Istrouma Ascension Podcast

Dwayne Pitre

Mike Holmes  

About five years ago a wildly popular song was released.  It is entitled simply, "Happy" by Pharrell Williams.  You can't help but smile when you hear the lyrics and the music [may play a snippet].   The official video of the song was released on YouTube on November 21, 2013, and, as of March 2018, it has had over 1 billion views.  Maybe its popularity is tied to the fact that everybody wants to b...

Bendice cada hogar "haced discípulos" (Mateo 28:18-20   Tenemos el poder de hacer discípulos "Jesús se acercó y dijo a sus discípulos: «Se me ha dado toda autoridad en el cielo y en la tierra. Por lo tanto, vayan y hagan discípulos ..." (28:18-19a).   El poder de Jesús es declarado El poder de Jesús es compartido   Tenemos el plande hacer discípulos "Por lo tanto, vayan y hagan discípulos de todas...

In our nation's capital is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. For 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, a platoon of 30 honor guards protects the tomb through rain, snow, and even hurricanes! It's been guarded every minute of every day since 1937.  The Unknown Soldiers laid to rest at the Tomb represent all missing and unknown service members who made the ult...

God's heart is to bless every home.  God wants to bless you and, through you, bless others.  This is his missiological strategy and has been from time immemorial.  Gen. 12:2 says, "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing."   We are issuing a challenge this month to "bless every home" in our sphere of influence.  We do this...

The entire nation of China was rocked in 2011 by an incident involving a single two-year-old Chinese girl named Wang Yue.  Her family called her "Little Yue Yue."  She innocently wandered onto a narrow, crowded road in Foshan, Guangdong Province.  She was hit by a vehicle, in fact, two.  Neither stopped.  She lay broken and wounded on the road for more than seven minutes.    During that span of ti...

Oprah Winfrey is an America pop icon.  Her rags-to-riches story is remarkable.  Her long-time talk show was famous for generous giveaways.  While I don't see eye-to-eye with her on theology and politics, I do admire her giving spirit.   One her most famous giveaways happened when all 276 members of her studio audience were blessed with a new Pontiac G-6 sedan. The cars carried an individual retail...

Yogi Berra was a catcher for the New York Yankees.  He won 10 World Series and was an 18-time all-star.    But he is probably better known for his "Yogi-isms."  His quotes often mangled the English language in light-hearted ways, but also had a grain of truth in them.  Here's a sampling of five of his finest.   Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical. Pair up in threes. A nickel...

"Del pesimismo al gozo" Juan 20:19-22     La Pascua y su Oscuridad Ellos tienen miedo Ellos están juntos La Pascua y su Gozo Por su Presencia Por su Paz La Pascua y sus Obsequios El regalo de la Tarea El regalo de su compañía  

If you've read any of Mark Twain's famous The Adventures of Tom Sawyer you know that Sawyer was quite the prankster.  One time Sawyer convinced friends Huck Finn and Joe Harper to run away. By cover of night, the three left their homes, snuck down to the river, and set out down-river on a raft. They end up on Jackson's Island where have fun pretending to be pirates for several days.   Meanwhile, b...

There is a common sight across the southeast region of the United States.  It is a trio of crosses placed in a field near a highway or crossroads.  They are the work of a man named Bernard Coffindaffer.  He was a veteran of WWII and Iwo Jima.  When he came back from the war, he came to know Christ as his savior.  He became a successful businessman but never lost his gratitude for what Jesus did fo...

Tom Watson Jr., CEO of IBM between 1956 and 1971, was a key figure in the information revolution. Watson repeatedly demonstrated his abilities as a leader.   One example of his skill as a leader had to do with a young executive who made some bad decisions that cost the company several million dollars. He was summoned to Watson's office.  He fully expected that he would be fired. As he entered the...

In recent years our nation has been rocked by a string of mass shootings—Stoneman Douglas High School, Charleston, SC, Newton, CT, Virginia Tech, and the list goes on.  From these horrific incidents, some touching stories of courage and self-sacrifice have surfaced.   On December 2, 2015 county employees in San Bernadino, CA had gathered for a Christmas party.  Two gunmen stormed the center where...

La  Carrera de La  Fe 2 Timoteo 4:6-8 Hebreos 12:1-2   UNA CARRERA PUBLICA   UNA CARRERA PERSONAL   UNA CARRERA PURA   UNA CARRERA PESADA   UNA CARRERA ENFOCADA  

I've always been fascinated by people's last words.  I heard last week about a Union General during the Civil War.  His name was John Sedgwick.  He was a respected and high-ranking general.  In 1864 he led his troops to Spotsylvania, Virginia for one of the last battles of the war.    Confederate sharpshooters had been peppering the area all morning on May 9, wounding, among others, General Willia...

La verdadera Oración de Jesús Juan 17:1-26   Sincronicémonos con la oración de Jesús Refuerza un modelo Libera un poder Los objetivos de la oración de Jesús Ruego por mí .           b. Ruego por los míos Ruego por los demás El Triunfo de la oración de Jesús

Ventaja de los Discípulos Juan 16:6-14a La preocupación de los discípulos (16:6) Jesús es honesto con ellos (16:1-3) .           b. Jesús confía en ellos (16:1-3) La ventaja de los discípulos (16:7) Jesús se va (16:7) Jesús les deja algo (16:7) El defensor de los discípulos (16:7) El Espíritu Santo nos convence (16:8-11) El Espíritu Santo nos aconseja (16:12-14a)

La Ultima Palabra Guillermo Mangieri Amigos y Enemigos Juan 15.12-27   Amigos de Jesús (12-16) Se aman unos a otros Le obedecen Ellos Conocen la verdad Son escogidos por El Enemigos del mundo (17-25) Rechazan a quienes no son como ellos Odian a los creyentes porque odian a Jesús Odian a los creyentes porque no conocen a Dios Amigo Poderoso (26-27) Testimonio que viene del Padre Testimonio que es a...

I Have Called You Friends John 15:9-17   No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. -John 15:15     Friendship starts with God As the father has loved…John 15-9   We need friends because we are created in God's image Then the Lord God said, "it is not goo...

La palabra final  "Ramas y Frutos" Juan 15: 1-11   Nuestra relación con Jesús Los que no lleva frutos, son cortados. Los que lleva frutos, son cuidados. Nuestra responsabilidad con Jesús Permanecer en él Confiar en él Nuestros resultados a través de Jesús Glorifica a Dios Gozo de Dios.  

Costco has a great "returns" policy.  It is very generous.  You can return virtually anything, for any reason, and get a refund.  This was put to the test earlier this year.   On January 4, 2018 a woman in Santa Clarita, CA trudged into the local Costco lugging a large, dead, "real" Christmas tree.  She made her way through the returns line until she stood before the customer service representativ...