Author:

Who Do You Think You Are?

I recall many different identities I tried to personify as I went about my teen years. I remember the Brittany Spears preppy school girl, knee high socks, plaid skirts, Mary Jane shoes era of my middle school days, followed promptly by my skateboarder girl period. I went retro, bell bottom, colored shades, bargain basement finds, “forget the mall” at one point afterwards. I even associated myself with the hip hop, rapper styles and personality. I never knew who I was and was always searching. If you’re anything like me, you may have experienced a similar sense of confusion. At some point though, we need to stop pretending and know who we are!

We need to know who we are and think like who we are. It matters who we think we are because we will live like we think we’re supposed to live. When I was 23 years old, I found Jesus. I knew nothing about Him, but as time went on, He helped me to learn both who He is and who I really am. I’m so glad I don’t have to wonder anymore. See, in those memories I recalled, I was just following whims of society, who the media told me I should be. This is why it’s so dangerous to get our direction on television or social media. The truth of who we are is only found in scripture.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV) says, “…we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” When we look to scripture we see God’s purpose for mankind. He wants us to be transformed into the likeness and image of Jesus. He wants us to be transformed into who we were made to be by the washing of the water of the Word of God (Eph. 5:26).

We need to know that, as Christians, our citizenship is in Heaven (Philippians 3:20), that we are members of the household and family of God Himself (Eph. 2:19), and that we have been made to be a dwelling place of the Lord (Eph. 2:22). We need to know who we are!

I imagine that, had I not found Jesus, I would have had a perpetual identity crisis. The only way to know about the creation is through the Creator. This is why we live in a time and place where people are so confused about who they are and how they should live. Society has tainted the truth about right and wrong. Society has made serving the devil somehow alluring, through total deception. We need to get back to the truth of who we are and how we are meant to live. Look at Psalms 119:9 (NKJV), “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.” Let’s let the Lord order our steps. Let’s let the Word of God be our mirror, and we will continually be transformed into the very image of Jesus Himself.

Be Blessed,
Pastor Renee

Judge Yes!

Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

“The world was never meant to change the church; the Church was meant to change the world!” – Pastor Tim Stahlman

I like to observe things wherever I am. When I do, I learn so much. I’ve found that in the midst of daily activities the Lord will show me truths from His Word. In everyday conversations you can learn so much about the happenings in life.

Recently, I overheard a man start to tell a story about his father, a faithful man in the church for all his life, and his personal experience with religious leaders. Before I go further, I want you to consider how this church experience affected this man’s perception of church, the Bible, and ultimately God. His father was part of a denomination that had grown stale in its tradition, doing things because it’s just what they do, instead of understanding the purpose for doing them. This man continued explaining these “behind the scenes” experiences, then explaining that after they were all done with their rituals they went with the “leaders” and drank coffee spiked with liquor. This man, who now makes fun of those who are saved Christians, expressed, “That’s when I realized that ministers are drinkers like everyone else.” What he was saying is there is no change in them, no proof of being affected by their God. If they live like the rest of us, then what is the purpose to serving this God?

Now, I could spend time going to the verses that forbid those in ministry from drinking, or verses that tell us about how drunkards and partiers can’t get into Heaven (1 Cor. 6:10). I could talk about how we are commanded not to be drunk which takes away from us (Eph. 5:18), or how strong drink is for fools but I’m not (Prov. 20:1). The real focus here is, as “religious” people, what are our actions speaking to the world?

Literally in this account we see a family, in one generation, go from serving God to wanting nothing to do with Him because of the apparent hypocrisy of the faith. How do I know this from one encounter, you might ask? I have had many opportunities to watch and listen, and from this source these things have been made clear. Regardless, my intent is also not to judge him, his father, or those spiritual leaders. That would again be missing the whole point.

The point I am making is that as Christians, we need to be careful what we do, because even when we don’t think so, people are watching. People watching us will judge our faith and our God by our actions. That’s sobering! Yes, I don’t sit judging those people, but I judge myself. What have I done that pushes people from the Truth? Are there areas of my life that, instead of shining as a light, I work as a repellent to the gospel? I am also not talking about living in condemnation. What I’m saying is, if you believe you are Christ’s you owe it to Him and the blood He bought you with to consider your life and the things that you do. Your actions and those things you insist upon matter to those looking in. How many parents have pushed their children from God and to the path of hell, because they refuse to change?

We need to consider that with every area of life where we willingly compromise, others view it as hypocrisy. In fact, most of any atheist’s ammunition against our faith comes from the very ones who practice it! We owe it to God to consider these things because, after all, He didn’t just die for you. He died for each and every person who goes to hell every single day. 1 Corinthians 11:31, “For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.”

Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff

The Principle Thing

Proverbs 4:7
Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.

Wisdom, or the ability to apply knowledge is a crucial part of living a Godly life. The Bible is the greatest book of wisdom but there are some things that must be understood. For instance, is that which is being conveyed instruction or a principle?

We are told in 2 Timothy 3:16 that, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Notice this verse didn’t say just doctrine, just reproof, just correction, or just instruction. These are not repeats of one another but they each have their place. For the sake of this Faith Fix, I’m going to focus on two, doctrine and instruction.

Doctrine is the teaching of the precepts or the principle of a thing. It is not necessarily the instruction of what to do but how to apply something specifically to a specific scenario. For example, Peter walked on water at Jesus’s command, however it isn’t God’s will that we all do this on a regular basis. For the purpose of teaching faith, God allowed it. We see this as Jesus and the disciples were led to different places to do different things. In these things we can take the principle from the experience and apply it to our own lives.

Instruction is different in that it is specific direction on something. It is the “do” this and “don’t do” that’s. Examples of this include reading the Word, praying, going to church, tithing, etc.

It’s amazing how multifaceted God and His Kingdom are. On one hand, we are given the written Word so we have instruction and principle, and on the other we have the Holy Spirit who works in conjunction with the Word to lead us and guide us in specific situations according to the principles in the Word. When He said He would not leave us orphans, He wasn’t kidding!

I love God’s reasoning for this in the next verse, 2 Timothy 3:17, “that the man (or woman) of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” God’s truth works in us, through us, and all around us because He wanted us fully equipped. The more that we learn to put to practice what His Word teaches the more we resemble all He intended us to be!
Wisdom first will lead to the source. The source is the Word of God and a firm place to build all your life on. With the help of the Holy Ghost and a good Bible teaching church you will mold your life into exactly what God intended it to be: full and blessed, walking out every thing He has for you to do!

Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff

Great Expectations
Psalms 118:8
It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in man.

Have you ever made a mistake? Have you ever failed someone? I’d be willing to guess the answer is “yes”. This is not because I think you’re awful and think low of you, but because you are most likely human. I hate failing people but even more I hate failing God. What we are about to talk about here is forgiveness. It is something that, at times, we both need and need to give. We are so thankful that our Heavenly Father has forgiven us but do we offer the same grace to those who have wronged us? Do we offer it to ourselves?

We live (whether we like to admit it or not) in a realm of expectations. Actually, God created us and this earth that way. Expectation is the embodiment of faith. However, like emotion, it is only good in the right context. Emotions are wonderful but you can’t live on them. Similarly, though we are to have expectations, if we have them in the wrong area, they will fail us. Faith, as described to us in Hebrews 11:1, is the promise, it is the title deed or proof of the things we expect will be. That expectation can only be found according to God’s Word and based in His character. The only thing worthy of us having faith (expectation of promise) in is that which God has provided. I’ll save you some worry, He has promised great and mighty things! Consider, however, our opening scripture, trust God not man.

The Bible say in Romans 13:8, “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” If we follow this and the law of love found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, you will quickly realize that no man owes you anything. In fact, true love, which we are to have for everyone, never requires of another. If you are mad at someone, if someone has hurt you and you can’t seem to let it go, if you just can’t seem to forgive someone, it is because of one thing: you had expectations and they were not met. This even includes if the person in question is yourself!

The Bible says trust (have expectation) in God, not man. If you are harboring anything against anyone (and yes again you are included) it is because your faith is in them not God! Wow!

So how do we move from hurt to forgiveness? We change our focus from what doesn’t matter to the One who does. If you are hurt, let it go. No human ever could or ever will fulfill you. There is only one who can, that is the most high God Who always comes through! God heals, God redeems, and God sets all things right. Trust in God and not man, forgive those who are bound by their nature to fail and you will find a whole new ability to love and the peace of God will fill all the voids!

Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff

The Gift of Death

Genesis 3:24: So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Death is a hard thing for many to understand. If there is a God, how could a loving God allow death? I tell you it is His love that allows us to die.

A mistake that many of the faith make is to look at life the way the world does. Enlightenment is a God thing, that is coming to the knowledge of the truth. Knowing the Truth helps you truly live. People who live based on their ideas never have hope and never find the answers. The Bible tells us that the Word of God causes peace. This is because not knowing the truth is what makes people unstable.
We see as we read through the beginning of Genesis the things God intended for mankind. He created the earth and all that’s in it before He made man. Once everything was already here, He made man and placed Him in the midst of everything he would ever need or desire. It was then commanded of us to be fruitful and multiply. God’s desire was that we would live in His perfect earth, enjoying all the days of our lives in His presence, which by the way, were intended to be forever. Everything was good for man. Yes everything was good indeed! There is no other conclusion one can come to as they read Genesis.

So when did this all change? It was the moment man sinned. Romans 6:23 says that “the wages of sin is death.” A wage is not forced upon you, it is what YOU earn. Along with physical death that word death in the Greek also means the miseries that arise from sin. Sin in the flesh, not God, created all the misery that we see on earth. We are now at a place where we see the result of thousands of years of sin perfecting itself on this earth. The earth was cursed because of sin, not God’s will. God intended man to live, thus is the reason He put a tree of life in our midst. The will of man brought forth sin.

We see however, once sin appeared, Man was banned from that tree so that the flesh would die. Why would God do this? God made man to live in perfection but our bodies were corrupted and consequently bound by sin. If God allowed man to partake of the tree of life, he would live forever in a corrupted fleshly body that would increasingly know the miseries arising from sin. It would grow worse and worse, binding us tighter and tighter.

God allowed death so that our bodies could be restored. Notice I said allowed and not caused. The Bible tells us that death is an enemy and a wage earned not an action of God. God’s intent is restoration. This restoration is freedom from sin’s bondage and the ability to once again revel in the splendor of the presence of God!

For the Christian, death is not and should not be a sad thing. Sure we will miss those we love for a time but Heaven is the promise we don’t just hope for, it is the goal we set our sights on. God in His mercy allows this flesh to die so that we can be joined again with Him, in a body that will never be corrupted. God loved the world so much, He allowed us to die, so we may be with Him. Live your life for the growth of His Kingdom. When your body dies you will receive the reward that He has waiting for you. Everlasting perfection in the presence of an everything God!

Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff

Nothing New

Genesis 1:31-2:1
Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.

Our God is a God of purpose. When He does something, He is never surprised by the outcome. He has a plan and that plan has a purpose and that purpose is always complete at its completion. Recently, I posed a question in front of my church. Would you buy land and then just randomly build structures on it with no windows, no doors, and no purpose? The answer is generally, “probably not”. In fact, any successful property developer carefully chooses property, develops a plan with a purpose, and then executes that plan. Well, our God is the ultimate planner and developer. He is a God of purpose, on purpose.

I believe where many Christians fail is that they have no plan and no purpose. Often times if they do, it isn’t according to God’s plan and purpose. Psalms 127:1 begins by saying, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it”. The idea is that the plans of man will ultimately fail unless they are under His purpose. God created the earth to operate under His system, not ours. Now, it is true that He uses us, but He can only truly use us if we are submitted to Him.

People today generally do not like that idea of submission but it is God’s way. Even Jesus submitted His will and desire to God, the Father. Why is this, do you suppose? It is because God is a God of love and He knows what is best for everyone. We have to get over this idea that somehow following God is a lesser life. He started His great and mighty Word by showing us in the first chapter of Genesis that He would provide everything we could ever desire. He only said follow Him.
Christian, you need to get revelation of this: 1 John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome”. His plans are for our benefit, yours, mine, and everyone else’s, not withholding. God’s desire and intent is always good toward us and never evil and the closer we draw into Him, the more we discover this.

I wish I knew the things I know now when I was newer to the faith. I would have resisted less and lived in peace more easily. Our God is a loving Father who created us and everything around us out of His love. Sin tried to ruin it, but His love prevailed. Live for God and love for Him. His love will always lead you to a place of joy and a place of more.

Jeremiah 29:11 in the Amplified Bible says, “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.”

Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff