Category: Faith Fix

Being Spiritual (ATP)

“I was chatting with someone a couple days ago and during our conversation, this person said they are not religious, but they are spiritual. I hear this quite often, but I am unsure what it means.”

Interestingly enough, the word religious is only used a couple if times in scripture and it’s always used to describe those who won’t be pure doers of the Word. However, people have different meanings of that word spiritual and also of the word religious. Many times when you hear someone say this they mean that they don’t go to church, don’t really seek after the God of the Bible (because of course, you can’t seek after God without His local church), and they don’t subscribe to true Christianity.  People who say they are “spiritual” are the farthest thing from it.

Let’s look at what it actually means to be religious.  If you’ve been around the Christian faith long enough, especially in a Word and Spirit church, you might have heard that our walk with the Lord is not about religion but about relationship. If you read in the New Testament about the Pharisees, you’ll see what religious people look like. When you look up the term religion in the dictionary you’ll get something like this, “a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices.” This describes the Pharisees.

The Pharisees didn’t like that Jesus came and healed, they didn’t like that Jesus spoke with and reached out to sinners, and they didn’t like that Jesus and His disciples didn’t partake of the same rituals they thought they should. Romans 7:6 says, “But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.” The Pharisees subscribed to Old Testament religion and weren’t interested in the manifestation of the power of God.

Look at what the religious Pharisees did in Matthew 9:32-34, “As they (Jesus and His disciples) went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!” But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.” Because casting out demons didn’t line up with Old Testament religion and “law” they believed it was of the devil. Religion becomes ritual if you’re not careful. Religious rituals will keep you bound and hinder you from walking in the full potential power of God. The Pharisees were actually used of the devil to try to hinder the plan of God and they didn’t even know it. Many Christians today fall into this same category. Jesus told His disciples to beware of the leaven of the doctrine of the Pharisees. (Matthew 16:12) Leaven is a hidden substance that will permeate and modify or transform something. If we’re not careful religious mindsets will modify the way we see the Lord.

Though it’s not usually what people mean who make the statement from your question, true spirituality is following the full gospel. This means you don’t disregard scripture because it doesn’t line up with your ritual or the way you thought something was supposed to be. True spirituality isn’t religion. It is relationship. It is embracing the fact that you, as a Christian, are part of the body of Christ, one with Him, and in it together. Unfortunately though, many people end up in a ditch on the other side of the road, that being that they don’t believe they need “organized religion” at all. God had a plan to bring people into the highest understanding and greatest revelation of who He is and of who they are in Christ. That plan began with Jesus and when He left, He out that plan in the hands of His ministers (Eph. 4:11-12). Spiritual people understand this. They know that the local church is at the core of the heart of the Father, that a body must be connected to work properly, and that no part can do it all themselves.

I encourage you, with this understanding of what true spirituality is all about, next time someone says this to you, ask them what they mean by it. Don’t argue or get defensive, but see if you can enlighten them in love. The Lord wants a personal relationship with us, but He also wants us to partake of all the ways He’s given us to grow in our faith. Amen?

Be Blessed,

Pastor Renée

For What Reason? (ATP)

When you’re having a streak of “bad luck” (for lack of a better way of putting it), what is the best way to respond?

You may have heard the phrase, “Everything happens for a reason.” I hate this phrase. First of all, yes, everything happens for some reason. We live in a world that is heavily manipulated by cause and effect so there is no revelation in that statement. When many people say this what they mean is, everything happens for some ‘divinely orchestrated reason’. This however is not the truth, at least according to the Word. With that understanding let’s look at this question.

Everything happens for a reason! If it’s a situation that causes trial there are a few possible reasons. When I find myself in the midst of trial I start asking some questions to narrow it down. When you understand why, the answer isn’t far from you.

First ask yourself, am I in the will of God? This is not hard to figure out. Do you go to church regularly, are you submitted to your pastor, do you read your Bible, do you pray and have fellowship with God? If you can answer yes to these questions then you can know if you’re in His will. Notice these things are all in His will but they are not His will. What do I mean by that? These are Christian basics. These are HOW we discover what God’s will actually is. Remember Romans 12:2? Be transformed that you may prove what His good, acceptable, and perfect will are. When you live your life with these things at the forefront God’s will will be easy to understand.

I say all that to say this: if you know His will, you can know you’re in it and if you know you’re in it, you can know if the trial is one of disobedience or obedience. If you are not being obedient in an area of life that can and does open the door for the devil to attack you. I would surmise that this is the number one problem most people face. They are out of God’s will in certain areas (we are responsible to be doers of what we know of the Word of God) and therefore the devil has a field day with their lives. If you are submitted to God’s authority (the things mentioned above), then God will deal with your conscience whether things are right or wrong and you can trust that. Your response is therefore do what you know to do. Follow scripture and the inward witness of the Holy Spirit.

If you’ve checked whether or not you’re in disobedience in an area and you know you’re in God’s will, then it is an attack of the enemy. Most likely he is either trying to rob you from what God is doing or trying to keep you from getting what God has for you. The proper response then is to use your authority. Ephesians 1:15-21 tells us all about this. The power of God gave Christ authority over everything AND made us His body. The devil is under His feet and since His feet are His body and we are His body, the devil is under us. What you are over you have authority over. You control it when His words become your words.

It’s important to note, some seasons of trial will last for a time. Your faith won’t stop them.  Romans 5:3-4, “…we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Sometimes these seasons will produce things in us or work out to benefit others. Either way, we are told here to have patience knowing the truth. The truth is, in Christ we always overcome.Romans 8:37, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff

Am I Enough? (ATP)

“For a long time I’ve never felt like I’m doing enough, I’ve never felt like I’m spreading the word enough, using my faith enough, praying, reading and studying enough. How do we know we’re doing enough?”

This is a question many Christians have had, especially Christians who are being taught the Word of God and have gained revelation about the heart of the Father. Of course, this is because we understand that the heart of the Father is to both reach more people and to spend time with His children (i.e. Christians). This thought process could quickly become bondage if not balanced properly. If you’re like me, a doer, always working, always trying to do more, you’ll have to try not to become works-minded in your walk with the Lord.

It is true that it is important for us to be witnesses to this lost and dying world. We’re all familiar with Mark 16:15, “…Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” We’ve also read scriptures like, Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?” Witnessing to others and speaking with others is an important responsibility we have as Christians. It is important for us to understand though, that when we are led by the Holy Spirit we will be most effective.

Look at Psalms 127:1, “Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.” The important principle here is that we need to learn to follow the Lord in our daily lives in order to walk out His plan. He will lead us and guide us, making us more effective, even in our witnessing and speaking with other people.

What does this look like? Always be willing to speak up for Jesus and always be willing to discuss your faith with others. Never let your flesh, your mind, or even your experience be a hindrance in this. At the same time, do your best to follow the inward witness. There have been many times where I knew not to speak any further because someone wasn’t open to hearing. Then there have been other times where even though my flesh crawled, I knew the Holy Spirit was leading me to speak up or to reach out. The inward witness works a lot like a whisper and if we’re not paying attention we’ll miss it. It takes faith to follow that!

If we aren’t spending time getting to know the Lord, the inward witness will be harder to follow because distractions and outward voices will be louder and more commanding. If you’re not checking your spirit and that still small voice, you’ll want to practice this. Ever been to a store and something tells you not to buy that item and you ignore it, but then you get home and it’s the wrong fit or it’s broken? Ever have an inkling that you’re not supposed to drive down a certain road but you do it any way and there’s an accident or the road is closed? Start to listen to that still small voice in the little things and you’ll understand how to listen in the bigger things, including in regards to your witnessing to others.

As far as whether or not you are praying enough, reading the Word enough, etc., let’s consider that. It is true that we’re meant to read the Word and pray and fellowship with God. But, there’s no way to measure what is “enough”. We can know whether or not we could use to build more faith in an area when we consider the different areas of our lives. Am I in fear over something, in worry, concerned? I need to spend more time reading and speaking the Word of God on this topic. Have I learned to come boldly to the throne and ask, believing I receive when I pray? If not, I need to spend more time fellowshipping with the Father. Am I seeing fruit, or changes in my life in my peace, in my physical body, in my relationships, in my finances? If not, I need to focus my attention more on the Lord (Matthew 6:33).

This is one reason being a part of a local church is so important. As we see in Ephesians 4:11-12, pastors (found in a local church) are there to equip and to build us up in the things of God, by the teaching and preaching of the Word. Then we see an important truth in Ephesians 4:13, that these ministers are called to equip the saints, “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Notice here, we will never arrive at “enough” knowledge of God or “enough” revelation. Even the Apostle Paul who penned more than half of the New Testament, confesses he had not arrived at perfection but presses towards it! While we walk this earth we are in a good place if we’re endeavoring to learn and grow. You know you’re doing enough if your heart is always to do more. Don’t get in bondage, but don’t ignore the desire for more either. Remember Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.”

Be Blessed,

Pastor Renée

Jumping In (ATP)

“It’s not that I’m not excited about what God is doing, but is it wrong not to dance in a service when many others are?”

This question is referring to what we know as Holy Ghost services, where God is moving and many are experiencing joy in a tangible way, with dancing, running, laughing, shouting and the like. Depending on personality and personal revelation, it can be hard for some Christians to both understand and to participate in this.

Let’s talk first about personality, because we all have one (at least one)! Some people have a more natural tendency to get excited, to be outgoing, to laugh, etc. Others may be the exact opposite. When following God, sometimes our personality can help and sometimes our personality can hinder us. We have to learn to look and act beyond our natural personalities. For example, many Christians have a personality that is very stern, very black and white, very quick to judge or to critique others. Those Christians need to look beyond their personalities in order to walk in love. Some Christians have a tendency to be very dramatic, very outgoing, very excitable. Sometimes those Christians need to contend with their personalities to make sure they’re not “putting it on” so to speak or searching for attention. Other Christians who have an introverted, quiet, calm, or shy personality might have to learn how to jump in to expressive joy and not be hindered by their natural tendencies to sit and be stoic. Remember the important truth found in Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…” We are meant to be Christ-like, even beyond our personality.  It’s important to understand this and adjust  our thoughts and actions accordingly.

Besides this, we are told in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that as we “…(behold) as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, (we) are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” There’s an important truth to understand here; we must look to the Word if we’re going to be transformed by it! This is what revelation of the Word of God does. Whenever we lack revelation, or really light and understanding of something, we have a hesitancy with accepting it as truth. That’s actually a good hesitancy. We should seek light and revelation on all things and never just follow something blindly. God gave us His Word to help us!

So what does the Word say about dancing? 2 Samuel 6:14-16 says, “Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.” While there are many truths we can glean from these scriptures, let’s look here at the fact that David danced before the Lord and look to see why he danced.

Psalms 16:11 says, “…In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Notice that David rejoiced as he saw the presence of the Lord coming near. Remember in the Old Testament the power and presence of God was contained in the ark. As the presence came near, David rejoiced greatly, so much so that he danced his fool head off, leaping and whirling and dancing with all his might! David believed in the power of God. David believed in the victory of the Lord.

Dancing instead of mourning, joy instead of sorrow, victory instead of defeat are seen again and again in the Word. Look at Psalms 30:11, “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing…” and Psalms 149:3, “Let them praise His name with the dance…” Jeremiah 31:13 AMP says, “Then will the maidens rejoice in the dance, and the young men and old together. For I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and make them rejoice after their sorrow.” When is our mourning turned to joy? At salvation! At the knowledge of what Jesus left us as an inheritance! 1 Peter 1:6 says, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials.”

Skip down to 1 Peter 1:8. It says, “…Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.” What does joy inexpressible look like? Well let’s think about it. When you’re with your family and you’re having a good time celebrating a birthday, a holiday or a special event, don’t you laugh as you enjoy time together? You might even laugh so hard you’ll cry! What do you do when your favorite team scores a touchdown or wins the game?! Don’t you shout and cheer and jump around at the victory? Sometimes the one who scores the winning touchdown will even dance uncontrollably on the field!

Let’s go back now to the original question, is it wrong not to dance in a service when others are? Well I would say this, is your lack of dancing due to disinterest? Is it because you won’t get beyond your personality? Or is it because you don’t have light and revelation of it based on the Word of God? I encourage you, look to the Word to see the truth about rejoicing in the presence of the Lord. I encourage you, allow yourself to be open to what God is doing and decide I’m all in with God, regardless of my personality. If you’re questioning this in your life it’s time for you to get more light on it. If the conclusion is that sometimes you may dance and others you may not, but your conscience is clear and you know it’s not because you’re resisting the move of the spirit, then so be it. Just make decisions with full light, regardless.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Renée

Thinking Faith (ATP)

One of Pastor Jeff’s scriptures recently used in a sermon was Ephesians 3:20, and he said he has been thinking more faith lately. So my question is, how do you think faith? What would that look like? Is that kinda of like just hoping a lot?

Thinking in line with faith would be the equivalent to Joshua 1:8, which says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” This absolutely is as you said, living and thinking in line with hope, or remember, that expected outcome. What outcome do we expect? Do we expect what the Word says or do we expect what the world says? Does the circumstance rule our thinking or does the Word of God rule our thinking? Look at Hebrews 11:1 in the Amplified Bible, “NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].”

To think faith is to continually set your mind on things above. Colossians 3:2, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Notice this word “set” denotes a choice on our part. We must choose to set or fix our minds correctly. Meditating is just this. We choose to think and murmur, or really speak, in line with righteousness, faith and trust in the fact that God is Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We must choose to think in line with faith, meaning the total confidence and assurance in what the Word says, no matter what. Romans 8:5-6, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” This is exactly what Joshua 1:8 was saying, success comes as we keep our attention in the right place.

I know from my own experience with the Lord, that many times I won’t be specifically asking God for something, but I’ve had a thought that something would bless me. (Yes, just a thought!) Many times after this, that thing will just show up in my life. I wasn’t even hoping for it per-say. I never even asked for it. I simply thought about it.

Other times, I may not be free to speak or confess scriptures because I’m working or busy with natural things. Of course, I’m not dismissing the importance of faith and Word confession, but sometimes we’re not able to speak aloud. Sometimes I have to think faith. Have you ever pondered your situation in your mind? Well, me too! The next question is, what does the outcome look like in your thoughts? Is the world ending tomorrow? Is nothing going to go your way? Or is God going to come through? Are you stronger than the trial? Are you more than a conqueror?

Proverbs 23:7 tells us a very important truth, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” This word “heart” actually means mind. Your faith starts in your mind. Meditate on the Word that you may observe to do all that is written. Set your mind on things above.  Our thinking sure matters for our success.

Let’s look now at Ephesians 3:17-20, “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”  That word “hearts” means the “thoughts or feelings (mind)”, if you look it up in the concordance with the original language. In verse 20 it says that He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask OR think. I love this! As we set our minds on Him, our thought-life is filled with righteous, faith-filled thoughts, He can do more for our lives than we can ever imagine. How is that? Because as a man thinks, so is He. As we believe so will we receive.

I love what Dr. Dufresne used to say, “you can’t stop a bird from flying over your head but you can stop it from making a nest in your hair.” You’re going to have thoughts that come that aren’t faith thoughts. That’s normal and anyone who never  has a thought of doubt or offense or fear must not be living on this earth! But the important understanding here is that we refuse to think about the thoughts that aren’t in line with our faith in the Lord. Just as we are diligent in so many areas of our lives, whether it be in a job or a sport or a hobby, we need to be diligent in, as 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” Let’s bring every thought into the obedience of faith. If it’s not faith thinking it’s not my thinking! Amen!?

Be Blessed,

Pastor Renée

Is It Faith, Or Is It Hope? (ATP)

Can you go into more detail about the biblical difference between hope and faith? I thought hope was an expected outcome.  

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

This verse is the go to verse, though not the only one that describes what faith is. If we look carefully at it, we see something interesting, that is that the first part of the verse (before the comma) and the second part, say essentially the same thing.

Faith is the substance or the realization, or as it restates in the same verse, the evidence.

Obviously, if what you believe hasn’t happened yet, one might have a hard time “proving” it. This is a very worldly way of looking at things and is the reason many people have a hard time understanding why we believe what we do. They resort to calling it being brainwashed or believing in a fairytale. (This, coming from people who usually spout the need to be open minded.) Because they do not understand they do not give it any possible credit. Unfortunately, many “believers” also embrace this line of thinking to their own hurt.

Focus on this: faith is the evidence. The evidence of faith begins in the heart. It is a process getting there, but once you arrive, it’s reality is self-proven. If I can say it this way, the evidence of faith is not a tangible thing. Though it is not something you can touch, it’s reality is no less present.

Hope is a little different. Hope is the thing expected, really hope is what you have faith for. While faith is the belief that something will appear, hope is the thing that is expected to appear. In a Christian sense, hope can be summed up as the goodness or the blessing of God. On a day to day basis you may not have all the answers to your prayers but those answers are your hope or expectation. Faith in you, if you have faith in you, tells you constantly that though you don’t see it, you certainly will.

With salvation, in regards to what happens when you die for example, if you are breathing you have no outward guarantee of what will happen. The idea of going to Heaven is your hope, the thing that makes one not fear dying is the faith in that hope. Faith and hope work together very closely, in fact you cannot have one without the other.

Another way to see this is found in Romans 8:24-25, “For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” Eagerly waiting with perseverance is faith as described here. Faith is found in all these: patience, perseverance, contentment, peace, and joy. If faith is real, then to that person their hope is confirmed, or as good as gotten.

I love what we are told in 1 Corinthians 13:13, “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Love is the reason and the basis for faith and hope. Not just any love, but God’s love which has been and still is proven over and over. If we allow our faith and hope to reside in the truth of the Word, in God’s love, we will never be disappointed. Be firmly grounded in God’s love, and faith and hope will work in you continually!

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff