A couple of months ago, I received an advanced copy of More written by Pastor Benny Perez. I actually began reading the book on a flight back from Atlanta, GA. As soon as I began reading, I knew that there was a message just for me within the pages and chapters of this book. Pastor Benny Perez takes you through some of the very storms that he and his family had experienced. I received a copy of More in order to conduct an interview with Pastor Perez. At one point, I thought the interview would never happen. However, when it finally did, I was blessed beyond measure. In 45 minutes, Pastor Perez spoke a message to me that brought every word within the book to life. We were able to discuss More, ministry and having faith in the midst of the storm.
One of my first questions was, “What would you tell someone that may be in the midst of a storm?” His answer was short and simple, “Turn to God, quit trying and start trusting God”. He went on to say, “It wasn’t easy but I made a decision every day”. These very words resonated with me. As easy as it seems to do, I think a lot of times when we are in the midst of the storm we often have a hard time heeding to these instructions. Throughout our interview Pastor Benny Perez often discussed taking things one day at a time. Believing that each day, God had given him the grace to face the day and weather the storm.
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6:34. Pastor Perez recalls praying and asking God “Lord am I done?” while he and his wife were dealing with the loss of their unborn child, the death of his father-in-law and the near bankruptcy of his church during the economic downturn. He stated “I got my answer”. Pastor Perez continued preaching this very message of hope and trusting God in the midst of the storm. While preaching at church, a Pastor stated, “This needs to be a book”.
Pastor Benny and Wendy spent a year working on bringing the pages of More together. About a 1/4 into writing the book, Pastor Perez stated it was getting hard. But he said his wife kept pushing it forward and it was worth ever bit of it. He was trusting God that through his writing that people would be encouraged and filled with hope. It has done just that. For the complete interview, pick up a copy of The Answer Newspaper if you are in the Las Vegas, NV area.
About The Author:
Benny Perez, senior pastor of The Church of South Las Vegas, believes when life devastates us we need to keep hope in God and choose to rely
on His promises to transform our lives for the better. In his book, More: Discovering the God of More When Life Gives You Less (Authentic Publishers), Perez reflects on the heartbreak he and his wife faced in 2010, three days before Easter, when, during a routine sonogram, they witnessed their unborn child die in the womb. A day later, after a follow-up procedure, Perez’s wife, Wendy, collapsed in his arms as a pool of blood engulfed her. Perez cried out to God, pleading for Him to spare her life. That weekend Benny would have to find the courage and faith to preach ten Easter messages to thousands of people. More is Perez’s journey through a broken period which also included the death of his father-in-law and the near bankruptcy of his church during the economic downturn. Perez uses the biblical story of Paul’s shipwreck on the island of Malta (Acts 28-29) to show people how to kindle a fire for God even when all we can find, like Paul, is “wet wood on a stormy day.”
What do you do when it feels like life is giving you less but you are trusting God for more?
Get your copy of MORE today on Amazon.
