift for a king or royalty. The frankincense was a gift or offering to a God. The first two gifts were extremely costly & divine.

However, it was the last gift that brought the brazen reality of why this Child had been born. The final gift was one of myrrh. Myrrh was a spice used for embalming the dead. It was like bring a coffin or a bottle of formaldehyde to a baby shower! This strange gift was a reminder that this Child was born for a reason, He was born to die. He died so that we can live.

As we celebrate Christmas we cannot separate the cradle from the cross. For we cannot have one without the other. Christmas cannot be separated from Easter. This Christmas celebrate Jesus.

Happy 10th Birthday Jaclyn!

Today we celebrate the 10th birthday of my youngest duaghter Jaclyn Marie Vera.

Jaclyn was a ray of hope in a very difficult time in our lives. Her humor and uncompromising love have filled our lives with unendless love. She loves music, video games and driving at night. She loves night road trips!

Every one of her birthdays are extremely special to me. After the passing of Jessica four days shy of her eight birthday, I had a fear inside that Jaclyn would not make it there. Her eighth birthday was an emotional one for me. Now, I celebrate each year, each day & each moment.

I love you baby girl! May this day be the best day ever! 

Love;

Daddy

Passing Of A Matriarch

This morning at about 2:50 am Bishop Steve Perea’s mother, Conception Perea went home to be with the Lord after a six week bout with cancer. Her passing was both sudden & peaceful. She was surrounded by her children & many of her grandchildren, whom all are serving the Lord.

She has left a great legacy in the children she raised and the faith she displayed to the end. Her smile and quick wit was match only by the pride she had in her children and faithfulness to her God. Cancer may have taken her physical body but it touch her spirit which was reunited with it Creator this morning. She has been reunited with her husband Thomas Perea & her mother little grandma, Sister Zapien.

The success of the CWC family is directly connected to this wonderful matriach. You will be greatly missed. Our thoughts & prayers go out to the Perea family during this difficult time.

Con mucho amor;

PD & the CWC Milpitas & San Jose Families