Category: Faith Fix

What Is Worship (ATP)

“I’ve always thought when I heard the word worship that it was talking about songs we sing at church. Recently while studying the Bible I read that worship is any expression of reverence and adoration for God. Can you please explain worship?”

As modern day Christians we have put a spin on the meaning of scripture based on our current understanding of certain words and phrases. We do this with so many topics in scripture and worship is one of them. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word worship? If you’re like the person who asked this question, you probably thought of singing songs together before the minister gets up to give the sermon.

The first mention of the word worship in scripture is back in Genesis when Abraham was bringing Isaac to the altar to sacrifice him as the Lord had directed him. He called that process “worship”. When we look up the meaning of that word it is to bow down, to humble yourself in reverence, to lower yourself in order to raise Him up in honor. There’s nothing in this about singing songs. When Abraham was blessed with his child of promise, Isaac, the Lord tested his heart of willingness, obedience and honor. If you don’t know the whole story, go back to read Genesis chapter 22.

When we look at Moses, we see he was instructed to worship God on the mountain. What was that all about? It was symbolic of finding God in a high place. We see this symbolism throughout scripture. In Leviticus we see the command not to worship false idols nor bow down to them.  In the book of Numbers we see that Israelites joined in in the worship of Baal and God was angry with them. In Deuteronomy we see a continued theme of worshiping God instead of bowing down in worship to false idols and gods. In fact look how bold scripture gets here, Deuteronomy 8:19, “It shall come about if you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish.” God is really angered by His people worshipping other gods.

Now, I could keep going all the way through the Old Testament and into the New Testament all the way through the book of Revelation, and see this continued theme, but I think we can already see where it’s going. The devil took Jesus unto the high mountain, remember this is a place God Himself used to position His people in a place of worship, and we see here the devil trying to do the same thing for himself. The devil showed Jesus all the earth as his kingdom and tempted Him with it. Luke 4:6-7, “And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” The devil was giving Jesus a chance to worship, or bow down, to him in place of the Father. He gave him a picture of what He could have if He placed His worship on a false god. Remember we see that theme all through scripture and guess what?  We still deal with this temptation today! The enemy is still giving Christians temptations and presenting false gods to get their worship off of God and unto anything else. Look at how Jesus responded, Luke 4:8, “Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’” There’s more to the story, but this is the key. Our whole reverence, all our worship, the only throne we bow down before should be that of the Lord.

Look what Jesus said to the woman at the well, in John 4:22-23, “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers..” We worship God for what we know of Him. He first loved us. While we were yet sinners, Christ died to save us! God has prepared a place for us in His own family and has seated us in high places with Christ! God is our Abba, Father, our Creator, our Provider, our Victory, our Healer, our Peace!!

God said true worshippers must worship Him in spirit and in truth. What does that mean?  Well, firstly, that true worship is that of the heart. We cannot fake true worship. We can sing songs, we can go through the motions, but if our hearts are not in it, it’s not worship at all. We must worship God as a spirit within our very spirits. That means to our core, to the real us on the inside, God must be held as holy. We must also worship Him in truth, or as a fact. Many scholars translate this word to reality. That means we need to actually live our reality in Him, in keeping with the truth as taught in the Word, reverencing God in our lifestyles and respecting the duties of man as seen in God’s truth. Let me put this plainly, we must have our whole hearts in it, and our actions need to be in line with what’s in our hearts.

Why do we sing songs in church and call it worship? Well, we’re thinking the best of people. We’re assuming as people sing songs of thankfulness and love for the Lord that they mean it! Some do. Some don’t. When you come to the Lord in all things whether singing songs in church, sitting in service hearing the scriptures preached, working your daily jobs or fulfilling your daily responsibilities, and even during your recreation time, with a true heart after Him, refusing to live opposite of what He both intended and paid for, then and only then are you living out true worship.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Renée

What’s The Plan Man (ATP)

“We are all familiar with Jeremiah 29:11, but instead of God having an individual plan for you, can His plan for you actually be a 2 person plan, meaning the 2 people are suppose to walk out the 1 plan together?!”

I am convinced that God’s plans are infinite. Actually, I think it would be better to look at it like this. God’s plans are not as specific as His purpose. God has plans, sure, but He has chosen to implement His plans in part through humans, humans in which He also decided should have free will.

The fact that He gave us the ability to choose our own will over His, and that at any given moment or opportunity, if His plans were written in stone they would never come to pass. To understand this really we have to understand a few things. We need to understand why we are here, how He designed us, and how this all works in connection to His purpose.

How could we possibly know all this, right? Easy, Hebrews 1:3 tells us about Jesus, that He was “the exact representation of His nature.” Jesus came as we know to live a life that showed us perfectly what God desires, He died taking the punishment for our sin, and was raised again to life to be the first born among many brethren. Jesus came to make more of Himself to fulfill God’s purpose. However, we still must choose.

Now, I can speak to the question at hand. Though the Lord has a purpose in which He will employ believers to bring to pass, they can choose not to. In this case, to accomplish His “plan” He must utilize someone else. What God will do with people is exactly what Romans 8:28 says. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” See, many people like this because they see it in relation to their trials but in truth this is an example of God’s plans coming to pass. Maybe one person will choose right but the next will not. In that, He has to make another way but rest assured His will will be accomplished!

We are called into God’s work upon salvation. We are also called to come together in a local church to fulfill yet another level of the plan. If you are married there won’t be different directions although their could be different usages. One may be taking care of children and one may be in traveling ministry but both work together to bring something to pass. One parent may go somewhere to work all day and the other stay home but they are together accomplishing a bigger work.

God has plans for all of us individually, as pairs, as churches, as nations and there are different levels of participations and abilities but the most important part is the cooperation of each of us in each place. When we come to Him we must first discover what God wants from us. Then we see how that connects to the places He puts us, our towns, our churches and so on. When we realize that what God calls us into has a greater purpose we break out of the ruts that so many, that too many Christian’s never get out of.

Following God is the greatest blessing of living this life. The sooner we see this, in all of its components, the greater joy we will discover.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff

Why Fast And What Is It? (ATP)

What is fasting? Whenever we see fasting in the Bible we almost always see it connected with food. Typically it was done for at least a full day but in the case of Jesus, He fasted 40. Fasting was usually done for either mourning or when one was seeking God in prayer.

In our society fasting is used for many things, and not necessarily ones that relate to one another. Everything from discipline to weight loss, people may fast for many reasons. That culture inevitably gets into our minds and can create confusion. Before we talk about what fasting is in practice, we need to explore the purpose of it.

The flesh is loud, there is no doubt, and our society is rife with it. Many things in our society are designed to appeal to the flesh. Think of food advertisements that make you hungry or vacation advertisements with mostly naked and beautiful people. All are meant to draw you in by your desire with no consideration on thought. If you want someone to buy something from you, one of the most effective things you can do is entice them to want it without rationalizing it. The flesh is loud and the devil exploits this fact.

It’s no wonder then that God deals with the flesh in scripture so much. Galatians 5:17 tells us, “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.” If one desires to live God inspired spirituality, they will be in a battle with the flesh. The flesh will need to be subdued in order to allow the spirit to be heard. This is where fasting can be most useful.

What I find interesting is that fasting is a lot like prayer in scripture. We see examples of it but not a lot of instruction on the specifics of it. In fact other than Jesus saying, “this kind (of spirit) only comes out by prayer and fasting,” I am not aware of scripture that specifically directs us to do it or how. With that, we need to look at the principles of it.

Fasting does not move or change God, devils, or any other person. Fasting only affects the one who is not eating. Fasting has zero outward power and no spiritual magic. Fasting enables a person to more effectively yield themselves to His spirit. I remember as a young Christian I tried fasting many times to try and get something from God. God was the same after the fast was over as He was before it began and so was my situation. Fasting deals with the flesh, the individual’s flesh, and this is where it’s strength is.

All our answers to all our questions and problems are already known by God. In fact, I am convinced more as I go that the Bible is way more practical than we realize. It is in its basic form “instruction” in right living. More often than not our answers are found in what we can’t see, which is why God says about His own word to allow it to change our perspective. Our answers aren’t lofty, they are hidden and often the hiding place is our own desires and cravings. Fasting is an attack against what the flesh desires. Hunger is used as a metaphor so often for good reason. Hunger is a driving force that will push a person to do crazy things. When a person fasts, they make that flesh submit, and after a time to give up. When the flesh is silenced it enables you to more clearly hear in the spirit and yield to Him, and this is why it effective.

Fasting is like noise canceling headphones. When I am in a busy coffee shop and want to read without distraction I put on my headphones and press the noise canceling button. Suddenly, all I can hear is what’s in my ear, helping me to concentrate even when there’s tons of noise. Fasting silences the flesh. It’s in that place that helps you focus on God’s still small voice.

Now, though fasting in scripture is almost always done with food there is at least one other example I know of that is not food. I am not going to go into what that is because it would take at least another Faith Fix and without instruction could be very damaging. The reason I even bring it up is because I do believe there are fasts that do not involve food. I believe however, that there should be more instruction before one partakes.

I am giving an overview on this. There are a lot of things that should be considered when fasting and I would encourage a person to reach out to spiritual authority on help in the matter if they desire to do this. It can be very beneficial to your prayer life if you would add it in, but it should be done wisely. If someone thinks that they should start fasting or they are just more curious it would be a great thing to sit with your pastor either in a group or individually and have a discussion about it.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff

Expose Darkness (ATP)

“Ephesians 5:8-14 speaks of walking in the light and finding out what is acceptable to God. It talks about having no fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness but to expose them.  What exactly are unfruitful works of darkness? And if as it says in Ephesians 5:12, it’s shameful to even speak of them how do we expose them?”

It’s always good to read all scripture in context as much as we know how. Ephesians 5 is direction for us to live as “imitators of God.” Firstly, we are told to love like God, then to be pure and moral like God, and to keep our talk pure and fitting of saints, as to give thanks in our words and actions to the Lord. Particularly in this context, the correction for the Ephesian church was to make sure they weren’t following in the common practices of the culture, mainly perverse sexual sins. Ephesians were addicted to luxury and sexual vice. For example, a common practice was to use prostitutes as a form of worship to the goddess Artemis in a very elaborate temple there in Ephesus. As we read Ephesians 5 with this understanding, it makes a lot more sense.

Look at Ephesians 5:5, “For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” No idolator, meaning no worshiper of false gods is going to be saved. Ephesians 5:6-7, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them.” Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus warning them of the dangers of falling on line with the culture of where they lived. That temple, once a wonder of the world, was invaded and destroyed roughly 200 years after these scriptures were written, never to be rebuilt.

Now all of that to get to this, the scriptures you inquired about, Ephesians 5:8-12, which read, “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.” Paul was saying, under unction of the Lord, you have been made different than those who surround you! You are of the light now, so walk in light, not in darkness. When the word says, it’s shameful to even speak of these deeds, it’s really expressing the filthiness and obscenity that was going on. It’s not even fitting for a Christian to discuss things so vulgar. That’s how awful these practices were.

To expose really could be said that, by conviction, we bring to light the deeds of darkness. Just a couple years after Ephesians was written, Paul penned this to Timothy, a pastor in Ephesus: 2 Timothy 4:2, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” The way to expose the deeds of darkness is through preaching the truth, in the midst of the darkness. The Word of God is what brings conviction. It is what exposes evil. It’s what keeps the light on in a dark place. Ephesians 5:13-14, “But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”

When we read the Bible, we have to understand that it was written in very different times of very different customs than we live today. It was also written to specific people and people groups. But, what’s important for us is to pull the principles from the scripture that the Lord had for us to understand. We likewise live in a dark time, with many perverse customs around us, and much temptation to be deceived and lured into things unfitting for those who’ve been washed by the blood of Christ. I love Romans 6:1-2 (NKJV), “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” We’ve been made clean, saved by grace, but for good works! As we see things going on around us that we know aren’t right, we need to preach truth. We need to live in line with truth. As we see in the Word, we’re the salt of the earth and the light of this world. If we lose our flavor, or hide our light under a basket, all hope is lost for this lost and dying world. (Matthew 5:13-14) Let’s stay bright and salty church!

Be Blessed,

Pastor Renée

Selected, Connected, Directed

Matthew 6:13 (NASB)

‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]

1 Thessalonians 5:25 (NASB)

Brethren, pray for us.

Todays Faith Fix is sponsored by the Holy Ghost in conjunction with the Father and also the Son. Folks, the time is short! What time am I talking about? The opportune time. Ephesians 5:15 exhorts us to make the most of the time because the days are evil, meaning that time can be against us if we are not careful. Distraction is a ploy of the devil to keep us from accomplishing what God has for us. Until the time of this writing, I never saw the connection in the above scriptures.

In fact, I never truly realized just how much the apostle Paul sought the church to pray for him. As I awoke this morning with these things on my heart I was astounded at the connections the Lord made for me and ultimately for you.

Leading us not into temptation was always a concept that confused me until God showed me some things that literally blew my mind. Why would I need to pray to God for such a thing? Is He tempted to lead me wrong if I don’t ask Him not to? Certainly not! We have to remember that we find the fullness of direction in the abundance of scripture. It can be a dangerous thing to cherry pick scriptures because we like the way they sound without balancing them with others. When you do that, and many people do, you can literally make the Bible say anything you want. Ever wonder why there are so many ideas about the same Book?

Consider for a moment a few scriptures. 1 Timothy 2:1-2, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” Also, Hebrews 13:7, “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” Scripture is clear that God chooses over and over to use mankind to do His work. Though God leads us by His Holy Spirit, His method of doing so is often through another man or woman. This is true throughout the whole of scripture. We simply cannot be fully in God’s plan apart from the connections we have in the local church! When we pray to not be led into temptation or you could say trial or adversity, God is not talking about by His Spirit but by our leaders. This of course could be by governmental leaders but also by our spiritual ones, our pastors and the other ministry gifts.

I want to share another important scripture in this vein. 2 Corinthians 1:11 says, “You also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.” Let’s break this down a bit. Paul was seeing great trial here, to the point of wanting to die. As a leader of  two churches for several years now, I have experienced this many times. There are times when the heat is really turned up and I have felt like I could have written these scriptures myself. This idea of thanks being given for the gift is speaking about people rejoicing because of the preaching of the Word that changes lives and the leading of God’s spirit through these ministers. Yes, Paul coveted the prayer support of people and even though my ministry is not nearly as far reaching as his, I covet these prayers also. Did you know that effective ministry is impossible without it? Jesus said to pray for leaders, Paul and Peter said to pray for leaders, and I’m telling you we need to pray!

It’s easy to complain about what we don’t like, especially when it comes from another human. I remember feeling just this way when God corrected me. I was mad about something my spiritual leadership was doing that I didn’t agree with. In my spirit I heard, “Instead of complaining about them you could pray for them!” It wasn’t a gentle nudge either! Did you know that each of us will be held accountable for whether we pray for them? Yes, the Bible warns about not becoming a teacher of people flippantly but to do so with great care because there is harsher judgement. That doesn’t mean however, that those being led will not be judged. We are all stewards of the gifts we are given, we will all answer for them!

So what should we pray? Ephesians 6:19 says, “and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness (one translation reads fearlessly) the mystery of the gospel.” Also Acts 4:29-30 says, “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”  We need to pray that we be led into the place of exactly what God wants to see His church doing recognizing that He is going to do it through people. We also need to pray that we and our leaders are delivered from wicked and unreasonable men (2 Thessalonians 3:2).

I urge you, if you do not pray for your leaders, now is a great time to start. When we realize the need for leadership, and even more so good leadership, we should then recognize the need to uphold them in prayer. If our leaders do it wrong it’s as much our fault as it is theirs. Brothers and sisters I urge you a second time, pray for those God has connected you to. Help to fulfill His work through the hands and the mouths of the people God has placed in your life. Be delivered by the power and faithfulness of prayer!

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 (NASB)

But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff

I’m So Weak 😭 (ATP)

In 2 Corinthians 12:9 Paul speaks about God’s grace being sufficient enough. Sometimes I get confused when I read the Scriptures that say “I will boast of my weaknesses”. If you are in a Bible teaching church you are taught to be positive and speak positive, so why would you boast about your weaknesses?

The key to living like a Christian really comes down to one scripture, Mark 11:22, “And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God.” The scripture in question is really another way of saying the same thing.

In context, Paul is talking about opposition He was dealing with, a thorn in the flesh. Now I have heard many debates of what Paul was dealing with specifically, but I think all that is a distraction from what the Word is trying to get us to see. Paul was a man of faith. He lived faith, he taught faith, and he sought faith. He quoted scripture many times saying, “The just shall live by faith.” Paul certainly was not living outside of his faith and we see this here.

The very fact that scripture tells us that he sought the Lord three times gives us this knowledge. Paul knew what it was to diligently seek God in faith and that’s what he was doing here. As he did, he got his answer and his answer should be our answer. We all may not specifically hear the voice of God for every situation, God also expects us to know His word.

God said, my grace is sufficient for you. This needs to be our focus, so let’s look at it. God’s grace is basically His ability that He places on us when we are not able to do something. That last part is important. God will not empower self sufficiency. If you are able to fix a situation but you don’t, don’t expect a miracle to overcome it. I have many examples of this in my own life.

Whether it was smoking or weight loss or a myriad of other things, FOR ME, God has made me crucify my own flesh as I seek change. I have known others whom God has just removed the trial. For some He will, some He won’t and His reasons generally have to do with many factors, not the least of which is how He desires to use each one. Many things in my life God has not just taken them away though I pleaded for Him to. Why, you may ask? God knows me, He knows you, and He knew Paul. He knows what we can overcome and what we can’t. Sometimes God’s knowing exceeds our knowing and in those times He says, my grace is sufficient. In other words, you will have to press through this because the end of this will result in empowerment. If you are going to do anything for God, you will need to be empowered!

See, we are a mix of a few things working together and that is by design. God has gifted everyone with some thing or things, and for what we are not gifted in He makes up the difference. God knows this, however He desires that we know this as well. He strengthens our weaknesses and hones our abilities and in times where this is happening, our flesh usually suffers. In this case, God was telling Paul, now I want you to rely solely on Me, in faith.

Remember, the essence of faith is trust. Being Christians, we all have some faith but God desires to grow this in us. Faith will only be grown when we continually step out into the realm of what we couldn’t possibly accomplish, knowing what God wants us to do, relying solely on His ability (grace in us). This is where faith is born and where it grows. When Paul says he will gladly boast in weakness he is not glorifying being broken!

What Paul was saying is, if God’s power and glory is magnified in me when I am weak then I rejoice when I am weak! Why? Because God’s power is magnified and glorified in me! When we do what we naturally can’t by God’s ability, God is glorified in our midst. This is exactly what God has called us to do. This glorification always results in our blessing.

I tell people often when I preach, it is a sign and wonder every time I get into the pulpit and finish a sermon. People have no idea the weakness of my flesh when it comes to these things but it is proof to me and others every time that God is awesome! Though hard on my flesh, each and every time God comes through only increases my faith and thus I trust Him even more! Each and every time, God comes through!

The take away is this, sometimes we will ask God to alleviate some trial and His response or implication will be, my grace is sufficient. This doesn’t mean we live defeated or depressed, it means we rejoice KNOWING God will do something amazing! That’s called living in faith and that is what pleases Him most! Trust God, do good, He hasn’t yet, and will never leave us powerless! Victory in Jesus, Amen!

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff