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And The Two Become One

For those of you living in Western NY you’ll know we had quite the bout of winter weather to start this week. I found myself awakened by the extreme winds in the wee hours, talking to my husband around 4 a.m. which got me thinking about this husband/wife relationship we have. It’s funny how I can wake him up just to tell him to listen to the wind. When I’m cold I can invade his space. His side of the bed becomes my side of the bed and his body heat becomes my personal heater. We can work together, laugh together, rest together, and just exist daily knowing we are in this life together. You may be thinking, where are you going with this? Ephesians 5:31 says, “…a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” When I consider my marriage it’s an example of this through and through. 

I’m so thankful for this because it’s easy for me to understand the way my relationship with God is supposed to be. Look at the next verse, Ephesians 5:32, “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” Jesus came and died and rose again, sending the Holy Spirit to live on the inside of us and become one with us. We can work together, laugh together, rest together, and exist daily knowing we are in this life together with Him! Look at Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Our life should be of the same purpose as Jesus. Our life should be one with Him. We should be able to go to the Lord without hesitation, just expecting Him to listen. We should be able to go to Him for comfort, just expecting Him to comfort us. 

Read Colossians 1:26, “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Christ in you, and Christ in me, us becoming one with Christ, is the hope of glory! That word glory is His magnificence! It’s His excellence and His grace! We need power in our life? We need His glory operating in us! Look now at John 17:22, “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.” God’s intention for us was that just as Jesus and God the Father are one, we would be likewise one with Him. This is the true freedom in Christ, oneness with Him! I get excited about that!!

Oh and it gets better… look at John 16:14-15, “He (the Holy Ghost) will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” When I entered into covenant with my husband, all he had became mine and all I had became his. (No husband and wife should live separately, as this covenant relationship is meant to show us things about our relationship with the Lord.) When we accept and proclaim Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, all He has becomes ours and all we have becomes His. There’s meant to be no separation. Let God invade your space, like I invade my husband’s space. Let Him in and give Him free reign in every area of your life. All His glory and all His power comes along with Him! Amen?!

Be Blessed,

Pastor Renée 

There’s A Plan For Your Life

Ephesians 2:10 AMP

For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship),recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].

Jeremiah 29:11 is a familiar scripture if you’ve attended our church, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” From the beginning of the creation of man, God had a plan for mankind, and for each individual He created. After the fall of man, that plan didn’t go away, but God had to send Jesus to make it possible for us to get back to that hope and future He had for us. God prearranged a GOOD LIFE for us! He prepared the way that we SHOULD walk in it. But the choice is up to us. Philippians 2:12, tells us we should, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Fear and trembling refers to reverence and honor. Our hearts should want to honor God and our actions should align with that honor. 

Look at Psalms 23:1-3, “…He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.” Notice, the Lord leads, but doesn’t drag. The Lord leads, but doesn’t force. That word lead means to guide or to conduct. I think of a museum guide who takes you on a tour. The only ones who get the knowledge are the ones who listen and follow along. Some people stop to look at something else. Some go a different direction entirely, but if you want to be led, you must follow. I also visualize an orchestra conductor. The musicians could all play a different song. They could refuse to play a song at all. It’s the whole group coming together, led and conducted that makes the sweet sound of music. We must CHOOSE to let Him lead us. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” He is the way! But we must choose the path. 

Matthew 7:13-14 says, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.

Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” I can’t help but to think of the closing verse of a famous Robert Frost poem, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Folks, it makes all the difference whether we choose to follow Him or follow another path. Many are called and few have chosen. Let’s be the ones who choose His way, His path, His plan, His truth, and His life. Amen!

Be Blessed,

Pastor Renée 

Easy Receiving

Matthew 11:29 (NKJV)

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Our God is a good God. His greatest desire is us. Imagine then, how frustrating it must be to have your greatest desire always distracted by lesser things. God has a wonderful plan in place for humanity. Eye has not seen nor ear heard the (marvelously amazing) things which He has for us the scriptures says. He desire is to reveal it, though.

In the above scripture He calls Himself gentle. I did a little research on this word and was blessed by what I found. Perhaps the best definition, at least in my opinion, is easily imposed on. I find it amazing that the creator of everything, you, me, and all that we see, is easily imposed upon. So many people go to God afraid, never really knowing whether He will help or not. That’s how people feel but that’s not the God of the Bible. He says, “Come to Me, I’m ready to answer you.”

The key to coming to God is found plainly in Hebrews 11:6. You must believe that He is a good God and all that that entails AND that He is a rewarder of those who know their place. My daughter comes to me any time she needs or even desires anything. She knows, at least as far as she is concerned, that I am easily imposed upon. She knows it isn’t hard to get her way. Now she knows also that I will never do anything that would harm her so when I do say no, it’s in her best interest. But I don’t make a habit of saying no if it will bless her. Maybe one of the greatest reasons I love to bless her is because it makes me think of my Heavenly Father. He loves to bless me!

We as Christians need to live as God intended us to. He paid for such a glorious covenant so that we could! The key however, to any covenant is knowing what belongs to you in it. When two people marry, they recite vows. These vows lay out the covenant plainly for both people involved. God has laid out our covenant plainly too. The very nature of what we call ourselves, Christians, tells us about this covenant. He has written us the most thorough manual to remind us constantly what we can expect. He gave us the Holy Ghost to declare and remind us continually of His promise. Still, many live without ever experiencing even remotely what He has set aside for us. Eye has not seen nor ear heard the wonderful things God has for us scripture says. His Spirit continually reveals them to us, but do we even listen?

Mark 9:23 (NKJV)

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff 

It’s Seasonal

The other day when we arrived at our local grocery store, the parking lot was almost full and I was taken a aback for a minute because I haven’t seen it that full in a while. Then it dawned on me that it was Super Bowl Sunday.  Then I remembered that just a handful of months ago the parking lot looked liked this everyday and in just a handful of months it will be full like this everyday again. If you live in Mayville, you’ll know what that’s like. We are a very seasonal town with a much larger population in the summer months. And in summer, I’m never fazed by the busy grocery store, because I’m expecting it. 

Remember Ecclesiastes 3:1, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:” The Word promises us seasons and it’s our job to be ready for whatever season it is. Naturally speaking, we’re pretty good at this. We get used to just taking care of things and dealing with things in their season. Christians need to get better at handling spiritual seasons as well. Summer time at Tops is just one of those things we get used to. But we also know we get to enjoy the warm weather and the gorgeous lake! It’s winter time now and we’re used to shoveling, plowing, and bundling up. What good would it do for us to complain about that? What if we refused to get out our fans and air conditioners and kept our heat on all summer long because we refused to switch gears? What if we said, “I don’t like snow so I’m not going to come out of my bedroom for the next five months. I’ll show you old man winter!” Well instead winter “showed” you! 

Genesis 8:22 says, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” We can expect seasons and all that come with them! If we look at life with this perspective, we’ll be more prepared when each new season comes our way. Look at Ecclesiastes 3:2, “A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;” Some seasons are for planting and some are for harvesting. We need to know what season it is so we’re not surprised by what season we’re in! 

How do we do this? How do we know if we’re in a time to plant? Well, a farmer always sows in order to reap a harvest later on. If we’ve been living in what seems like perpetual lack, what we should be doing is sowing. But, how do I sow when I don’t have? I’m glad you asked. Mark 12:41-44, “…And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” Jesus is still looking for those who will be faithful in the least! Notice this woman with the two mites understood that the kingdom of God was the place to sow that seed. She didn’t only sow to get something, but she sowed in faith with her heart connected to the kingdom! She prepared for harvest season in the time where she needed harvest. 

Look at the account of Joseph in Genesis 41:47-49, “Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly. So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.” In a time of harvest, Joseph gathered and stored as to have when the harvest season ended. We need to get better at preparing for the seasons ahead! Now, did Joseph hold back from the kingdom with this abundance? Certainly not! Being thoughtful and preparing right during the harvest season allows us never to have to go without and allows for the kingdom never to lack! 

We know how to recognize when we’re in harvest season or a season of planting naturally speaking, let’s learn to recognize what season we’re in spiritually speaking and endeavor to be fruitful in all seasons! Galatians 6:9, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

Be Blessed,

Pastor Renée 

Continue reading “I’m Not Fazed”

Where Your Treasure Is…

Look at 1 Corinthians 12:12, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” We should look at the local church as our own body. We should consider that just as we personally have needs, the local church has needs. And just as we must take care of the responsibilities of our natural homes, if we are part of a local church, we must consider the responsibilities of that church home. Hebrews 10:24-25 reminds us, “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” If we are to assemble together, we must have a place to assemble. Psalms 133:1 says, “good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” If we are to dwell together, we must have a place to dwell. 

Matthew 6:21 reminds us of a very important truth, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” This word treasure means your wealth, or even your storehouse. We see this idea of a storehouse also mentioned in Malachi 3:10 (ESV),

“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.” This scripture tells us an important truth, if we don’t fulfill our responsibility, there won’t be food in the storehouse. If we fulfill our responsibilities, the storehouse will be supplied for. This is referring to the local church. God expects that each member of the body does its share. God expects us to bring our full tithe, the first 10th of all of our increase to the local church, the storehouse. He expects this because this is the way the church will be sustained and supplied for. He set it up this way and we can look to natural illustrations such as that of our own homes, that operate just the same. Look at the next half of Malachi 3:10, “And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” Our needs are fulfilled when we all do our share and put God first. 

No one of us would consider it wrong or too inconvenient to provide for our own homes. We wouldn’t be angry if we got a bill in the mail to heat our houses or to have internet, but instead would just chalk it up to a normal responsibility of being a mature adult. We can’t get mad at God because He expects us not to be delinquent with our responsibilities within the body of Christ and our local bodies respectively. Sadly, too many Christians look at the local church as only the pastor’s job or the staff’s job to maintain. This is a sign of spiritual immaturity. This is child or teenager mentality that never considers where the substances of the home comes from. Mature adults know better. Mature Christians must know better. If we want a home we must contribute to it. If we want to stay warm, we must pay the heating bill. If we want a local church, we must be willing and obedient with the Word of God. 

Matthew 6:24 (ESV), “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” The enemy knows this scripture better than most Christians and, because of this truth, has made it taboo to discuss things like responsibility and money for fear of offending people. Remember Proverbs 4:20-23, “My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” These scriptures remind us that our health and safety is in keeping the words of the Lord and that it’s going to take diligence to guard the right heart about these truths in scripture. 

It’s time Christians change their perspective. As we separate “our” money from the will of God, we enter the realm of serving that money instead of serving our Lord. Can you see how dangerous this is? Not only will the local church suffer, but our walk with the Lord will suffer as we enter enemy territory. Our health and well-being are attached to our obedience and keeping the right heart. 

When we do things God’s way no one suffers, no one goes without. When we put our full trust in the Lord whether it be in the financial arena or otherwise, He can move on our behalf and supply us with all we need and more. Remember this: Proverbs 10:22, “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.”

Be Blessed,

Pastor Re