Category: Faith Fix

In John 3:6 Jesus says to Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”  Is this the same spirit that God talks about in Ezekiel 36? I guess I’m trying to see where Nicodemus, someone I assume would know the Old Testament very well, should have seen prophecy in Jesus’ signs. 

The focus of Ezekiel 36 is the restoration of Israel. Israel as a nation from its inception has been challenged but God has established it. Even though people attempt to overcome it, maybe even being effective for a time, they will lose it in the end. In this, God also is working to establish His kingdom on the earth. So before people get up in arms and say, “but Israel doesn’t always do right,” we have to remember that God is doing it for His purpose not theirs. 

Now, in that restoration process in these scriptures we see Him say, “I will put My Spirit within you.” So yes, this is the same Spirit Jesus talked about in John. The problem with Nicodemus is the problem that most religious people have. They are so distracted by their religion, they sometimes fail to see God. Remember, Jesus dealt harshly with the Pharisees because although they were the teachers of the law, they never understood the heart of God. Even the disciples who had been with Jesus couldn’t really grasp what He was doing. At least not until some time after. In these scriptures in John, Jesus also questions, Nicodemus asking, “Are you not a teacher of the law and you don’t understand?”

This brings me to a point I want to express. I believe there are things that God has said, things in scripture, that we will not be able to understand without two crucial things. The first of these things is a right heart. That is, a heart right before God. Someone who doesn’t take time to really know God, will never have the right heart. Though there’s much I could say about this, I don’t have space for that here. Second, I believe there are things we CANNOT know until after they have happened. These are what would commonly be referred to as the mysteries of God. I’ll come back to that.

I have been a preacher who has often proclaimed things like, God DOES NOT work in mysterious ways. Now, while I believe that is true as it pertains to the way people are usually using it, I have adapted my general belief in it. There is a mystery in some of the ways that God often does things. There is a lot I could say about this as well, but again for the sake of length I will only address what I said at the end of the last paragraph.

People often argue biblical truths. If you consider things like the tribulation, the rapture of the church, gifts of the spirit, or things like this, there are a lot of ideas out there of what they are specifically. Now, while I do believe that all these things have some place in our understanding, I also believe that some of these things we cannot fully understand now. For example, and just briefly, there is a lot of argument about what is called eschatology, or what will happen in the very end. There is a lot of people that have a lot of arguments about what this prophecy of scripture, or that prophecy of scripture means. What I have found is that you can have an equal number of good points on both sides of an argument and still be confused. I truly believe in such cases these are things we will not fully understand until they have happened. God leaves them shrouded in a bit of mystery so that we have to live in faith until we see them come to pass. This is exactly what happened in Acts 1 when Jesus was asked about the restoration of His Kingdom.

Now there are some that may completely disagree with me, or even get mad at me for saying such things. And that’s perfectly OK with me, I guess we will just see when they happen. The overall point to what I am saying is, we would do best to simply seek God and to know Him the best that we can. I believe the reason that Nicodemus couldn’t completely see Jesus was for the same reasons that many people still cannot see Him. They are more concerned with their ideas of who He is than they are with who He really is. What we can learn from this is by what the other Pharisees didn’t do. Nicodemus seemed to questioned and then seek out the truth though He didn’t understand. He went beyond just stopping with his understanding, He sought.

To seek God with your whole heart is to be willing to be changed even when you find something that is hard to understand and to trust Him even when you just can’t get it. There is more about God than we could ever understand as humans. We will spend eternity learning about Him and being amazed in the process. While we are here is our job to look and listen and be open to what God wants to do and what He wants to show.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff 

Question: If all my sins are forgiven and washed away then when I reach Heaven why will I still have to give an account for everything I said and did? I don’t even know how I’ll do this because I’ve forgotten so much I won’t even know what to say. The whole thought gives me anxiety, because I think all I’m going to be able to say is “I don’t know, I was awful, I don’t even remember that”

So this is a common Christian concern, and I’m glad I get to answer it. It’s easy when you minister to be thinking about something, say it, and the devil will try to twist in the ears of the believer. Then it becomes bondage. Now, mind you, I’m not blaming the hearer. It could be the speaker, but with these types of questions, they often arise even as people read the scripture. This is why a little bit to address it goes a long way.

Romans 14:10-12 (NASB) says, “But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, ‘AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.’ So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” The first thing to take note of here is who this is addressing. This is written to believers in the context of judging other believers. Not to be so quick to judge their actions based on our own ideas. This is not talking about things the Bible calls sinful. When we say every person will give an account, the implication is not specifically sinful deeds, but what did you do with what God has asked of or given you? 

Yes it’s true sins are forgiven. This does not mean we are free to live haphazard and careless lives but as 1 John 1:9 (NASB) says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” So of course we are forgiven of our sins, and there is an importance in confessing them, however what about all this giving an account of ourselves business? Well this, is haired of a different color!

As Christians we are called to live righteously and the easiest way that I can put that is like this: we are called to live right before God. This is not a call to perfection, God knew we wouldn’t do that. It’s a call not to squander our salvation. Hebrews 2:3 (NASB) says, “How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?“ How would one neglect their salvation? By thinking lightly of it. By not allowing it to shape them. By ignoring the fact that God didn’t just call us to repentance but to work and live for Him. By not taking up their cross daily. By not obeying His commands. 

As a pastor, I get the not always fun job of encouraging people toward the work of the Lord. I say not always fun because as I have learned, people generally are not fond of others giving them something to do. Though that is never my goal, or frankly my job, I do have the job of teaching, exhorting, encouraging, and even correcting. 2 Timothy 4:2 (NASB) instructs preachers, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” One of the ways we often do that is by means of an important reminder. Don’t get slack in your service to God. And when you do something in the name of the Lord, make sure it’s what He wants you to do. Why? Because you will stand before Him  and this He will judge. In fact, I believe that this is the only judgement true Christians will face. That because we already have the promise of eternal life. 

This judge meant is better understood as job performance. God expects we will do our best to follow Him. If we are, then there is no fear, we will stand before Him confidently. But the only way to be confident, is to do your best to evaluate your life continually. I am not promoting always looking for failure. I’m suggesting watching for course adjustments as needed. This is not a bad or sad thing, if someone cares. But people have to also know that it’s a thing. Do your best, be open for correction, live humbly, and you will be able to stand before the Lord with confidence. Not smugness, arrogance, or pride, but sure that you did your best with what He gave you to do, as you sought Him for direction.

Be Blessed, 

Pastor Jeff 

Can Satan create your dreams at night to distract you the next day or next few days?

2 Corinthians 2:11 (NIV)

“…in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”

The short answer to this is, sure. The key here is, will he be effective?

Another version of this scripture says, “We are not ignorant of his devices.” In other words, disciples of Christ should not be unaware of the fact that the enemy would attack them, and do so in various ways. The devil is a liar. He is also out to rob peace from the world because he traded peace for his pride. When we understand that sleep was meant for rest, then we can see that it is certainly something the devil would like to rob. But here’s a question. Is the problem found just in the night, while we sleep, or is there a part that we play?

When I worked in a factory, they had a system that was called preventative maintenance. These were times of scheduled downtime for all the machines. Though down time doesn’t seem to be producing much, the knowledge is that a little maintenance on the front end would go along way toward the over all production. It also allowed smaller problems to be revealed before bigger ones were created. It is a common thing in our society to bandaid an issue instead of fixing the problem. I see this a lot in the lives of believers. We have the greatest book of wisdom, these things should not be so!

I said that because we often see the effects of an attack from the enemy, but we don’t always look to the why. The devil is an opportunist. I’m sure he randomly attacks but honestly that takes effort that he doesn’t always have. He looks for opportunity to get us, often when we don’t expect it. Look at what 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV) says. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” He’s looking for opportunity to get us and unfortunately we  give it to him too often.

I’m not blaming everyone for every time the devil attacks them. What I’m suggesting is that we spend some time on preventative maintenance. In this case, how we go to bed matters and it matters a great deal. I find when I go right to bed after watching tv or random videos, my sleep is never like it is when I go to sleep mindful of God. This doesn’t just affect my nights, but when I focus on God as I wake up, my days are usually different as well. Taking that time in a busy schedule is preventative maintenance and doesn’t give the devil a lot in my life to use. Now for sure, I don’t do this perfectly, but I’m reminded of it when I don’t! 

The devil is always looking to upset our days and he will use just about anything to do it. Which leads into the next point. What do we do when he does? 2 Timothy 1:6-7 (NIV) says, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” The principle is that as faithful believers we have something on the inside of us that is greater and so we need to access it! Hebrews 4:16 (NIV) tells us, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Our placement with God negates the devil’s place in our lives.

We should know what things are God and what things are not. And if we don’t, we need to seek them out, whether this is through our own study or submitting it to someone else, someone who we trust knows. Once I had a dream that I believe was of spiritual nature. Although it was alarming, I really believed that God was in it. The problem is that I could easily think wrong about it because my mind was not in the right place. This is why we have to renew our mind in the word so that we don’t get confused or deceived. If the devil brings us something, but we know by the Word that it’s not good, then we can easily throw it out. If God brings us something heavy, we know by the Word it’s good and can accept it.

The most important thing in a believer’s life is to be renewed, mentally and spiritually by his truth, which is His word. This is how we deal with the devils devices, his traps. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NIV) says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” You fight lies with the truth and the only thing the devil has is lies. Refuse to let demonic thoughts or dreams to be an influence in your life. And do not invite those thoughts in by filling your mind with the wrong things.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff 

What is Biblical prophesy, and who is it for? 

This is going to be a somewhat difficult question to answer. The reason is, biblical prophesy is not just one thing, neither are biblical prophets. 

First of all, the scriptures themselves are considered prophesy. 2 Peter 1:20-21 (NASB) says, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:3 (NASB), “But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation.” In the Old Testament prophets were those who would tell of things to come or of God’s judgements. To add to this, prophets themselves all looked different, acted different, prophesied different, and lived different. In fact, God even used a donkey and a disembodied hand to prophesy! 

To make it simpler though I guess I would say this: prophesy is something that is inspired by God and delivered for the point of producing something that God desires to get done or sending a message He wants sent. It is not simply telling the future but may be direction on what to do in a situation. In fact, prophesy doesn’t have to even be words! Sometimes it may be words of encouragement, sometimes it may be direction or correction through a person or event, and sometimes it is reading what is written, inspired of God (His Word), and having it change your understanding or path. Prophecy can even be actions. It can be for believers and at times it can be for unbelievers, and it can come through believers and sometimes through unbelievers. I would say even more simply, prophesy is God speaking to humanity and the prophet is who or what He uses to speak through. 

Much of our understanding of prophecy seems to come through culture. Actually, much of people’s Biblical understanding or their “knowledge” of God, the devil, and angels is more culturally based than biblically based. I once had a discussion with someone who was raised rather harshly in a certain denomination. This person said to me, “Well, doesn’t the Bible say this or that?” I was like the Bible never says anything remotely close to that! They were shocked, but see this false understanding of scripture really caused them to see God in a poor light. I cannot express to people how much I have run across this very issue. This is why I almost incessantly say, “I want to know what the Scripture is saying, not what a man has to say about it!” We have to be people that so highly value the Word, that nothing else can penetrate it.

Now you may be wondering, “What does this have to do with prophecy?” Everything! The only way to judge whether or not prophecy is true and accurate, is if it aligns with Scripture. Not man’s ideas of Scripture but the actual intent of Scripture. I love these following verses, because they keep me grounded in so many things. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 (NIV) instructs us, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good.” Boom! There it is! This was not written to ministers only, this was written to the believers. We all, having the Holy Spirit, are given the requirement to put to the test the things which we hear. That is not license to be critical but license to think critically!

There is a lot more that could be said, I think that this is a good topic for deeper discussion. What I’ve written is only an introduction to these things and let me be clear, I am not an authority on prophecy. I only know what I’ve studied and what God has shown me. As with all things of God, the potential knowledge is much more vast than we can comprehend. We should continue to seek His truth seriously, not being combative, but in earnest and hopeful pursuit of understanding.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff 

Question: Something I have noticed is there have been people who show up to church regularly, decide to get baptized and then you never see them again. Why do you think that is?  If you’re seriously giving your life to God, you’d think they’d come back wanting to learn more.

You are speaking to every pastor’s heart right there. I cannot tell you how many people over the past decade, have come to us for a time looking for something, then poof, you never see them again. It’s perplexing at times, but common for sure. Let’s dig in!

Romans 1:21 (NIV) says, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” All people have been born with an inherent desire to know God. When something is created with purpose, it will always seek to fulfill that purpose. Even in the animal kingdom we can see this. I have heard about horses that are instinctively workhorses. They thrive under the challenge of labor. In some ways, the harder they are pushed, the happier they are, fulfilling what they were designed to be. Humans are no different.

We were all created for God’s purpose, because as we see in Genesis 1, we were created in His image. People who have never heard of God, long for Him. Sometimes in their ignorance they try and make Him up, but they seek to fulfill their purpose. So why would people, once they discover this truth, not stick around? Selfishness, I think, is the best answer. 

Because of sin, humans are self-seeking. Although they know they need God, they still want what they want. I have experienced time and again, people who come until they get what they want or think they need, and then disappear. On the other hand, there are people who will come until the Lord starts dealing with them about changing some things or to sacrifice something, and then they leave. Then there’s the specific instance that you have said, involving religious ritual.

Baptism is one of those things that people, even unchurched people have heard about. I once ran into a man who I knew from my past. This man may have grown up going occasionally to some sort of church, but he knew very little of the things of God. In fact, I only knew him to live completely opposed to religion. What was interesting is something happened that often happens when I run into someone I used to know. In catching up, when I tell them (always to their surprise) that I am a pastor, they always seem to start talking about religion. I usually have to say nothing more than I am a pastor, and whether we are in a store or a coffee shop, I will end up in a long conversation. More about that in a minute. He said to me, “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about being baptized.” You see, this man is getting older, and as many do, started considering eternity. Now he has no idea what baptism is about but like many, he  figures maybe he better, just in case. I offered to get together and talk about it any time and invited him to church, just as I usually do, and as usual have gotten answered with, “Oh yeah, maybe, we’ll see.” 

I have found that I have had similar encounters with many people from my past, many times. I see them, they find out I’m a pastor, they start talking about God, often going into quite a conversation about how much they’ve really been thinking about Him. I have made it a specific point not to push religion on people, though I will gladly engage any interest. Then, more often than not, something even more interesting than that happens. This person, whom I have not seen in years, I will run into many times over the next few weeks. You can even see it in their faces. Sometimes they even verbalize it. “Wow! This doesn’t seem like coincidence!” Honestly, I don’t believe it is. I fully believe God sets it up this way. This is a very similar way to how I came back to God.  

These are divine appointments. Most often, unfortunately, people get more amused by them than anything. And then, as fast as our meetings happen, they end. See people recognize the supernatural, the need for it even, but they get distracted easily. It’s easy many times to make the decision to get baptized. It’s another thing to actually do something with it. They know God’s gift is free, they just ignore the fact that it comes with responsibility. The question I always ask people when I baptize them is this, “Have you made Jesus the Lord of your life?” Though the answer is always yes, the actions don’t always prove it. If I’m completely honest, this applies even to some of those who do still keep coming! If Jesus is your Lord, you will not be. However, at least if people come back I have time to work with them. 

In closing, let me say why I encourage people so much to be faithful to church. There is so much that comes against us and distracts us in life. As believers, we congregate too little. Many Christians remain as only spiritual babies their whole lives, never doing very much for the Lord. They never grow into the fullness of what God has for them, trading His glory for things that will burn away. Sure they will go to Heaven, but without experiencing the true life God sets aside for them. This is why we encourage each other, whether we come to church together, run into someone at the store or coffee shop, or sit and have dinner and fellowship with one another. Hunger for God never disappoints but many people are sadly full on too much of everything else. We can be different, brothers and sisters, we can be examples.

Romans 1:28 (NIV)

Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff

Question: How can you help your friends reconnect romantically/lovingly with Biblical teaching? I know there’s a lot about love,  I guess what I’m really asking is, how would you approach this?

There was a time in our walk with the Lord that we learned a very important lesson about getting involved in other people’s marriages. We had some friends that had a very rocky marriage, and often came to us to voice their complaints about one another, the husband to my husband and the wife to me.  We found ourselves taking sides in the matter, and having an opinion, which started to add stress to our own relationship. The thing was that these friends were Christians receiving the same teaching and instruction we were, yet they weren’t putting it to practice. This was something we have, and continue to encounter all the time, regarding marriage principles along with many other principles in the word. 

Unfortunately, we cannot make anyone do anything, even when we know it is important! The best thing we can do is be the example of walking uprightly.  One thing the Apostle Paul encouraged both Timothy and Titus with is to be an example for other believers in speech, in love and in conduct, for instance. (1 Tim. 4:12 & Titus 2:7). This is good advice for all of us! Be an example of a good marriage. Be an example of a loving spouse. Speak highly of your spouse, show love, demonstrate benevolent behaviors and show these friends a higher way. 

Besides this, pray for these friends. Go to the Lord on their behalf and ask Him to help them see each other the way He sees them. Often times when spouses don’t treat each other lovingly and kindly it’s because they’ve lost their gratitude for one another. Someone who is grateful for their spouse will let them know it. Look at Galatians 6:1-2, “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Consider how hard sometimes it is to get back up from a slippery slope and take on this burden for your friends in prayer. Intercede for them, meaning go to God on their behalf. Whenever you consider their situation, take it to the Lord. Walk gently with them as they work these things out. In the meantime, ask the Lord for wisdom in how to speak to them if that’s what He has for you to do: 

I love what Proverbs 27:17 says, that is, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”  The best thing we can do for our brothers and sisters is be this iron in their lives. When iron is rubbed against another piece of iron it shapes and sharpens it. Similarly, Christians can help each other by their influence as they spend time together. Purpose to be the kind of influence that blesses and adds to others faith in God and in fulfilling their upward call in Christ. 

Be Blessed,

Pastor Renée