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Pressing On, Pressing Through

Philippians 3:13 (NKJV)
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead

Often when someone who is troubled in life comes to God, they have a renewed vigor for life. Things start turning around, and it often seems too good to be true. I have seen this countless times in just a few years of pastoring and even more as a faithful church attender prior to that. Where the issue seems to be is that after a certain amount of time the vigor leaves, the initial excitement fades, and people are often left wondering, “Did anything really happen at all? Maybe it was all in my head.”

Isn’t that life? In the world we call it the honeymoon stage. In the church we call it many things and there are many references to it in scripture. The truth is, it’s not over and you didn’t imagine it. God is good and His Word is powerful, but we know this according to Colossians 1:23, “if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard…” Faith isn’t a try it kind of thing. It must be continued in to be effective and that is a choice of each person.

My wife is one of the greatest examples of this I have ever met. Like anyone, there’s times when she gets discouraged. There’s times where it feels to her that it might not work. There’s times when she in her flesh would rather give up. However, I have never met anyone who reignites her courage, renews her faith, and stands back up more than her. No matter what the opposition, small or great, she presses through. If she has been wrong she repents before God and then continues on as if she never skipped a beat. I am both blessed and encouraged by her faith and strength.

This is also why our marriage is so blessed. It is because she doesn’t hold things against me and truly lives as a Godly wife. It encourages me every day to be a better husband, father, and Christian. Our ministry would not thrive if it weren’t for her and I wouldn’t be nearly as effective as a pastor without her.
We have to continue in what the Lord has started in us if we want to see the finish line. Just like a person in a race, if we give up and quit part way through, we will never see the finish line or the prize. God is doing great and mighty things but if there is anything we can learn from every great revival and every denomination that has come out of them, if we stop moving with the Word, the Word stops moving our lives.

When we become spiritually lethargic, and don’t correct it, God’s power will cease to be effective in our lives. Renew your hunger! Stand up against the devil and shout, “No more!” Be Christian (which really means Christlike by the way)! Refuse to be another complacent “believer” and keep the power and grace of God active in your life!

Philippians 3:14 (NKJV)
I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff

I Believe In Stuff Like That

While on the NYC subway recently, I overheard a conversation a few strangers were having. They apparently discovered something in common throughout the course of their conversation and one man said it must have been “a sign”. He said, “I believe in stuff like that.” While I believe in divine appointments, what the man meant was that he believes in random signs, or really superstition.

The trouble with “believing in stuff like that” is that there’s so much confusion in what to believe. Sadly, most people have ascribed superstition to God. In this, lines get blurred and people forget who God really is and what He really does. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 14:33, that “…God is not the author of confusion”. Never in the Bible do we see God sending a sign that either wasn’t expected or wasn’t explained. God doesn’t send random signs to random people with no purpose. God speaks about the kind of signs He would give when Jesus gave the great commission in Mark chapter 16. Mark 16:17-18, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” The signs of God would be healing, speaking with new tongues, devils cast out, and supernatural safety and protection. There’s nothing random in that. Yes, any sign from God will be confirmed in His Word, the Holy Bible.

The trouble with “believing in stuff like that” is that it’s really not believing in anything at all. See, if we don’t believe in something, we’ll believe in anything, and most of that won’t be good. If we don’t believe in who He is, none of what we believe is by faith because you can’t have faith in God unless you believe in Who He IS. Even God’s people, those who call themselves Christians, subscribe to supernatural signs that God doesn’t send. In the New Testament we see an account of the Pharisees, the religious people of the time, seeking after signs from Heaven, though the Lord was right their in their midst. Matthew 16:4 says, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” What Jesus meant here was that the account of Jonah in the belly of the big fish for three days was symbolic of what Jesus was about to fulfill. These Pharisees would have preferred superstition to a relationship with the real Messiah. The real sign from Heaven was Jesus, but they couldn’t see it.

If we’re not careful, we’ll be the same way. The Lord gave us His Word, He gave us His son, He gave us His Spirit, and He invited us to learn about Him, have a relationship with Him, and walk out this life with Him. I believe in that. That’s what I believe in. And believing in that, that’s where the power of this life is found. Believing in Him is where our hope, our strength, our help, and our peace is found. Romans 10:11, “For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’” It’s a blessed life following Him. Let’s follow Him and take Him at His Word. Amen?

Be Blessed,
Pastor Renee

Continue reading “Roles Of Love”

When the Heat’s On

When the Israelites had been taken into the captivity of Babylon, there were three young men, friends of Daniel, who refused to worship the golden idol as King Nebuchadnezzar had demanded. The consequence of their failure to comply was that they’d be thrown into the fiery furnace, meant to die in their disobedience to the king. As seen in Daniel chapter 3, these men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, were bound and thrown into the fiery furnace that was so hot it burned up the men who threw them in! Look at Daniel 3:24-25, “King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” If you continue reading, you see that the power of God and His protection in the midst of the fiery furnace even convinced the evil King Nebuchadnezzar that God was real!

This account reminds me of Matthew 18:19-20, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” God was in the midst of these three men who together agreed that going against their Lord was far worse than standing up to their enemy.

You see, there were thousands of God’s people who were captives of Babylon but we don’t hear about many refusing to worship other gods. We don’t hear about many being put in the fire. The devil is after the faithful. But God is on your side! Psalms 118:6, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Many of the Israelites taken into captivity weren’t willing to stand up for their God. They were willing to obey the command to bow before their enemies and their false gods. We don’t hear about the deliverance they received. No, instead we hear about how God came through for those who came through for Him. Look at this important principle in scripture, Isaiah 1:19-20, “If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

What’s the fiery furnace of your life? Is it the fact that you seem to be living paycheck to paycheck but the Word tells you to tithe and give offerings into the kingdom of God? “But if we bring 10% forget having our car fixed! We’ll just compromise and skip out on that part of the Bible.” When you choose withhold from God, you choose to bow down to the false idol instead of trusting God to bring you through the furnace. Maybe you desire a spouse, or at least companionship, especially physical companionship…oh the devil will give you plenty of opportunities for that. But will you trust God in the furnace? Will you trust that He’s got someone for you if you remain in faith and patience? Don’t bow down to the false god. Don’t go the way of the world and settle for someone who isn’t serving God. Wait for the right time and the right person. The fiery furnace in your life could be your need for healing, it could be waiting for your wayward children to return, or it could be needing a new job. We can doubt God or we can trust Him regardless of the trial. Yes, regardless of the need, regardless of the opposition, we need to rest and trust God through it.

Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

Be Blessed,
Pastor Renee

What The Season Permits

Genesis 8:22
“While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”

Waiting is not a popular thing. I was always so impatient, I never wanted to wait for anything. I remember one year when I was a kid I decided to snoop for Christmas presents. When I uncovered the cache, I found out what I was getting. The thing is, the timing was off as Christmas was still weeks away. When I finally got to open my presents, the excitement was spoiled. I never snooped or cared to know ahead of time ever again.
Isn’t fruit the same? We are blessed in the region we live to have a climate suited for some types of grapes. These are grapes usually used for juice or wine and as such the sugar content has to get to the right place before they’re harvested. The longer these grapes stay on the vine, the sweeter they get. If you happen across a vineyard in August, you will find grapes that look ripe and delicious but if you pop one in your mouth, you will be unpleasantly surprised. You will spit it out because the time is not right. Without waiting the grapes just aren’t ready. On the other hand, I’ve come across straggler vines that no one has picked and eaten grapes in November. Man how good they taste!

We have an interesting climate here because of the Great Lakes. Just a few miles away, the seasons are just different enough that the growing season is different. You know why grapes grow in this region? It is because the season permits it. So goes our life.
We may want things now but God knows the right time and place. We may want something to happen or to change but God knows when we are ready. So many people are chasing the next thing that they fail to seek the Lord and see what is for them now. They don’t wait on Him, but try and make it happen their way and in their time. So often, because they are out of order, these things become bitter in their mouth.
God wants good things for us all but He wants them in the right time, at the peak of perfection. Jeremiah 29:11 (God’s blessed plan for us) can be sure to us, but to get there we need to understand John 16:13, that His Spirit will lead us only if we follow. As a farmer waits for the fruit to ripen, so must we wait for God to ripen us. Proverbs 10:22 tells us, “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.” God won’t give us what will hurt us.

If you are seeking God, endeavoring to follow Him, you have to learn something very important. Relax! In God’s timing, if you seek and follow Him, if you do what you know to do and wait for the next instruction, you will realize all He has for you. God wants you to get where you’re going more than you do. He also knows the best way to get there. Follow Him by following His Spirit and let the peace of God hold you until you get there. Then it will be sweet and satisfying, blessing you and those around you.

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 Jeff

He Makes All Things New (If You Let Him)

Revelation 21:5
Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

Our first house together was an extreme fixer upper. By the time we had finally sold it, there was not one place that had been left untouched, some of them twice. This could often be a good representation of people who come to God. It was for me. I was an extreme fixer upper!

One of the many things we had to do with this house was replace the roof. Now if you’ve ever owned a home, one of the “biggies” is the roof, something that maybe most people don’t even think about, that is until something goes wrong. And for us, it did. With a good understanding of house maintenance when our roof started getting really leaky I knew it was time to get it fixed. The problem was, although I knew how to do the work, I don’t like heights. Our house had a very high, very steep roof. So I had no choice but to hire someone to do the work. At the time, we were also on an extreme budget. I did something I would never suggest to do, I looked for someone to do it cheap.

Well, this crew of yahoos ripped the roof off and put a new one on and it looked fairly decent all things considering. Everything was great, until it rained. I found I had a brand new roof that leaked more than it did before because it was the details they didn’t bother with. No flashing at the edges and no consideration for nail placement. That brand new roof watered our house like a gardener with a watering can!

This is what happens often in the church. People come usually because something or many somethings aren’t working. They come seeking something to fix it, hoping this time it will work for them. The problem is, all too often they forget about the details. Like these bad roofers, they are ok with (at least to start) the appearance of a fix. If it looks good on the surface they think they can get away with it. They don’t allow God to do a thorough work in them. Often it’s all because there are things they insist on hanging on to. Whether it be old ideas of how to do things or people that drag them down, people are too often content with just a surface fix. That is until it rains.

Jesus warned us to build our lives founded on the rock, which is Him and His Word. The Word, when we truly apply it, always changes us because He makes things new. It is not enough to just have a one time fix, we must continue to let God work things in and work things out. The Apostle Paul said in Colossians 1:23, “if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.” Notice, you can be moved away from the truth if you don’t continue in it.
In my life I needed a complete over haul. I have known many people throughout the years that needed the same. Many of those never grew at all and fell away from the truth. It isn’t because God Didn’t Work and because the Bible isn’t effective. The Word only works if we work it and continue in it. To be sold out to God and His Word is a promise of a good outcome, just as Jeremiah 29:11 tells us.

The Bible warns us not to get deceived. It warns us to stay with the truth. Jesus Himself warned us to live in His Word. We cannot blame God if we walk away from Him and then fail. God has given us the way, the only way, and that is His Son. We must go God’s way if we want to get where He is. We must stay on His path if we want the freedom He offers us.

Philippians 1:6 says, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff