Category: Faith Fix

Question: It seems readily preached that a woman’s highest and best is being a mom, even more if she stays at home with the kids. While a father’s role is to work and provide. Motherhood is an incredible blessing however it seems in many Christian circles or camps it’s preached that moms no longer get breaks or time to herself. When it’s to the point where a mother struggles to even get a shower in or rest when needed or spend time with others with out children time to time… is that accurate? While a father is able to come and go have hobbies, friends etc. and finding care to have breaks is up to the woman. I see a lot of Christian women are struggling with this situation, isolated, and on the other hand I see a lot of preaching that it is a blessing and women should be content with the way things are. It seems out of balance? What does the Bible say about this? 

As a mom of three, who has always worked full time as a teacher, we certainly don’t subscribe to or preach this philosophy in this local church. As far as all the preaching you’re hearing on this topic, I would suggest to stick to the feeding of the word and from the places God has called you to learn and be fed. It sounds like much of what you’re listening to isn’t edifying and there’s no help there. Now, at the same time, we don’t frown upon a mother who works as a stay at home mom either. In fact, when my kids were younger, my job was often harder in July and August when we were all home together everyday. I think it’s because often when there’s no paycheck attached to the hard work it doesn’t feel like it’s rewarded and true godly motherhood is just this way, often behind the scenes and the rewards aren’t readily seen. 

Look at Psalms 127:3, “Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.” Children are a reward from the Lord and we shouldn’t lose sight of that in the work that’s involved in raising them. Sometimes we will have to remind ourselves that our children are gifts from God. Most mothers feel this way, but there are many moments of stress and frustration that the only way out of them whole is to see God’s plan, promises and blessing in all of it. Psalms 113:9, “He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD!” Personally, I was not sure if my body would ever bare children and I know many other women who have waited years to have children and others still who have never had the chance. I’ve tried to remind myself of this in the hard times of motherhood. 

Now let’s look at the Bible to see what the role of a mother is, because this is the best place for us to learn from the Lord. Here’s what the Bible says about a godly woman, Proverbs 31:27, “She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.” Even as a working mom, I’ve always overseen the daily affairs of my home as well. That doesn’t mean my husband didn’t do his part, but I believe God has put that in women as part of who we are. With this, the Bible doesn’t specifically say how the division of responsibilities in the home is supposed to be. Every marriage, every home, every family is going to run differently and it’s up to each of us to work that out amongst our own households. Shower schedules, breaks from home, hobbies, these are all up to each of us. The Bible doesn’t address these things as far as I can find. 

The most important part of motherhood, that which we must cut through the distractions and responsibilities of life to focus on, is to train up our children to love and serve the Lord. This should be kept as our priority each day. We see these examples in scripture over and over again as we consider Hannah and Samuel,  Elizabeth and John the Baptist, Mary and Jesus, and so on. We know that Timothy was exhorted by the Apostle Paul to stir up the faith within him and can look here in 2 Timothy 1:5, where that faith began in him, “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.” Why was Paul sure that the faith of Lois and Eunice was in Timothy? A godly mother will work to put this in her children. This must be kept always at the forefront of our hearts, words and actions as we accept the gift of motherhood. Remember we are raising them up to love and serve the Lord.

Be Blessed, 

Pastor Renée 

Question: I know it’s biblical to be your best to glorify God and give Him a good image, however when do we take it too far? I’ve noticed that there might be a bit too much concern about what others think about our downfalls or things we struggle with and our less than perfect actions. It leads to embarrassment and criticism. I’m thinking at this point maybe we need to care a little less about what others think and more about each other, giving grace, encouragement and loving each other through the imperfections and sins we struggle with. 

1 Corinthians 6:20 (NASB)

For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

I find it helpful when we see a problem to ask the right questions. I have found there are a lot of things that Christians fight about, often times fighting the wrong thing. Spouses fight each other on their failures when the fight they should be fighting is to love each other when it’s tough. People fight abortion when we should be advocating for and living morally. People will fight a preacher for an area they missed something rather than fighting to support them in what they are doing right. People love to fight! 

The problem here that you are seeing is not in glorifying God. The scripture clearly tells us that this is our purpose. If it is our purpose, it should also be our goal. Here is the issue however, the things asked in this question is not what glorifying God is about. Being imperfect is not the opposite of glorifying God. He made us with that capacity. What does it mean to glorify Him?

Jesus said in Matthew 9:13, “I desire compassion not sacrifice.” Compassion glorifies God. In Matthew 22:37-39 He said that the greatest commandment was to love God with all your heart and all your soul, and all your mind and to love your neighbor as yourself. True love, love for God and people glorifies God. In John 15:8 Jesus said, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” Bearing much fruit unto God glorifies Him.

In none of these things did Jesus ever claim that perfection glorifies Him. What Jesus was talking about is living a life over all that brings glory to God. In the context of the scripture we started with in 1 Corinthians 6:20, the instruction was in living a moral life, again not being perfect. The heart behind what Paul was saying to the Corinthians was that if we live sinfully we are not glorifying God in our bodies. This is referring to a lifestyle of claiming to belong to God but then purposely living like the devil. 

We need to be extremely careful about being critical. There is a big difference between critical thinking and being critical. Being a critical thinker, I may look at something and recognize that it doesn’t bear much or good fruit. I may see something I’m doing as a lot of effort yet with little payout. We do this (or should) all the time in our lives. Recently, while riding in a taxi, I was blessed that driver took a shortcut to avoid a traffic jam. The meter was running and it can get costly if you’re just sitting in one spot. Him deciding to take an alternate route was critical thinking. Being critical attacks the person, their motives, and their heart. This can be a major problem.

Recently, someone I know did something that I felt was rather worthless. Truth be told it actually was. Recognizing in my mind that something was not super fruitful, was not necessarily wrong. But I didn’t just leave it as a thought, I embraced it as a meditation. I found myself being quite critical of this action. Then when I was closing a service out, the Holy Spirit revealed a truth to my heart. If I could sum it up, this is the way it came across to me, “Why are you judging My servant, they are learning to follow Me! What’s it to you how they learn to do that?” I repented instantly and in front of my church for that. See, though the action that this person took wasn’t very fruitful, learning obedience to what God was speaking to their heart was! I was quite embarrassed!

The point that I am trying to make is that we need to distinguish what glorifying God really means. Glorifying God is not as much an action as it is a lifestyle of actions and the heart behind them. Imperfections in the home, in the church, on the job, or in life in general are unavoidable. We shouldn’t be so hung up on them. What are we trying to accomplish over all, that’s what truly matters. I have learned that God is far more pleased in our willingness and attempt to follow Him than He is in our being perfect in every step.

Don’t pull back from glorifying God, just settle in your heart what it really means. We were made to do this so in doing so we will always find His peace and His joy. God is perfect and Him alone. We don’t need a place of perfection, just the one Who sits in it!

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff 

Question: Can Christians with unforgiven sin still have the Holy Spirit inside? Do we have to ask for forgiveness first to make “room” for the Spirit? 

In the first question, the answer is really in the question. I decided to put these two questions together because I believe they have the same answer. First, let’s look at what it means to be a Christian.

In a day and age where there is a war on defining terms I think it’s important to understand why. If you think the confusion in the world is all about things like gender identity or right and wrong, you’re sadly mistaken. The devil doesn’t care about all that. What he is trying to do is cause confusion because confusion is opposite of God. God is a God of surety and answers, God gives the ability to have faith or confidence. The devil loves when people are confused because it causes instability.

What is a Christian? The suffix “ian” means belonging or relating to or you could say, of. Therefore a Christian should be of Christ or belonging to Him. The Bible tells us in John 8:31 (NASB), “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.’” A disciple of Christ or one who learns and follows His teachings is a Christian. But Jesus also said in John 3:3, that you must be born again. We refer to this as salvation. But what does that really mean?

When asked about this very thing in Acts 2:38 (NASB), Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Salvation requires that we recognize we are sinners and that we need a savior to save us, and that Jesus is that savior. We then repent of our sins for that forgiveness. Pay close attention to the end of that verse. Once a person is born again, they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

The only way to receive the Holy Spirit is through salvation. When we are saved, provided we continue to trust in God for that salvation, we remain in that place. At the point of being born again we receive as much of God’s Spirit as we will ever get. He is not a substance that increases and decreases, He is a Person, He is God. That being said, one of the things He does in us is fill us. What that filling is, is the key here.

What does God fill us with? He fills us with grace, He fills us with love, He fills us with goodness. He fills us with His fruits (Galatians 5:22-23). But what if we sin? We don’t lose God’s Spirit because we sin, but sin fills us with other things. The more full of those things we are, the less room there is for God to fill us with His good things. This is precisely what we see in Ephesians 5:18. This is a perfect verse for this subject. “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.” Here, being “filled with” literally means to be filled by means of. In other words, be filled with what His Spirit fills you with, not unfruitful things. 

If you are truly a Christian, the fullness of God’s Spirit dwells within you. He isn’t a half in and half out God. Yet He still allows us to decide if we want His filling or our own. Romans 8:11 (NASB) says, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit wants to give us His kind of life. He wants to fill us completely but sin will hinder that filling and thus that kind of life. 

This is precisely why when I hear of someone who claims to be a Christian yet openly and willingly embraces a sinful lifestyle, I have my doubts. Why? Because if God’s Spirit is truly in someone (and He is in all true Christians), then they will have a desire to be filled with God’s good things. This does not mean they won’t sin or miss it, but a true believer cannot just practice sin without remorse. How can I say that? Because God isn’t a half in half out God! Sin in a true believer cannot be comfortable to them. The Bible says that the flesh and spirit war against each other!  

So, the fullness of God’s Spirit is in us if we are His. Jesus promised us that His Spirit would also remain forever. If we sin, we no doubt will feel the need to repent if we have not calloused our spirits. This is a beautiful gift we’ve been given, the Holy Spirit. We should make the most of the fact that God wanted to set up camp inside of us. Let’s allow Him to fill us just as He desires to do!

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff 

Question: The Bible mentions that we should not be as stumbling blocks to others. Does that mean what we do with or around others can affect them to a point where we will be held accountable? 

Matthew 18:7 (NASB)

“Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!”

This is a powerful set of scriptures that I think are commonly mistaken. The word stumbling block is sometimes translated offense. It is also understood as the trigger on a trap. What does it mean to cause a stumbling block or an offense? Let’s take a look.

In context, the Bible here is talking all about how our actions affect others. This is the very nature of the love walk that Jesus talked about. So many times people have tried to make these about the person “offended” but that is simply taking scripture out of context. What Jesus was talking about is being the offender, not the offended!

When Jesus said, “Woe to the one through whom the stumbling block comes,” He’s referring to the one who causes the stumbling block or, in other words, sets the trap. We have to be wise about not causing others to stumble. Many times in church history, pain has been caused because of those who should know better yet don’t do better. I can’t tell you how many “former believers” I have met who are that way because of the hurt that other believers have caused. The ones who have caused it will often justify it but it will not be so easy when they give account to the Lord!

Look at Colossians 4:6 (NASB). “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” Now look at Matthew 5:13-16 (NASB). “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” In all of these scriptures and in fact, many, many more we are told to focus on what we are doing and consider if it helps or hurts others.

Now look at this proverb. Proverbs 18:19 (NASB) says, “A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a citadel.” Here again, the brother offended is not the point. The urging is to not offend so that you can win them over. The word offended here means to be trespassed against. What we do that causes hurt and or offense to others, will be dealt with when we stand before the Lord. Over and over throughout scripture, the Lord rebukes the offender.  So much so that in Matthew 18 the Lord Himself says that it would be better for the offender to have a millstone tied around their neck and thrown into the sea! Wow!

One of the earliest things I learned as a Christian was how my sin directly affects so many others. It is a sobering and sometimes scary realization. I can forgive anyone, I truly can. However, will everyone I have offended be able to forgive me? What negative reactions toward faith and to God will what I do cause in others? I have seen so many parents not really consider how their actions affect their kids. There are many parents that will stand before the Lord and realize how their actions led their children right to hell. I cringe at the thought. This is why I do my best to stay humble before my family, quick to repent and apologize if I know I’ve wronged them.

As a pastor I’ve seen this as well. Once I was preaching and I allowed myself to get on a soapbox that was more personal than it was spiritual. When I said what I was saying, it wasn’t technically wrong, however it was said, not considering my audience. I’ll never forget the look one lady had on her face, I knew she wasn’t happy. As I left church that day, I heard these words in my spirit, “I hope your opinion was worth not seeing her in your church again!” I was instantly convicted and very sorrowful. That was the last time that I saw that woman, she left offended, not to return.

My heart still breaks for that moment, because though I felt justified and again was “technically right,” the offense I caused was horribly wrong. What an effect our words and actions can have on people weaker in the faith! Romans 14:12-13 (NASB) instructs us soberly, “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.” Our job first is to walk in love and at the highest priority, as much as up to us, not cause another to stumble.

There will be many things in this life people will stumble over, Jesus Himself being a stumbling block. If they stumble over righteousness, so be it. If they stumble over unrighteousness, may it never be! The law of love demands us not to cause another to stumble. Rest assured if we do, we will answer to the Lord about it.

Romans 12:18 (NASB)

If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff 

Question: Are “specialty anointings” or endowments real? For instance, a minister says, “God gave me a specialty anointing to heal eyes or cancer”.  Have you ever seen fruit to this that glorifies the Lord ? My assumption is that if a minister truly had a special gift- it would stand out and not need promotion… 

Well, I definitely think  that this question could be done in multiple parts, maybe even more. Here is the second part of the answer, so if you haven’t read last week’s Faith Fix. 

Someone once said to me when I was asking them about ministry offices, “I prefer not to get all wrapped up in that.” The idea they put forth was all that really mattered about these offices (or Biblically, gifts) was the one that’s important is the one needed at the moment. I like that because this seems more in line with scripture.

Paul said this about ministers, 1 Corinthians 3:5 (NASB), “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.” The emphasis in scripture is never on the one gifted but the gift that’s needed. Does this mean the minister means nothing? Certainly not! The Bible says in 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.” We must find balance in these things, however. How do we appreciate and esteem someone? Well, how do you feel appreciated and esteemed? These things are not hard when we determine to do to others as you would have them do to you.

As far as “anointings” go however let’s consider some things. Romans 12:3 (NASB) says, “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” This scripture, if you continue to read, is dealing with the things God has gifted us with. First, the one “gifted” is to think soberly about themselves and the gift. Verse 6 instructs them to operate these gifts within the sphere of what their faith allows. No where in scripture are we directed to exalt a gift, even Jesus did not do this. Remember when the disciples came back all excited because “even the demons were subject to them”? His response was not, “Rejoice in your gift!” In fact, He specifically said not to!

You may be thinking, but didn’t Paul say that he magnifies his ministry? He did, in Roman’s 11:13. However, the context was not that he went around talking about it, inflating it, selling tickets to come watch the show. It means that he did right by it, operating in it as best he could so as to bring honor to God and draw people unto Him. Even the Holy Spirit does not speak of His own will, but that of the Father (John 16:13). In other words, He too pointed to the Father.

Self promotion is a dangerous thing and is the absence of humility. Paul spoke of this in 1 Corinthians 9:16 (NASB). “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.” He did it because he knew in his conscience if he did not he would get in trouble with God. It is my opinion based on what I see in scripture that we should never seek opportunity, but rather follow opportunity. The devil even tried to get Jesus to self promote, and yet He refused. 

I am not saying that it’s unbiblical or unrighteousness to ever promote something. Don’t you appreciate when something you really want to partake of was advertised so you could make plans? Just before writing this, I was looking at a ministry’s itinerary so I could plan on being in meetings. Each date had a little promotion and I liked that as it made it easier to decide which one to be at. I just think we need to promote with the utmost humility. Consider this, when Jesus went about doing good, He often told people not to tell anyone. John the Baptist preached in the wilderness and people came to him. Paul simply preached Jesus and Him crucified and news went out that the one who formerly persecuted now preached. If it’s God, He will do the promoting. 

One last thing, I want to make sure I answer the question of is there “specialty anointings”? I do believe the Bible indicates, though not necessarily explains special abilities. You will see at different times in the Bible where people did different or similar things but not all things. Elijah, Elisha, and Jesus all multiplied food, however not everyone did. I think the sum of all this is really found in Romans 12. Operate in faith according to ability you know you can operate in and you will do just fine. Is it wrong for a minister to talk about what they know the Lord has gifted them to do? I don’t think so, if done in humility. But that’s a whole other discussion.

1 Peter 5:6 (NASB)

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,

Be Blessed, 

Pastor Jeff 

Question: Are “specialty anointings” or endowments real? For instance, a minister says, “God gave me a specialty anointing to heal eyes or cancer”.  Have you ever seen fruit to this that glorifies the Lord ? My assumption is that if a minister truly had a special gift- it would stand out and not need promotion… 

One of the things that I have learned in nearly 20 years of serving the Lord is that if something is of God, it will definitely bear fruit that glorifies God. Now, with that being said, we have to be careful at what we mean by bearing fruit.

First, let’s tackle what it means to bear fruit. Philippians 1:11 (NASB) says, “having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” What, one could ask are the fruits of righteousness? Simply put, they are the same as the fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23. Some people think that righteous fruits would be seen in the size of the ministry, or the amount of money that one has, or the amount of following that one has. The Bible just never refers to fruit in this way. Let’s think about this honestly. Could this be the real way of judging? Consider groups like the Ku Klux Klan. They had quite a following at one time but were they righteous? Or how about Nazi Germany. For a time they really picked up steam, but were they righteous? Of course, the answer is no. Now, I am not equating ministries that have maybe gotten a little out of balance to Nazi Germany or the Ku Klux Klan but my point is this, that righteousness is not necessarily determined in all the things we see. It is however found in what God sees.

Because I am a context junkie I want to go back in Philippians to a few scriptures before and see this in context. When we do this, I think will see something pretty interesting. Philippians 1:9-10 (NASB) says, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.” What is being asked to abound? Is it not love? Or, in other words, if something that people are doing does not first point to love for God and love for people, not themselves, then it is not fruit of righteousness. Also, men are not called to draw attention to themselves. Jesus actually fought against drawing people toward His miraculous actions. The Holy Spirit we are told will not speak of Himself either. I believe it is dangerous any and every time an “anointed” person draws attention to themselves or their ministry. 

Moving on, notice it didn’t stop there. How does this love abound?  It abounds in REAL knowledge AND discernment. How important are they! What I want you to see here is that the direction for real knowledge and discernment is not pointing to ministers. It is written to those who believe. If we are to be good Christians we have to learn to discern and we do that through embracing real knowledge as opposed to false knowledge. We, like the Berean’s of Acts 17, are called to search the scriptures daily, not swallow every revelation or announcement of man.

With that said, let me say something else. This is not giving us license to get up in arms and fight, because we are also called to peace (remember the fruits of the Spirit are required in us as well). We, as Philippians 1:10 states, are to remain sincere and blameless until Christ returns. If we are in opposition to what is being taught continually we have to decide whether or not we may have to move on. It doesn’t do us nor those we are supposed to be in fellowship with any good to be at constant odds with each other. Let me add, that this also is highly displeasing to God. 

I believe we have a responsibility to either dwell in peace or move on, but we must stay in peace. As a pastor I am commanded to shepherd the flock that is among, not without. As sheep, people need to realize that they need shepherded. I don’t choose my flock, God does and people do. Where God has placed or does place you is where you will flourish. Don’t fight where He has you, but if where you are is a fight, perhaps you are misplaced.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff