A 2008 survey revealed that Japan has more centenarians than any country in the world with 36,000 citizens aged 100 or older. That’s a huge increase from 1963; the first year the country started recording the number, when there were only 153 people in the centenarian category. Eighty-six percent of Japan’s current century-club members are women, with the oldest woman in the country being a 113-year-old from the island province of Okinawa. Incidentally, Okinawa has the largest concentration of centenarians in Japan, at 838 (that’s 61 for every 100,000 people). Compared to other nations, Japan’s longevity factor leaves the rest of the world looking positively sickly by comparison. Out of 1.3 billion people in China, for example, there are only 18,000 centenarians, while in the United States the ratio is about 10 per 100,000. Life expectancy in Japan is a full four years longer than in America.

What’s the secret to living a long life or, even better, living forever?
According to the experts in Japan we have to do this:

Dancing twice a week, exercising every day (at least 30 minutes), give up smoking, continue working (just a little) after your retirement.

Focus on social activity and family, keep a good diet, like eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables, a day and maintain a healthy weight.

We are Easter people. We are the people of the resurrection. We believe that by the resurrection of Jesus Christ we are reminded that God has not abandoned his creation. Jesus’ resurrection was the beginning of the restoration of all life on earth. We understand ourselves to be part of God’s mission of a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We care for ourselves. We care for each other. We care for the earth. Easter is a call to embrace the goodness of life. The whole point of the Christian life isn’t that we go to heaven to be with God but that God comes here to be with us: “Your kingdom come … on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

As we dance the songs of life, as we take care of our bodies, as we embrace hope, reconciliation and healing, we proclaim the beauty of Easter. It does not matter if we are 10 years old or 90; we live each moment as an Easter moment knowing that by living abundantly every second we have defeated death until the eternal Easter comes.

Your Pastor,
Rev. Job Cobos

I met a lady in her 70’s. She was under a lot of distress because she was in the hospital and there was no one to take care of her dog. I asked if she had some friends and she replied that she had some but not to the point of trusting them or asking them a favor. I asked about relatives, she did not want to talk about it. I asked about neighbors, she did know them. Finally, I asked about church friends hoping that she would give me a positive answer but she was not a part of a community of faith either. It was sad to see her old and alone, with no one to turn to.

There is a quote from Robert MacAfee Brown that states: “How does one keep from “growing old inside”? Surely only in community. The only way to make friends with time is to stay friends with people… Taking community seriously not only gives us the companionship we need, it also relieves us of the notion that we are indispensable.” So many people have been to the hospital in the last few weeks, like Billy, Scott, Michelle and Joyce Ruble. It was so nice to see people visiting and praying for each other.

As we begin this Lent season, we must renew our commitment to God and to each other. We must grow old together; we must protect and nurture each other. This season is a time we have to figure out how we get closer to God: by changing our old ways of thinking and taking the mind of Christ by worshiping God with fervor and sacrificing for the sake of the God’s kingdom, and by “picking up our cross and following Him.” This is a time in which we must love and take care of each other.

As you know, Lent is one of my favorite liturgical seasons. This season is full of mystery, newness, changes, colors, etc. I remember that as child I visited a town deep into the mountains in Mexico. The family that I stayed with cooked a fresh meal for the people who were in jail. It really impacted my life as we visited the people in jail and we gave them food and clean clothing. I asked why they did that, and their response was “It is Lent”. Lent is a time in which we are reminded that we need to take care of others as Christ takes care of us. So, stay close to the community of faith. It is the best way to stay young at heart, and connected to the world around us. As together we celebrate Lent, we will be surprised by God as we get closer and more dependent on Him. We will then be amazed of how much we need each other.

Your pastor,
Job

As we begin Lent, let’s start a life of sacrifice and penitential practices as we focus on growth, tithing and beautifying our church property. Lent is a season of fasting, giving up, service, and prayers. But if we change a little, this Lent will be a time of growth: spiritually, numerically and personally in commitment to God. This Lent do not give up something like chocolate, candy, beer, etc. This Lent take up one more thing; take up the cross of Christ and follow Him. We have forty days to tell someone about Christ. We have 40 days to bring someone to church. We have forty days to perform a miracle, and we have forty days to start a Bible study. Lent is a time of growing closer to God.

This Lent give more. Tithing (10% of our income) is not about God, or about the church.
Tithing is about us. It is about our hearts and where our treasure is. As we celebrate Lent I encourage all of us to fully tithe, to give until it hurts, and to reach out with whatever
abundance we have. God has a special blessing and a promise to those who tithe to the fullest as is written in Malachi 3:8-14:

“Test me in this and see if I don’t open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams.”

In Larkspur we have enough love for all of us. We have enough talent. We have enough dreamers. We have enough resources for the ministry God has called us to be part of. Our mission is “to exist to spread God’s love through service and making a difference in the
community.”

The building belongs to the community. The generation before us gave it to us and now it is our turn to prepare the building for the next generation. So during this Lent let’s do something for the building that will last for the next 40 years, something that the next generation will use for its’ ministry.

Lent is a time for us to dream, to dream of a world in which God’s mercies and blessings are new every morning, (Lam. 3:22, 23) to dream of a church which is always ready to proclaim the good news of Christ to others, to dream that all that we have belongs to God, to dream that we have a place of worship which resembles heaven. The challenge is that we only have forty days to fulfill the dream. So let’s get to work and make it happen.

Your Pastor
Job

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
– Thomas A Edison

Most New Year’s resolutions demand commitment, hard work, discipline and faith.

Focus more on Christian Spirituality. For us Christians, spirituality is about relationships. A personal relationship with God, with others and with self. With in those relationships we try to find ways of relating to nature and the environment. Christian spirituality is trying to see God in everything around us, to create peaceful communities and welcoming atmosphere. Spirituality means being kind and enthusiastic, being gentle to yourself, to others and to the Mother earth.

Heart Fitness. According to some research, people who go to church or attend religious services live longer, are healthier and are more happy people. The scripture states: “Out of the abundance of the heart your mouth speaks.” In the year 2010 let’s take care or our hearts. Let’s do some spiritual exercises that help our hearts to stay strong, like praying more often, going to church more often, being in silence more often, meditating more often, give a good massage to your heart by being compassionate and smiling more often.

Grow and Mature. Over 66 percent of adult Americans are considered overweight or obese by recent studies, so it is not surprising to find that weight loss is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions. According to church studies only 10 percent of church membership is fully committed to grow and mature in their Christian life and in supporting of church ministries and programs. How do we grow and mature in our Christian life? Make plans to grow and stay focused. Plan to be part of that vacation bible school, spiritual retreat, committee, mission trip and stay focused. Be responsible, reach the goal, go to the end, and give good fruit. Some one said “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do”.

Quit something that is bad for you. Even if you have tried to quit a bad habit before and failed, don’t let it get you down. The average person tried at least four times and failed (especially smokers).

The good news is that there is a lot of help out there if we want to quit bad habits. You are not alone; God is at our side to help us and to give us the strength to start a new life, because today is the first day of your new life.

Enjoy life more. We live stressful lives, we have hectic schedules. So as our New Year’s Christian resolution let’s promise ourselves that we will “enjoy life more”. Take up new hobbies, try something new, teach a Bible class, or help someone read the Bible. Go to a theater performance or create one and perform before the congregation. Take a leap of faith. Travel to a holy place. Take a trip to the Holy Land.

Learn something new about Christianity. There is so much we don’t know about church, Christ, and Christianity overall. Buy a church history book, read about the Desert Fathers and Mothers of the church. Learn about Saint Augustine, Teresa of Avila, Thomas Campbell or the Disciples in Australia.

Help Others. New Year’s resolutions are about ourselves, we need at least one non-selfish New Year resolution. Volunteerism can take many forms. The church is a volunteer organization. We are committed to be servants to others and to do it with love and care.

As you begin this year of 2010 make your spiritual life a priority, for it is written: “Search first the kingdom of God, and the rest will come to you.”

Have a Blessed 2010.

Your Pastor,
Job J Cobos

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

Then the more I looked at them, I started to look at the people who inhabited that particular house. They really practice what the sign said. They have a wonderful life together. They travel. They play and they do so many things that if you get a chance to talk to them in private you will come to the conclusion that in that house nothing is dead. In that house there is not a single dull moment. There is always laughter and joy. It feels like it is Christmas year around. The love I got to feel in that particular home had meaning, purpose and it was adventurous. Something funny happened, I wanted to stay there. I was the last one to leave the gathering. I felt something different, something transforming, something divine.

As I go through some grief (the death of my grandfather), as my work as Regional Hispanic Pastor goes through much change, and as I face sickness myself (I have to have some surgery in February), I am faced with my own humanity. I am confronted with my own doubts and fears. But I found a place which called me to “Live, Laugh, Love”. Through that I was reminded what Christianity is all about; to live, to laugh and to love. As a church that is our motto, that is our gospel, that is our hope. As we begin the Advent season, the waiting, let’s remind
ourselves to live, laugh, love even if we have to write it on our walls and windows. As we celebrate Christmas let’s remind ourselves that God calls us to live abundantly, laugh until everyone can hear us and love until there is no more death, war, sickness and pain in the world. As Leo Rosten wrote;

The purpose of life is not to be happy –
but to matter, to be productive, to be useful,
to have it make some difference that you lived at all.”

As we live, laugh and love we change ourselves for the greater good and inspire others to find the best within themselves. Put these three words somewhere in your house — what about on your Christmas tree?

Your pastor
Job J Cobos

Someone said that if we want a world without hunger we need to imagine one. I really believe that if we want a church without problems, difficult situation, spiritual and financial needs, we need to imagine one also; “Again, I say to you, that, if two of you may agree on the earth concerning anything, whatever they may ask — it shall be done to them from my Father who is in the heavens, (Matthew 18:19) that is why Larkspur Christian Church needs your support; as we imagine together, as we agree together, lets give agreeing and imagining peace, reconciliation and a congregation which is willing always to share.

Our country is at war and fear has become our daily bread. In the midst of so much political conflict, God calls us to give. Let’s give a peace offering. According to the scriptures, this offering was unique because it was not required…it was voluntary. It was the only one of five major sacrifices that the offerers got to share, and it was the only sacrifice that focused on celebration. This peace offering was the true shalom. The basic sense of this powerful Hebrew term is “wholeness” or “well – being.” The main function of the peace offering was to express friendship, fellowship and peace with God.

Peace offerings gather up the many meanings of peace: not only the end of warfare and hostility but also mental, physical and spiritual health. So what is our peace offering? An offering of sharing! One more time our stewardship campaign is here, we must agree, we must imagine together one more time. As we make our pledges, our promises of giving for the year 2010, let’s keep in mind friendship, fellowship and peace with God by teaching and announcing peace, by telling others about the love of God.

At the beginning of this article I asked the question, “What is our purpose here on earth?”
In my experience, I’ve learned from the gift of Christ, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should have ever lasting life.” (John 3:16) I’ve found that the greater purpose is to learn to share (peace offering) our resources and talents to create a better life for all. Our purpose here on earth is to give.

The time has come; we can join in the celebration of the peace offering by giving to Larkspur Christian Church.

Shalom
Rev. Job J Cobos

What is life? Scientists have suggested that we still do not have a clear definitive answer to this question. The scripture in Psalm 103:15-16 give some light to this question;
“As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.”

According to some experts the life expectancy of a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregation is of 60 to 70 years.

In a recent issue of the journal Science (March 22, 2002), molecular biologist Daniel E. Koshland Jr. was asked to write a special essay where he would set out to define life. In this article, he suggested that something could be considered “alive” if it meets the following seven conditions.

1. Living things must have a program to make copies of themselves from generation to generation.
2. Life adapts and evolves in step with external changes in the environment.
3. Organisms tend to be complex, highly organized, and most importantly have compartmentalized structures.
4. Living things have the ability to take energy from their environment and change it from one form to another.
5. Organisms have regeneration systems that replace parts of themselves that are subject to wear and tear.
6. Living creatures respond to environmental stimuli through feedback mechanisms.
7. Organisms are able to maintain numerous metabolic reactions even in a single instance in time.

For the Earth to produce life it has to have the right mix of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen for the creation of life. I have been a church planter for more than 20 years. During this time I have planted or helped start close to 20 congregations. All of them like the earth had the perfect mix. Strong vision, charisma, enthusiasm, energy and vision. If we really want to define life in a congregation consider these: Re-birth, be responsive to the work of the Holy Spirit, and continued change.

Martin F. Saarinen in his article “The life cycle of a congregation” describes the church in the beginning stages on life as a “New humanity, community in the spirit and change oriented” he goes on to say that “a calendar cannot be used to predict the onset of particular stage in the life cycle. It has to do with the relationship and balance of certain “gene structures” common to congregational life.” As I read Saarinen article he explains that there are “two phases that characterize the life cycle of a congregation: Growth and decline” that goes well with our believes “death and resurrection” as it is stated in John 12:24 (English Standard Version)

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

All life begins. Living things all have a moment at which they become “alive.” But how do we keep that strong vision, charisma, enthusiasm, energy and vision? Sciences tell us that once an organism begins its life cycle, it immediately faces survival needs and that survival is a daily challenge for all living things. So how then, does the church keep fully alive through out generations? By always having a new sense of purpose and mission, that means rising and dying, death and resurrection and all of that needs to happen everyday in the life of a congregation. As a new church planter that is my daily practice, to have everyday something die in my ministry but also something new come alive. The church like any living thing needs to learn to copy themselves to the image of Christ and the living saints, survive, to adapt, change, and to get energy from our surroundings. We as a church must learn to react to all of our pressures without loosing our focus and our mission. I really believe that God has called us to be always in our prime. Saarinen defines prime like this: “The congregation in Prime displays an optimum of energy, openness to others, and responsiveness to members”

As we look at the life of Larkspur Christian we find a lot of similarity to all living things: death and resurrection” “Dangers and opportunities” As we continue our life cycle lets do it with grace and intervene when we are called to serve for the re-birth, growth, maturing and survival of our church. I truly believe that the life expectancy of a congregation is of one day at a time. Every day we have to make the choice to let some things die in our communities of faith, and at the same time we must intervene when there is a need to change, review, and create a new sense of purpose and mission so resurrection may occur. Let’s not forget the biblical promise “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18 (English Standard Version)

So let’s continue our holy cycle of life one day at a time.

Your Pastor

Job J Cobos

A lot of feelings have run like wild rivers within me since the death of Betty Day. Feelings of guilt, did I do enough for her? Feeling of discouragement, because we lost a faithful servant. Feeling of resentment and questioning toward God about the loss of a member of our congregation. When I received the news, in my prayer to God at that moment was only one word, why?

This woman was content with working in our community, in our church, without being noticed. She worked much behind the scenes, to the point that we will never know how much she did because she never told us or showed us. Even as I visited her at the hospital or at her house, she would ask me about others, would always ask me if I had called or contacted others in the church who were sick or in need. In the midst of her pain and sickness, she was concerned for the needs, suffering and pain of others.

I called her house after I received the news about her passing away, her brother answered the phone. I offered my condolences. I asked if there was anything I could do for him. He stated that his sister requested no funeral, no memorial service, and then he went on to say that the only thing she wanted was her name to be mentioned once during a Sunday worship service after she was gone. I will always wonder why she made a strange request, “for her name to be mentioned only once in worship after her passing away.”

As I was writing about Betty Day this scripture come to mind:

“Yet there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.
“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.
Revelation 3:4-6 (New Living Translation)

I wrote this poem in her memory:

Beautiful is the work of quiet people,
Entering of angels to our lives happened through their silence,
Telling of quiet sacrifice in God’s temple,
Telling of new rhythm of the heart and inner voice,
Yielding of one’s soul to the beauty of solitude.

Divine moment’s quiet people give us.
Amounts of heavens they share,
You came to us in silence, and quietly you left us.
And through your silence-
We got to listen to the footsteps of God.

Betty Day, we will always remember silently your name.

Your Church Family

Moses had a relationship with God. As we begin this month, let’s see ourselves as bridge builders. Let’s look for ways in which we can communicate and relate to one another better. Let’s look for the perfect UNION.

One day I was walking from room to room at Banner Estrella Hospital visiting patients and I saw this beautiful picture that had this wonderful writing about the meaning of Union: “Union is not magic or strength but understanding. All of us in one of us walking forward.”

As we said before, in order for us to have good communication we must listen, respect, be honest and have understanding. Moses came before God again requesting patience, forgiveness and understanding for his people. One more time he had to humble himself before God for the people of Israel. I wonder how many times we have done the same for a brother or a sister; or for our sons or daughters. How many times have we had to fix something that someone we love destroyed? How many times have we had to help that person get out of their own messes? For 40 years Moses was the connection from his people to God. Time after time he was the bridge in that relationship. Time after time he was the connection to the Promised Land. Time after time he was the channel of forgiveness. Time after time Moses had to remind God to understand them.

According to the dictionary, understanding means:

characterized by understanding; prompted by, based on, or demonstrating comprehension, intelligence, discernment, empathy, or the like. To perceive the meaning of; grasp the idea of; comprehend.
To be thoroughly familiar with; apprehend clearly the character, nature, or subtleties of. To grasp the significance, implications, or importance of. To regard as firmly communicated.

Moses understood the people of Israel, and through Moses’ relationship with the people, God related to Israel and understood them. At Larkspur that is our “union,” the understanding we have for each other when we fall short, the empathy we feel for one another when we go through problems and difficulties in our lives, the discernment we as congregation have to go though to fulfill God’s mission for our church. “All of us in One of us” connecting, grasping, finding what is important and communicating. Understanding is the wisdom that helps us to see the meaning of God in our midst and the meaning of our life together as a community of faith.