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The Privilege of Knowing Jesus

We’ve all seen or been involved in relationships where someone has been taken for granted, whether it was us or someone else. It’s a sad thing, but it seems to be a human epidemic. We may have spent less time with our grandparents than we’ve wished we would have after they’ve passed. We may have valued our parents and all they did for us as children a bit less than we should have when we were living under their roof. Whether in a marriage, in a friendship, or in another kind of relationship, we all know what this looks like. You’ve heard the saying, “you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone.”

James 4:14 tells us a very important truth, “…you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” We have very little time on this earth in the grand scheme of eternity. If you’re a parent you know all too well how quickly the years fly by. It seems at times like a blink of an eye between changing diapers and teaching to drive. This is the picture of a vapor. Here one day, gone tomorrow. Because of this, we should want to make sure that we make the best of this life while we’re here.

Look at Philippians 3:8 in the Amplified Bible, “Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One).” The Apostle Paul had the revelation that he shouldn’t take Jesus for granted. He says here that everything else in comparison to Jesus is rubbish, refuse, and can’t even compare.

Even with modern medical science we still have less than 100 years on this earth, which compared to eternity is the equivalent of a week’s vacation, maybe less. Consider when you’re on vacation in a place you know you’re not likely to return to. What do you try to do? If you’re like me, you try to make sure you do and see everything that’s available in the short time you’re there. You don’t want to miss out on anything. Well, we’re not here on earth on vacation, but it’s such a short time. We don’t want to miss a thing.

Jeremiah 29:11 lets us know that God has a specific plan for each and every one of us and it’s a plan of hope and peace. God has given us the full ability and all the resources we need to accomplish that plan, in order not to miss out on a thing during our short time on this earth. It starts first with recognizing where our peace, where our joy, and where our hope begins. You don’t have to guess, it begins with Jesus! Let’s not take Him for granted.

Hebrews 12:1-2, “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Lets put aside the things in life that try to distract us away from giving Jesus our all. Let’s have no regrets when our earthly lives are over, knowing that through Jesus, we didn’t miss a thing.

Be Blessed,
Pastor Renée

Living & Abiding

A few years ago, I jumped on the bandwagon of these nifty little fitness trackers, starting first with the Jawbone Up App, then moving onto the FitBit. I found my competitive nature enough to stir me up to achieve my goal everyday, typically even surpassing it. I lost a lot of weight, I felt great, and it was all worth the while. But as a couple years passed by and it seemed all was well with my fitness goals, my esteem for the fitness tracker dwindled. At first it was unnoticeable but the longer I went, the more I noticed the effects of being away from it.

In John 8:31-32 (NKJV), Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” A FitBit only works when it’s actually used, when someone actually makes lifestyle choices in line with its guidance. Likewise, the Word of God only works if you work in line with it, meaning if you actually make lifestyle choices in line with His guidance. A person can’t get mad at the FitBit that they stopped paying attention to when their weight comes back. A person can’t get mad at the Word of God when they aren’t seeing the blessings promised within it, if they’re not abiding in and living according to it.

To abide means to stay, to dwell, to continue in. If you continue in the Word of God you will have the truth operating in your life. If you have the truth operating in your life it means you live in truth, you walk in truth, and truth guides everything you do. That truth leads to complete freedom from sin and from anything that will try to keep you under in this life. Unfortunately, often times Christians will get the result they were looking for whether it was healing or a spouse or a job, and then as time passes they forget the success they’ve had and revert back to their old ways of doing things. When we revert to our old lifestyle, we won’t have the benefits of that new life.

My fitness tracker tells me I should walk. Do I walk? My fitness tracker tells me I need to drink more water, do I do it? My fitness tracker tells me I’m not sleeping enough, do I go to bed a little earlier? We’re not just talking about fitness trackers, but about keeping track of whether or not we are abiding in the Word of God.

The Word says to come to church, not forsaking the assembling together of the brethren (Hebrews 10:25). Do I actually make that a priority in my life? The Word says to make your requests known to God, to pray to Him, to fellowship with Him (Phil. 4:6). Do I actually spend time doing it? The Word says I should be tithing (Malachi 3:10) and giving, putting the kingdom of God first, not worrying about my own things (Matthew 6:33). Am I always focused on me and mine? The Word says to speak to the mountains in my life, by faith, and they will move (Mark 11:23)! Am I actually using my faith and my authority in my everyday life or am I living defeated?

See the FitBit will track my physical fitness, but if I don’t pay attention to it and actually try to live in line with it, it’s not tracking my success, it’s tracking my failure. Likewise, the Word of God will track our spiritual success in this life, but if we’re not living and abiding in it, it’s not tracking our success, it’s tracking our failure. Let’s not live apart from the Word. Let’s let the Word dwell in us richly. Let’s let the Word be our guide. Amen!?

Be Blessed,
Pastor Renée

Be Hungry

It’s that time of year, the holidays, where families and friends come together to share in times of fellowship and in my personal favorite, times of great food. Since we’ve been married, the holidays have become a time of double dinners, if you know what I️ mean, my family dinner, then my husband’s family dinner. And if you’re like me, you may show up to the first dinner hungry and wanting to be first in line for the buffet because you’ve been starving waiting for that meal all day. But by the time I get to that second dinner, later on, I’m not as hungry. I’m often not hungry at all, so getting in line isn’t very important to me.

We’re not talking about food today, really. This is an illustration of Christians. Matthew 5:6 tells us, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” We have to be careful as Christians that the hunger we experience when we first come to the table, when we first come to the Lord, isn’t weaning, and doesn’t fade away. Thankfully, being filled spiritually isn’t the same as being stuffed full of awesome Thanksgiving food, as there’s always room for more filling in the things of the Spirit. If we’re not hungry, we won’t want to be fed. And we know from Deuteronomy 8:3 that, “…man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” We should continue to be full, which requires us to continually be hungry.

Back to those great holiday meals…again, if you’re like me, it doesn’t matter if you’re already stuffed full, when you smell that awesome pumpkin pie, you’re all of the sudden hungry again! You want it and you will make room for it. We know by experience how good that homemade pie is and that experience causes us to hunger when we weren’t even hungry before. Psalms 34:8, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.” Just as we can stir that hunger in our appetite for delicious dessert, because we know how good it is, we can stir ourselves up likewise in the things of the Word and Spirit. We can choose to be hungry! We can make room for the things of God, if we choose to. We do this because we know how good He is! Let us taste and see that the Lord is good and let us hunger for righteousness.

Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek first the kingdom of heaven. You know, children have it figured out pretty well. They’ve figured out how to be hungry just for the good stuff. Have you ever noticed that? They want to skip right to the good stuff and forget all about all that other stuff! We could learn something about our spiritual eating habits from our kids. Saving room for the good stuff, saving room for the things of God. So how do we do this? We put the things of the world down to go after the things of God. We can make sure we save room in our schedules for God, for church, for prayer, and for studying His Word. If we’ll make room, we’ll have room for the good stuff!

Be Blessed,
Pastor Renée

Does The Miraculous Still Exist?
2 Timothy 3:1-5
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

There is this debate among many in the Christian faith. I have heard some people who outright believe that miracles no longer happen. I want to start by saying this, if miracles no longer happen, what do you believe in.
Let’s turn to the Word. Our God is a miraculous God, He always has been. In all of creation we see the miraculous made into everyday events. The problem is, because we commonly see so many, they become less spectacular in our minds. We are told in the beginning of Romans that creation tells us about our God’s personality. That being said, we must first start there and then consider, if God does such basic things in such an extraordinary way, why would it be hard to believe He would do greater? The truth is, from Genesis through Revelation we see a God, who over every part of human history both past and future does miraculous works. So then, I pose this question: if this God who Himself claims to be the same yesterday, TODAY, and forever always did miraculous things in the past and says He will in the future, why would we even remotely surmise He wouldn’t today? I’ll tell you, it is because miracles are not common place and the reason for this is not God.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please Him. Jesus told many people who were healed that it was “their faith” that accomplished their desire. The Bible explains to us that faith is what we believe about God. Those who don’t believe receive nothing. Jesus said, “All things are possible to those who believe (have faith).” People don’t see miracles because people don’t believe in them. I will tell you though, we believe in miracles and we see them. We will see even more!

God’s divine nature is shown in awe inspiring and miracle-working power. Jesus came in part to show us how to live, get back to us the things that were lost through sin, and equip us to go into the world and win a lost and dying people back to the Kingdom of God. His nature and direction has not changed but His people have. They forget Who their God is. Remember in the famous Lord’s Prayer when we say, “On earth AS IT IS in Heaven”?

Let me end with this thought: if God no longer does miracles, then why bother praying? One reason we pray is to petition God to move miraculously on a situation that is impossible naturally. That isn’t the only reason for prayer but I will tell you that by and large the majority of people who “believe” use prayer for only that. Many of these people are the same people who believe that miracles are a thing of the past. Sooner or later we need to do a heart check on what we believe and why we believe it. If we can’t believe in what the Word of God shows us, what’s the point of doing or living by any of it? God still does great things because God is a great God. I’m sold on it, are you?

Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff

Have It Now

Hebrews 6:11-12 (NKJV)
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

As I was driving through town one day, on the side of a furniture rental van in big bold letters I saw the words, “Have it now!” Imagine the kind of world we would have if the big bold signs and billboards were covered in wisdom scriptures! “Have it now”, tickling the fancy of impatient people who can’t see the benefits of obtaining things with character.

It is a common thing to cater to the realm of emotions, passions, and desires without considering the effects of it. The first thing we have to understand about God is that He wants you blessed, happy, and full. He is not opposed to His children flourishing. In fact, He provided every possibility of it. What God is against is covetousness.

Covetousness is not the desire for nice things, though many religious minded people think this is so. To covet is to desire such things, anything, greater than God. The thing about coveting is that wealth or the lack of it doesn’t matter. When something consumes your thoughts, that is the thing you covet.

Deuteronomy 8:18 tells us that the Lord gives us the power to get wealth. That is not to say that all wealth is generated by God. God certainly created the idea of wealth, and the processes on the earth to make it happen. However, just because someone taps into natural principles does not mean that God has ordained it. This scripture is referring to God’s people who are being obedient to Him. It’s those He will make rich. That trips a lot of people up but do you remember the first thing Jesus said He was anointed for? Luke 4:18 tells us He was anointed to preach the gospel to the poor. In other words He wanted to give those who hunger for Him the power to get wealth. Why? You may ask. It is because God hates poverty and lack.

God’s wealth requires something of people. It is to be obedient and to have good moral character. Proverbs 10:22 tells us He won’t add wealth to someone who it will cause sorrow upon because they can’t handle it. The blessing of the Lord does make one rich but that blessing is withheld from those who cannot handle it. Again, I am not saying all wealth comes from God but His wealth is a blessing.
People have all kinds of wrong thinking when it comes to money. Some believe He abhors it and others believe you can just name it and claim it. I know God is a middle of the road God and neither is true.

If you don’t tithe, and give, and you’re always focused on money, or you’re a bad steward of it, you can claim it all day long but He ain’t bringing it! On the other hand you can go without simply because you believe God wants you poor.
God wants you full and blessed. Romans 8:32 expresses this magnificently. That does not mean His will is automatic because we also know this simply isn’t true. The Word always points us to God’s plan. The Word always sets us free, first in the way we think.

Get into the Word and find out what God truly wants. Let your character and mind be conformed to His way and watch how He will prosper you again and again. God Loves us and He is waiting to fill us! Will you turn your glass over so He can or do your actions knock it over every time He tries?

Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff

The Rich Get Richer

Matthew 13:12 (NKJV) says, “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

It’s scriptural! I heard a man in a coffee shop say, “That’s the way of the world, the rich get richer.” Well actually that’s the way of our Heavenly Father! Now before you decide to stone me, give me some space to explain. To understand you must first know what rich in God’s eyes means.

2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” That word rich there doesn’t just mean monetarily wealthy, although it certainly doesn’t exclude it. That word means to have abundance or to be fully supplied. If you are fully supplied you have everything that is needed and that abundance gives you more. According to the Word of God this is in every area of life. It would include His joy, peace, favor, knowledge, etc.

God calls Himself our Father. A good father takes care of his family in every area. God didn’t use the example of fatherhood in referring to Himself as an accident but as a way we could know without doubt. Just like natural fatherhood however, if the children go astray the parent cannot stop consequences. Why do we see bad things happen to good people? It is because humanity as a whole has gone astray. People erroneously believe it is because God orchestrates everything. This would be impossible and at the same time still allow us to have free will. That said, our good Heavenly Father wasn’t ok with this so He provided a way back. Just like the act of the first children not to obey, we have to do our part to come back to Him and to stay. It’s our choice; it always has been.

Sin is a slippery slope. Your sin, my sin, they don’t just affect us but all those around us. This is why there are so many tragic things that happen. As God’s people have gone astray, and continue to live disconnected, bad things happen. It’s not as an act of His will but ours. We live in a time in history when people, the Church, have been so astray that people don’t know which end is up. They haven’t let His Word dwell in them richly and therefore they don’t know Him, what He does or doesn’t do, or what He wants. They believe the lie from the devil that He is unknowable as well as His will and they fail to ever see it. However, that is no excuse.
God has made us rich and given us great ability that we will never see unless we repent and turn again to Him. To those who do, He will cause them to continually increase until they overflow. Those who who don’t but still say they are His, even what they have will be taken. God wants to increase you but it will only happen by seeking Him and doing His will. Only when you get sold out to what He has said, will you be free. Only then will you walk in the fullness that He already gave you. Only then will you resemble what a child of the Most High, overflowing and abundant God designed you to be.

Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff