Category: Faith Fix

All Things Are Possible

Mark 9:23 (NKJV) Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

What a wonderful statement from such a wonderful God! All things are possible to him who believes. Jesus made such radical statements. The Bible is full of such radical claims. No other system of beliefs has such promises, such hope. In no other faith did God become man to die for his beloved. What an amazing God we serve! Yet, there are those that don’t believe.

I’m not talking about those on the outside but rather those that call themselves believers. Imagine that, believers that don’t believe! It sounds absurd, doesn’t it? It sounds absurd but, it’s the truth. As a Christian that believes that every word of the Truth is truth, and that Jesus meant what He said and said what He meant, I have been opposed so many times by those of the same faith.
So why the disparage? It is because there is a devil who deceives even those who are called followers of Christ. When people don’t take heed according to the Word of God and put more stock in tradition rather than the commandments of God, they easily get misled into all kinds of paths. It causes division within the Body which is precisely what the devil is trying to do because it is precisely what the Lord hates. By causing divisions it makes the Christian faith look weak and ineffective. Let’s face it, when believers can’t agree on what they believe, the world sees no point to our faith because truth to them becomes subjective. This is where the popular theology that says, “we are all right,” becomes prevalent. It’s sad because Jesus paid such a great price so we could know God’s will and His thoughts.

We are shown in Romans 1:28 what happens then: “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.” When people refuse to believe the Word, they refuse to believe the Lord and so God gives them over to their wrong way of thinking. If someone rejects truth they will be full of lies! It’s not God’s will but theirs, and people live this lie constantly. Calling yourself a Christian grants you no special privileges; only believing the Word will. That’s why a Christian that believes that God makes them sick will never experience His healing. A Christian that believes God wants them poor will never know His promised supply. A Christian that believes God wants them broken will never know His victory.

Contrary to popular belief, God is not some kind of puppet master controlling all the events of the earth. God isn’t in Heaven deciding who to take out today. God isn’t sending hurricanes or other natural disasters to wipe people out for judgement. If He is, He keeps missing the ones truly in need of judgement. God is waiting for people to believe and then act according to their belief in prayer, forming and shaping their world into what it needs to be. Try Mark 11:23-24 on for size!

God’s Word is clear: what you believe is what you will get because belief is the first step of faith. Faith, only, is what pleases God and the just, if they are to be just, will live by that faith. Don’t give up the Truth for a lie. Read your Word and believe it because it is His Word. You cannot separate God from His Word, He wouldn’t have said it if He didn’t mean it.

Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff

Church Isn’t For God

Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Church, the assembling together of the Body of Christ, is not for God. He commanded this for His people to help humanity. People who lack revelation of this think they are doing God some kind of favor when they show up to church or give to the church. God gave us the church and He gave us pastors (found in church) to equip us.

The most important thing to God is people. Most specifically that they first find salvation but, equally as important, that they live in that salvation. What do I mean, you might ask? Salvation is not just for when you die. The Bible tells us we are redeemed from the curse. This redemption is only found in salvation. We are told that we are given exceedingly great and precious promises and it is up to us to find and live in them.
These things are gifts of God: salvation, the church, the ministry offices, Jesus. Yet so many take them so lightly. Imagine you worked and planned very expensive and thoughtful gifts for someone you love. Imagine spending years working on them, pouring everything that was in you in them. Now imagine that the day came to give those gifts and the one you did this for reacted like, “Eh, I could take it or leave it! I know it meant so much to you but really I’d just rather have my own things!” I know that sounds crazy but people do this with God everyday.

Salvation wasn’t just a gift, it was everything God had to give, given for people that could care less. His gift was pure love and people to this day reject it and toss it aside like garbage. God gave us salvation first to save us, then to provide for us, and ensure that we could always be with Him. Salvation is a box full of wonderful gifts and yet people will rifle through that box like it’s second hand cast offs in a rummage sale. They will pick and choose what they want or need in the moment, and just push aside the others they don’t think suit them. These people deceive themselves thinking that they can get away with going part way with Him. God does not give things that aren’t useful. His gifts are wonderful and pure and most importantly, needed.

We need to be of the mindset that if God gave it we are unwilling to go without it. If Jesus died for it, it needs to be prized. Romans 12:31 tells us to, “earnestly desire the best gifts”. God gave us Jesus, the Church, the Holy Spirit, and our pastors because we needed them and because He loved us. He gave them because they were what would keep us in His plan and blessing.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If what you treasure is all in the world then the things of God will not be your heart. I see this too often in the church, people so consumed with the world that God stuff isn’t even a thought. I see parents who allow their kids in so many activities that they don’t have time for church. I hear them make excuses of being busy as if God understands. These are people who have zero revelation of the importance of the Body of Christ (believers and the church) and of the importance of Jesus dying on the cross. To them church is only for when it’s convenient for them and they could care less about their part in it. People go without because people don’t treasure what’s important to God. What’s more, the next generation is increasingly moving away from God because the parents of the previous one never made Him important. Parents will lead their kids to hell, being deceived by what they won’t do.

Don’t be deceived by the distractions that so readily snare us. Don’t lose sight of what means so very much to God. Love Him and love His people by turning your focus to what truly matters. Don’t cast aside what God gave through love. Embrace, desire, and pursue with all your heart that which God gave everything for. Your life, that of your families, and of your brothers and sisters in Christ depends on it.

Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff

In Purpose, On Purpose

Ephesians 5:17
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Something that I love about our faith is the fact that it reveals purpose. Purpose is something that every human considers. It’s the spark that inspires science and exploration. It’s something our creator purposely placed deep on the inside of every man.

God is a God of purpose. He tries nothing. Every move He has made, every Word that He has spoken, is pointed and direct and most importantly, on purpose. The reason for this is because God is the embodiment of faith and faith itself is full of purpose. People often loosely say everything happens for a reason. What they really mean is, everything happens for some divine reason. People choose to believe this because in their minds it’s easier to believe that every bad thing that happens was divinely orchestrated, rather than to believe that there are things not in His control, but in ours. This is the battle God has had with humanity since the beginning of time.

The scripture I started with instructs us to know. Many people come to God for many reasons but I’ve seen these few years as a pastor that often that reason isn’t because everything is fine. Usually people live their lives for themselves and when they get tired of being bit by it, they seek out God. What a loving Father that He will accept you even when your motives at first aren’t for Him. A mistake that is often made however is that people, now saved, will often return to the same mess they always had (or aspects of it), all the while forgetting that God’s salvation is worth more than just showing up to church occasionally. The Word instructs us that we are to die to our old nature and be born into His. This is the very essence of what baptism is.

Yes we love to hear things like 2 Corinthians 5:17 which says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” We forget though that some of what has to die is the way we used to live. You cannot be saved from your past, die to what held you before, receive a new life in Him and still do what you always did! I spent the first few years of serving God just getting things worked out of me instead of actually going anywhere. This is why it takes time to walk in the full blessing of God. The will of God is simple and those who are wise know it and practice it. It is to live for Christ in every aspect of your life! This where His purpose and His blessing are found.

Living for Christ is not a lesser life. It’s not boring or controlling, but in fact it is the only way to live truly free. If you saw someone in the winter time pushing a lawn mower while trying to clear their drive way of snow you’d think they were foolish. The intended purpose of a lawn mower is not snow removal! Yet Christians live like this continually, all the while confused as to why God’s Word “doesn’t work” for them. People come to God for help from the things that weren’t working, recognize His goodness and even at times His power, yet turn and still try to do things the same old way! It’s like a child standing next to the deep end of a swimming pool. They’ll stick a toe in but, maybe dangle their feet, but to jump right in, there ain’t no way! Meanwhile, our Heavenly Father is out there saying the whole time, “This is where it gets good!”

We all say, “God is good” but I’m telling you He really is. Don’t be afraid of the deep end. The truth is, you were drowning in the shallow end before. Jump all in to the deep place of our Lord with understanding. We don’t just have a God that will help you tread or float; we serve a God Who makes you walk on water!

Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff

Repentance & Revival

Acts 3:19 (NKJV)

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.

Being wrong isn’t a bad thing, especially if you can recognize it. Notice I said being wrong and not living wrong. Being wrong is a typical trait of being human. As humans we will make mistakes and have opinions based in less than truths, however what we do with them is really what matters. Continually living in the same mistakes or wrong ideals is where people go wrong.
Living as a Christian, and I know you’ll be shocked by this, has not made me perfect. Living as a Christian brings me towards perfection. This is because truly living as a Christian brings me, continually, to repentance. Often as Christians we focus on the fact that Christ has already died and obtained our salvation. This is very true, however we must walk this salvation out everyday as we live for Him. We are to grow and live, constantly making adjustments as we grow closer to Him.
Philippians 2:12-13 says, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” These are a few very powerful and instructive scriptures. We are to work or as we often say walk out our salvation. This means to live in such a way that you are mindful of the fact that Jesus saved you and desires you to live in a way pleasing to Him. In doing so, we must always keep a mindset and willingness to be changed according to scripture, if we discover we have been off in some area. God does not expect your perfection, this is why He sent Jesus. He desired that we would seek after Him and gave us this ability despite sinful flesh. He gave us the ability to overcome this flesh through an amazing tool called repentance.
Being Christian isn’t just that you have accepted Christ but even more that you live for Him. Repentance is key to living this way. Repentance means that no matter who you are, what race, what age, what gender, what anything, that you could be wrong and when you discover you are, you decide to change. I know changing the way you think and act isn’t popular in today’s culture but is the way of the Lord. Often people think repentance is to say I’m sorry but we all know sorry with out change is worthless. God knows this too.

Let’s relook at our opening scripture but in the Amplified version: Acts 3:19, “So repent (change your mind and purpose); turn around and return [to God], that your sins may be erased (blotted out, wiped clean), that times of refreshing (of recovering from the effects of heat, of reviving with fresh air) may come from the presence of the Lord.” God doesn’t weigh us down, sin does. Sin doesn’t have to be something so bad as murder, but it can be as simple as not doing something you know is right for you to do. In fact, the heaviness we usually feel when we are off is not God punishing us at all, but it is the natural and spiritual effect sin has on our body.

Back to my own perfection, I recently found myself bogged down where even just living seemed hard. Well I know that God’s plan for our lives is light and easy, so I knew it wasn’t on His end. I know what you’re thinking, “Pastor Jeff, there’s no way you were missing it in some area.” Well, I was. I had been seeking the Lord in this area and over what seemed like quite a little time. Finally some areas started coming to light as I talked to another minister. The Bible says iron sharpens iron and I tell you this is truth! He wasn’t blaming me for anything but through a spiritual conversation I realized, I was plumb wrong about some things! I had let my emotions in a few areas overrule what I knew in the Word!
Eureka! So I repented before the Lord and guess what…He forgave me. Instantly the weight lifted and I noticed that light and easy flowed like a refreshing river of life right back into me. Be correctable because most people won’t and you will find great grace and refreshing in your life. Constantly look to the Word of God for your direction and you will keep the best course of life. Be merciful to all because He is and watch the power and love of the Almighty work so wonderfully in all areas of your life!

Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff

That Old Archaic Word

Malachi 3:6 says, “For I am the Lord, I do not change…”

Recently, after doing a wedding, I had a family member come up to me and say, “Nice service, except for that part about the man being the head of the household.” I was a little taken aback as this person is devout in their religious traditions. I replied, “Well, it’s the Bible,” to which they responded, “It was written a long time ago.” I ended it with, “It still applies today!” Therein my friends lies the problem with religion and is the answer to why so many people have either gone astray or why their children have no interest in the faith. There is nothing solid in the hearts and minds of people to stand on and therefore the whole structure is collapsing.

Jesus told us in John 8:31-32 that it is by living in and making the Word, His Word, of utmost importance that we become free. If people are taught to cast it aside or taught not to even turn to it, how will anyone ever be free??Religions today spend more time focused on their traditions and their programs than what God (you know the God that doesn’t change) has told them. It is why many churches see no change in the people and why many churches dry up.

We find in 1 Peter 1:25 the same sentiment, “But the word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.” The Bible is God’s Word, and there is no changing it. If your faith is not built in it, then it is not built in Truth and that is why most “Christians” have such poor results in life and live wishy washy. Their faith is not faith at all, at least not Biblical, God inspired and ordained faith. It is only faith in man’s theology and that doesn’t hold up. This is why the modern church resembles a train wreck.

Jesus didn’t come to change the law but to fulfill it. In fact, we are told in 1 Timothy 1:8, that the law is good if one uses it lawfully and in Matthew 5:18, that not one little bit of it will pass away as long as Heaven and earth remain. What does it mean to use it lawfully, you might ask? It means we must understand God’s purpose and intent through and only through the complete revelation or understanding of His Word. It means to just read one little part is not enough, you must understand it based on all that is revealed.
Jesus didn’t change God’s plan. He simply completed it. Jesus didn’t throw out the old writings. He embraced and taught them the way God intended. He didn’t say never follow and read the Old Testament. He showed us that it was still good for our instruction. In fact, the entire New Testament is completely based on the structure of the Old Testament. If we were meant to throw away a writing because of its age, Jesus would have done that. Yet He and the disciples brought us the New Testament by preaching the Old Testament!

As far as the head of household thing, God’s purpose for man was that he would lead his family by the example set forth in scripture. In absolutely no way does this diminish the role or purpose of a woman, it simply establishes God’s direction. When men and women do the Word, they are equally important and they are equally able to do all they were intended to do. When one doesn’t, then sometimes the other has to step up, but that doesn’t mean God’s design has changed. That’s like driving a car backwards and complaining because you got into an accident. Reverse is just as important as forward in it’s intended operation. It doesn’t work as well outside of it.

Hebrews 13:8 tells us Jesus was, is, and always will be the same. The beginning of John tells us that Jesus is the Word of God. If Jesus is God, and He is the Word, and He never changes, it doesn’t matter if the Word is a million years old, it still applies. How foolish would it be for you to leave specific instruction before you went away and yet desire your housekeeper to do something completely different. Or how mad would you be if you left instruction and returned to find they did everything the way they wanted. I once new someone who left their house, giving another a key for maintenance. When they returned, much to their displeasure, their kitchen had been repainted!
Don’t repaint God’s kitchen! He left us as steward’s of His earth until He comes back, giving us very specific instructions. Don’t be so foolish as to think it’s up to us to rewrite His plan. Yes, the Bible still applies today folks, and it works for those who know to continue to work it. Everyone else is simply deceiving themselves.

Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff

Fixed Faith

This morning as I woke up the word “fixed” was on my heart. There are many definitions of the word “fixed”. First, fixed means to be fastened, attached, or placed so as to be firm and not readily movable. The Lord designed the mountains to be moved (Mark 11:23) so we wouldn’t have to be! 1 Corinthians 15:57-58 says, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” We are called not to let the troubles move us, but to be immovable! Our victory is in Him, so let our faith be fixed. As our faith is fixed in Him, we will abound in all He has called us to do.
Another meaning of the word “fixed” is to be rendered stable or permanent. Matthew 7:25, “…the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” This scripture is referring to the way the storms of life can either destroy us or cause us not to be shaken. If our faith is fixed, it’s built on the Rock. If we’re not building our lives on the Word of God, we’re going to be shaken and sifted like a house made of sand.

Another meaning of the word “fixed” is to be set or intent upon something or to be steadily directed. Hebrews 12:1-2, directly following the great faith chapter of the Bible, reads, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus lived His life set and fixed upon the plan God had for Him and the victory that was only to be found in Him. There has been no greater trial to man than the crucifixion Jesus endured, but He kept His focus on victory. Christians, the victory is already won for us! Let’s keep our faith fixed in that truth! This means we’re going to have to stand guard against distractions and against sin that tries to entangle us.

Another definition of the word “fixed” is not fluctuating or varying, but definite. Philippians 1:27, “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” Someone whose faith is fixed isn’t wishy washy. A Christian isn’t meant to have faith one day and fear the next. A Christian isn’t meant to live for a God one day and live in the world the next. To be fixed, isn’t fluctuating. As the body of Christ, we need to be in one accord, fixed with the same faith, striving together to reach this lost world.

A final definition of the word “fixed” that stood out to me is, to be set in order. The Word of God has this amazing ability to set our lives in order, in perfect order as God intended. God is a god of order (1 Corinthians 14:40), and He wants our lives to be lived in order. When our faith in His Word is fixed, meaning we will follow it above all else, we’ll have perfect peace, perfect provision, perfect strength and health, perfect joy.

The early church continued daily in the faith (Act 2:46) and lived daily their faith in the Word and in what Jesus did. The early church also saw many miracles, many healings, and thousands turn their lives to Christ. Let us follow that example, having our Faith Fixed.

Be Blessed,
Pastor Renée