Author Archives: Christina

About Christina

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Blessings to all that are viewing this. My name is Christina Cruz-Mendez. I am a Senior Pastor at Mission United International Church in Yonkers, NY working along side my husband Juan A. Mendez Jr. Senior Pastor, currently residing in Canton, Georgia. We have been together for 29 years with 2 children that God has blessed us with. Makes us the family of four - "JusChrist4". I have been a Christian and active in ministry for about 22 years now. Through all the rocky and smooth roads in life I am eternally grateful that God has brought me this far in life to share with the world what He is doing in me, through me and for me.

I Will Look Up

Don’t you hate when minutes feel like hours, like hours feel like days, like days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like years?  You seem stranded in the moment of now only to keep coming back to the same boat of problems. It feels frustrating. Wearisome. Depressing.

Are you okay?

No. I’m not. And I can’t adequately describe everything that is happening internally so I try to keep even quieter.  As that is happening I feel like I am being suffocated.  Moments like this sucking the very life from me and I get numb.

I look to the word—not the paper or online but the Word that pops up in my spirit and I got this.

Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
Psalm 84:10 (New International Version)

Better is one day in Your courts…. Courts?  That is an area open to the sky and mostly or entirely surrounded by buildings or walls.

When I feel like the walls of life are caving in on me—You are saying there is an OPEN area if I look up????

To heaven—to You God.  I got to look to You more and more and more and more.

I say teach me the way.  Then I feel like this elephant parked himself on top of my heart and I want to cry from the internal pain it feels from the pressure. The huge weight.

Better is one day in Your courts….

I have to look up.  I must.  There is a light at the end of this dark tunnel of mine. I almost wanted all the light to go away so I can continue to sit in the darkness.

I will look up Lord.  Because I know that is all I have now.  I have to look up to You every time I feel these walls of emptiness, walls of loneliness, walls of depression, walls of fear, walls of anxiety, walls of busyness, walls of chaos, walls of stress, walls of anger, walls of frustration…. There are walls everywhere—all types, all kinds and all sizes.  Some days are easier than others.  Pain is pain and it will be felt some way or another.

I will look up.

Because if I keep looking at these walls of mine I am going to feel them crushing me.  But if I look up I will always see a way out even when the surroundings don’t line up.

I will look up.  No matter how many times, for this shall occur.  He never said we would not have any of these but He did say that He would be there with us. Let’s look UP!

March 24: Young, Sarah. Jesus Always: Embracing Joy in His Presence.
NO MATTER HOW INADEQUATE you may feel, you can always look to Me for help. You don’t need to go to a special place or assume a certain posture to seek My Face. Nor do you need to use elegant language or work to win My favor. I always look favorably on you because I see you clothed in My righteousness. I am alive in you, and I understand your thoughts perfectly. So a simple glance at Me—made in faith—is enough to connect you to My help.
Look to the LORD and His strength; seek His face always.
—PSALM 105:4
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
—PSALM 46:1


We Rise

As a Christian, people relapse.
As a Christian, people go broke.
As a Christian, people lose their minds.
As a Christian, people have affairs.
As a Christian, people fornicate.
As a Christian, people cuss and fuss.
As a Christian, YOU WILL FALL!
BUT AS A CHILD OF GOD THAT HAS BEEN REDEEMED …YOU WILL RISE AGAIN!
YOU WILL CONQUER!
YOU WILL HAVE YOUR TOTAL VICTORY!
IN THIS LIFE AND THE NEXT…
Just like the Gladiator movie scene. 🙂

As a CHRISTIAN we will rise again.
No matter how much sin there is;
There’s MORE grace!!
The presence of God is present to sustain you THROUGH any mess you may make.
He’s a fixer and a deliverer.
You know that.
HE KNOWS THAT.

A righteous man will fall seven times.
Why 7?? Completely messing this entire walk up.
But he GETS back up.
Listen please! Even if its EMBARRASSING!
Even if people know.
So what! God knows too and KNEW first before it hit Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter! But He is sovereign.
And He is what matters most.
And what He will do with your life mess is TURN IT INTO ANOTHER MESSAGE!!!
So just fight.
How? By standing even in the storm.
Even in the dark.
Even in the rain.
And even in the mess.
AND LET THEM SEE IT…
Because when you come out of that, the talkers and stalkers will see that too.
The God in YOU that took you COMPLETELY through!!!!!

“for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭24:16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

To fall is to drop or descend under the force of gravity, as to a lower place through loss or lack of support; to come or drop down suddenly to a lower position, especially to leave a standing or erect position suddenly, whether voluntarily or not; to become less or lower; become of a lower level, degree, amount, quality, value, number, etc.

The number seven is one of the most significant in the Bible. Scholars say it denotes completeness or perfection. #google

We are imperfect. Our mistakes become a masterpiece of a mess. Total ruins can turn into total victories! In our imperfections we meet perfection– we meet the ROCK when we hit “rock bottom.”

Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, every single time!

“Now the law came in to increase the trespass,
but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:20‬ ‭ESV‬‬


The Pastor’s Wife

agapelove
Dear Pastor’s Wife,

You are not just a wife of a pastor—you are a pastor.

In fact, you have the strongest calling upon your home.

You are necessary.

You are a crown.

You are most excellent in every way as I have designed and prepared you to be

But I got to tell you.

It will not be easy.

I sent my Son—My one and only Son to pave the way.

He left this message and said “IN THIS WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TRIBULATION

BUT BE OF GOOD CHEER…FOR I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD”

There will be many times that you will have to walk alone.

You will have to sit alone.

You will have to engage and even run alone.

But in that alone—I am there beside you and I need you to remember that PLEASE!

Don’t chase people! Attract them!

The ones that need to be a part of your life shall be.

You will see many types of things in your life time—many go and the real ones remain. In your pursuit you will get hurt.

In your patience you will gain strength.

Learn to walk with ME every day.

Learn to talk WITH Me every day.

Learn that I AM YOUR BEST FRIEND, your Father—your Husband—your Lover—I am your Comfort, I am your Strength, your Rock, your Fortress. Putting anything else in place of where I belong will only make you feel the VAST difference immediately—for there is none beside Me.

I also need you to know how important that you are to Me.

How beautiful, how precious.

When I think of you—that is always—I am forever smiling inside.

You make Me move on your behalf.

Because of My deep love for you.

You are already OK.

You are already destined for GREATNESS!

You are living that out.

Parallel to that purpose will be pain—but the POWER that I release to you in the midst of that pain will be your antidote.

You will love great—move great and BE great because I have called you to be the PASTOR’S wife.

I am the SHEPHERD.

I am THE PASTOR—so your calling is being MARRIED TO ME! You are MY wife! So nothing and no one will separate us.

Just do what I tell you to do, go where I show you to go…say what I give you to say because they will be the deepest and the most prophetic pieces of life that must be demonstrated THROUGH YOUR LIFE.

With Agape Love,

Your Father
Your God
I am yours and you are mine.


Back Light

backlightSometimes I feel like my life is on auto-lock, just like this iPhone screen. You stare at it for information, updates, news and more. With no activity of under a minute, my screen begins to fade and it goes dark. There is no more light. I can’t see a thing.

On the road that I take this seems to be how life functions for me. There is light but with any idle activity quickly there it will fade into darkness and I can’t see a thing. I know that we need the dark for so many reasons. Most importantly, that we really appreciate when we come to the light. Most cases things go dark for a reason–it strengthens us!  That is why the auto-lock is set to preserve the device so that it can last longer.

I came across this devotional today and it was right on point for my current situation. I do know that I have the spirit of perseverance because I am waiting. I just need to learn how to dance on the dark days.  And when the days get darker–strive to conquer. Time to think like a warrior.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON ME!
Waves of adversity are washing over you, and you feel tempted to give up. As your circumstances consume more and more of your attention, you are losing sight of Me. Yet I am with you always, holding you by your right hand. I am fully aware of your situation, and I will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear.
Your gravest danger is worrying about tomorrow. If you try to carry tomorrow’s burdens today, you will stagger under the load and eventually fall flat. You must discipline yourself to live within the boundaries of today. It is in the present moment that I walk close to you, helping you carry your burdens. Keep your focus on My Presence in the present.
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”  1 CORINTHIANS 10: 13
“Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young  

I feel those waves of adversity–and when I do the waves of tears become uncontrollable. The pangs of pain that I feel in every bone in my body shake the life out of me. Yet the times of night watch prayer are increased. This is where I become still in His presence. This is only a light affliction that will pass by. There is too much to fight for and enough Word in me to see me through. In the back light of these days I will find the One that sustains me.