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Giving, Good Tidings, Love & Celebration

The Christmas season seems to always make people a little bit more generous, a little more pleasant, a little more loving, and a little more joyous. Why is this? Because whether we realize it or not, Jesus is at the heart of this season, or at least He’s at the forefront. 

Even secular radio stations and mainstream television programs preach Jesus in the songs they broadcast and the movies they air. Philippians 1:18, “…whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.” I’m a public school teacher and this season from about Thanksgiving through Christmas, you can hear about Jesus on classroom radios and in the choirs. Yes, you hear the songs singing glory and celebrating our dear Savior’s birth. 

The love of Jesus is seen in people throughout this season perhaps more than any other time of year. People are more willing to give gifts to those less fortunate. People are more giving to their families, their spouses, and their colleagues. People take the opportunity to play secret Santa in the drive-thru, buying the next car’s coffee or lunch. Food donation boxes in grocery stores seem a little fuller and spare change collections seem to become more abundant. Why is this? 

When Jesus is at the forefront, the heart of God is seen.  God is a giving God! Look at,  Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” In 2 Corinthians chapter 9 we see that being generous brings glory and thanksgiving to God, Proverbs 21:26 says, “…the righteous (man) gives and does not spare.” Whether the rest of the world realizes it or not, giving and a heart to give comes from God Himself. 

Deuteronomy 30:14 and again in Romans 10:8, we see an important truth, that the Word of God is very near and in your mouth and heart that you may do it! When I see the positive changes in people during this time of year I can’t deny the connection to the love of God and His nature that was placed on their hearts as He breathed life into His creation. The love and hope and truth of God, and His salvation is so near to the lips of mankind. This is why I propose for Christmas all year round! 

Ok, ok. My husband said we need an extra month of Christmas because the excitement is ripped away the second all the wrapping paper’s been torn open, but I’m not talking about a year in Christmas Town. I propose the generosity of Christmas all year. I propose the freedom and the willingness to talk about Jesus all year round. I propose we take the joy of Christmas to the world, all year round. Let’s not let Christmas end today, folks. As the world around us sees the love, peace, joy, and generosity of The Father, in the name of Christ, salvation becomes increasingly closer to their lips. Amen?!

Be Blessed and Have A Very Merry Christmas,

Pastor Renée 

When You’re In a Funk

Have you ever felt like you just want to quit? Have you ever felt like it’s just all too much…life and all the responsibility and this standing in faith stuff? Well, I know I have. There are times where I feel like a spiritual loser, moments where I take thoughts that I shouldn’t, instances where I let the devil’s fiery darts start a little fire in my mind. I know I’m not alone in this, and that’s why I’m writing this right now.

Ephesians 6:16 reminds us, “above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” If we won’t stand in faith, we won’t be able to put out those fires in our thought life. That word quench means to extinguish. It means to put out. It means to stop in its tracks as to prevent any further destruction. When the darts come flying, we can either extinguish them or we can add fuel to the fire.

Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of celebrating Labor Day with some church family, and the evening always commences in a huge bonfire. One thing you can expect is there will always be someone there with some gasoline to add to the fire to help get the fire to spread to the whole pile. In life, it seems that around every corner there’s gasoline waiting to be poured on the fire and it’s our job to avoid allowing that fire to consume us.  Think about it. Have you ever been having one of those days where you just felt like you weren’t seeing the blessing of God in your life? Then all the sudden someones comes along who doesn’t even serve the Lord and is driving the car you wanted? Or got that promotion you wanted? Or found their perfect spouse, like you had been believing for? What about when you have a symptom come in your body and all the sudden you hear on the news of someone else who just died because they had an illness that started with your same symptoms! This world is never short of circumstance that isn’t exactly what we’d like to see. 

We are to continually build our faith, keeping a working fire extinguisher nearby and ready to quench the fiery darts at all times. You’d think it foolish if you saw a platoon who showed up to the battle with no weapons, no shelter, no protection, and no way to defend themselves, but Christians are foolishly going about this life, with a real enemy, naked and afraid. 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.” As Christians, we are not to rely on the flesh. We are not to trust circumstance and we are not to lay aside the promises and protection of the Word, even when we feel like giving up, even when we feel like spiritual failures. We need to pick up and get well acquainted with our spiritual weapons! 

Look at 2 Corinthians 10:5, “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” We extinguish every thought that is contrary to the truth, which is the Word of God. But how do we do this?? 

The thought comes that you’re never going to get anywhere better than where you are now. You answer it! 2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” The thought comes that you’re never going to be able to pay off that debt and get those things you want and need for your family. You answer it! Philippians 4:19, “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” The symptoms come and the thoughts of death and destruction try to spread throughout your mind. Answer it! 1 Peter 2:24, “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” Psalms 107:2 reminds us, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy.” I’m saying so!! Are you!?

Ephesians 5:26 equates the Word of God to water. Have you ever tried to light a fire where everything was soaking wet? It doesn’t go very far. It’s a lot more work to get that fire to spread and to stay burning. Likewise, as we stay saturated by the Word, the devil’s got a lot more work to do to get that fire to spread and to keep that fire burning. Remember that faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word (Romans 10:17) and it’s the shield of faith with which we’ll be able to quench all the fiery darts. Extinguish those thoughts once and for all by staying full of the Word. Amen!?

Be Blessed, 

Pastor Renée 

Who Do You Serve

Matthew 6:24 (NKJV)

24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

In context, this scripture is about money but the principle is the same. You are always serving someone or something, there is no question to that. The question is in who or what do you serve?

The word “serve” means to obey, submit, or yield. Most people simply serve their own desires. They submit or yield themselves to what they want. This is often even the motive for doing good, because it makes them feel good. These things they yield to start to define their lives. You know it. When you think of people, you typically think of the things they do or how they act. These actions are driven by their desires that they submit to and thus these are the things that they serve.

One of the great things the Bible does is it instructs us not to conform to these old and natural desires but to transform our lives after God and His ways (Romans 12:2). There is the understanding that once we do we become free from those bondages and get to live blessed and free.

We are bound by our own affections. As a pastor, I have seen this time and time again. Knowing this, the devil sends temptation disguised as what we want. We take the bait and these desires become our pursuits, and these pursuits become our bondages. The devil doesn’t mind if you have what you desire if it keeps you from serving God. You may get frustrated and say, “well how can I even know?” Well, Galatians 5:16 tells us, “I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” We know according to John 6:63, that the Word is Spirit. Walking according to the Word of God keeps us safe.

Look what Titus 3:3 says, “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.” What stood out to me about this scripture was when it says, “serving various lusts and pleasures.” That’s the truth and if you take time to look at it, you will see too. We get so obsessed with what we want that we end up serving these things instead of enjoying them. It doesn’t have to be openly sinful or sinful at all. All the devil needs it to do is control us. Boom! Control equals bondage.

I am determined to not be controlled in life anymore by anything that does not produce righteousness. It is this worldly bondage that always leads us to death. No man was ever adulterous who refused to be controlled by desires. No one ever murdered, no one ever stole, nor did anything that hurt another human who was not controlled by their desire. In God we find true freedom, not just for us but for all we interact with. 

Acts 17:28

For in Him we live and move and have our being…

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff 

Committed Acquaintance

2 Timothy 1:12 (NKJV)

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

Our number one priority as a believer in Christ is to get acquainted with God. In fact, it isn’t just something we are to do but something we are to continually do. This is why He gave us His Holy Spirit. He is a constant reminder and draw to our Heavenly Father if we do not push Him aside. A “believer” who does not know God is one who will never be effective and this is precisely why so many Christians live ineffectively. You must take time to learn Who He is!

By and large people are on a journey to discover purpose. Once, I was in an antique shop and I came across an interesting contraption. It was very old and very specific in that it quite obviously had limited purpose. Specific purpose is not a bad thing if one knows how to utilize it. You could have taken this small machine and put it on the shelf, but without knowledge that’s all it would ever do. An instruction manual or someone who knows how to operate it, would have proven valuable. In fact, I have seen many antiquated tools whose only use is decoration because no one knows how they function.

Many people live as useless tools. Why is the bulk of our time spent on the discovery of purpose when we have clear instructions on what our purpose is? We seek happiness when true happiness will be abundant in being what we were made to be! Don’t you know the devil loves to get people confused in this area? God didn’t write instructions for us not to know, but who we are listening to does matter. 

I say that to say this: we have to have understanding of our relationship to Him in order to be able to really trust Him. Only when we truly trust Him will we be safe from what the devil is trying to steal. The second part of the verse I started with (2 Tim. 1:12) tells us, “(I) am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him”. Keep means to save or protect. To commit is to place something in the protective care of someone else.

What do you commit to God? So many people live life like they are at a casino. That may be fine for someone of the world but not a child of God. We have promises and access to things that the world couldn’t remotely get close to. We have real help, real joy, real peace, all at our disposal. It says in Psalms 37:5 to “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” What does He bring to pass? He’ll bring to pass whatever you need, as long as your way is truly committed to Him.  

Stop gambling Christian! Put your confidence in the One who will always comes through for us. Our God is a good God! He is wholy and eternally committed to us. Won’t you commit yourself to Him?

Philippians 1:6

being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff 

Trust In Him

Sometimes as a parent, and especially a mother,  it’s a challenge to separate your emotional love and care for your children from worrying for your children. Anyone who has ever had a mother or has ever been a mother, is familiar with this sort of worrywart nature. It’s almost as if you’re taught unless you worry, you’re not a real, loving mother. I can look back to my childhood and recall instance after instance where my mom expressed her love for me through worry.  And, as a mother, I can think of instance after instance in my life where I’ve expressed my love for my children through worry. This may seem normal, because it is the “norm”, but it’s not God’s highest and best. 

Proverbs 3:5, says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding.” We all know that our kids don’t know everything. Many times our children are with others many hours of the day whether at school, or at a job, at daycare, or even often times at an ex-spouse’s house. We all know that this world is full of dangerous things and negative influences, but the Word here says to lean not on our own understanding. We must not focus our attention on the “what ifs” or the “what could be’s” but instead we must focus on trusting God. Look at Isaiah 12:2, “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid…” Remember that worry can’t add anything to our lives (Matt. 6:27) and that fear opens the door for all those things to come in and wreak havoc (Job 3:25). 

One of the meanings of this word “salvation” is victory. I love what one of my spiritual leaders reminded me of recently when I asked about an issue I was concerned over. He said, “No matter what, we have the victory. We have to remember that.” We have to remember that the Lord is always our victory, even when our minds, even when circumstances, even when emotions tell us otherwise. Remember, 1 Corinthians 15:57, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We need to remember to answer those worries and questions with this scripture. “What if my child makes a bad decision?” “What if my child gets hurt?” “What if my child fails?” “What if my child gets sick?” “Thanks be to God who always give me the victory. No plan of the devil can win against my God. My children walk in protection and fulfill the plan of God all the days of their lives.”  

Remember Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” When we are tempted to express fear and concern for our children, or for others we love, we must remember that just as God’s words have creative ability, our words have creative ability. Are we calling into existence that destruction we fear? If so, let’s change that and start calling in the victory and the salvation instead. Look at the first part of Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification…” It’s time to start building up those we love, especially our children who are under our care. Amen?! 

Be Blessed,

Pastor Renée 

You Can’t Have God Without The Local Church

Ephesians 4:8Therefore He says:“ When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”

The first thing Christ did when He ascended to Heaven after He defeated the grave was give gifts to mankind. These gifts were specific, tailored to the most fundamental human needs. He goes on to tell us what the gifts specifically are. In verses 11 through 16 we discover the gifts are what are known as the fivefold ministry offices. To say it more simply, they are 5 forms in which God ministers to, equips, and protects His people. As we understand today, the place where we assemble together is the only place where these gifts benefit us.

It has become very common in today’s society to forsake coming together as the church because we are distracted by other things. In a world where there is so much going on and so much to distract us, people find themselves finding every reason to stop coming together. They will use every excuse known to man to justify this, however what they fail to see is there is only One who matters. This failure keeps them from partaking of the gifts Jesus thought so important to give to us. God does not give gifts haphazardly. His gifts are purposeful and direct with incredibly important reasons. One of the biggest reasons is found in Ephesians 4:14. This scripture talks specifically about people, God’s people, being deceived. We see this again in 1 Timothy 4:1. 

People are being deceived by outward forces. This deception comes through demons usually working through other people. People who aren’t taught the Word or who won’t listen to the Word end up falling into deception. The worst part is, they don’t even know it!

As a pastor, one of my primary jobs is to protect the flock through feeding them sound Biblical doctrine. As stated many times throughout scripture, I am to feed, point out falsities, and lead them in the direction of God, helping them find God’s plan for their life through the feeding of the Word. God’s Word tells us in Matthew 9:36 that people without a shepherd are scattered and faint. In other words they are weary, without direction, and prone to be victim of attack. If you understood the job of a shepherd you would understand the significance in all of this and why God chose this analogy. 

The shepherd is with the sheep continually. In fact, it is well understood that sheep, out by themselves, are in extreme danger. We are shown this in scripture time after time after time. The sad truth is, as sheep, people generally don’t see this until it is too late. The best thing God ever did after salvation was give me a pastor and a church. He gave me one that wasn’t afraid to speak the truth even when it wasn’t what I wanted to hear. Though at times hard to hear, when my pastor preached truth and I listened, my life always changed. I went from looking for answers to always finding them. My pastor taught and still teaches me, the most valuable thing since salvation. That is, how to hear from God! 

Jesus said in John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Without hearing God, it is impossible to follow Him. It is impossible to do any of this without what God has given us to be able to do so. Ephesians 4:16 says we are joined and knit into the Body by what every part does. Jesus said many times, he who has ears to hear let him hear. Well, isn’t that what ears are for, hearing, and mouths for speaking? If an ear can’t hear because it’s nowhere near the mouth, then the body attached to that ear is in big, big trouble.

Jesus made us one Body for a reason. We are His Body and we are meant to be joined together, not seperate. Make up your mind to not be deceived by anyone in life, but especially by yourself. The Word is our answer, it always is. Put yourself in the place to hear what God has to say and keep yourself from being destroyed. 

Psalms 92:13 Those who are planted (rooted, not moved from) in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff