The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance

God’s delay in ending this age is not the result of indifference to Christian suffering, nor their longing to finally get to heaven. It is the result of patience; He is waiting for all who will come to repentance. He is waiting as long as He can. Scoffers respond by saying, “Christ is not coming back; God is not really going to end this age; there is really no Hell, look, all these centuries and the world just keeps on going.”

Scoffers fail to recognize that it is God who holds all things together; the whole universe is in His hands. It takes God’s power daily to keep this planet going. But God has intervened and interrupted the normal course of this planet before—remember Noah’s flood? God will do it again but not until the last person possible repents and joins God’s kingdom. He longs for everyone to repent!

That is why He gave us His Son Jesus as a sacrifice for sin! This weekend we celebrate Resurrection Day. Take time to thank our Father for being patient with us. Then thank our Lord Jesus for His great sacrifice.

Happy Easter!

P. Frieda

On this Good Friday, it’s easy to let our minds wander to the sobriety of the cross. Often we think of the suffering, the sacrifice, and the pain endured by our beautiful Saviour, Jesus.  But, as I contemplate this verse, and really the whole chapter, I see another facet of what Jesus was about to accomplish through his death and resurrection – an “Open Heaven”. 

You see, God had been silent to the Israelites for 400 years before John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus.  There were whole periods in Israelite history where the “word of the Lord” was scarce. Often, when he did speak to His people, He spoke through prophets and priests.  Not only that, but God’s presence was kept in the Ark of the Covenant, in the Holy of Holies, and once a year, one man entered that place to make atonement for us.

Good Friday marks the day that all of that changed, and thus we were entered into a new covenant, and new relationship; a new way to interact, so to speak, with heaven.  We were no longer separated by a veil, a room, or the need to wait for God to speak to someone else.  Jesus opened heaven and all that God had for us when he died.  He created a way for forgiveness of sin!  He restored mankind’s ability to have the relationship that God had originally intended for us all – a personal, walking in the Garden, communing with him face to face kind of relationship. 

You see God calling out to us for this relationship throughout chapter 48.  He puts no limits on what He offers, but he does ask us to respond to Him – and respond in return with no limits, no secret places, no areas that we hold back in shame or control. As you meditate on the sobriety of the day, the pain, the suffering, the sacrifice, take some time to also reflect on what really changed for all of us – a new relationship to be had, and open heaven. How can you not help but be grateful? How wonderful it is to have a chance to know our God and Saviour in such an intimate, yet powerful way!  And in your gratitude and praise, respond to this open heaven in like manner, with an open heart and spirit.  Give Him the areas of your heart that you’ve been holding back, ask Him to help you overcome. Repent from the sin patterns you’ve been hiding. Embrace Him as the lover of your soul! Spend true time with Him as you would with your close friend or spouse.  That’s what Jesus came for!

Pastor Jill

In our faith walk we are no doubt going to run into some obstacles (sufferings). Some will be small, some large, and some may even seem insurmountable. The Bible does not leave us blind to these truths. But what God assures us of is this, we will make it through. We will overcome. Hallelujah! God’s twins, Grace and Mercy will abet us to victoriously navigate life’s arduous and unpredictable course. God’s grace will literally restore, support, and strengthen us. There will be no lack or deficiencies. If we totally trust in Him we have the ability to establish our hearts in the love and truth of our Father.

Pastor Marché

We are praying for you as a church body that you would have a new revelation of hope in Christ and all the many things He has for you and your life.  Just the speed that we sometimes live our lives puts us in “blur mode” where we are just trying to survive our lives instead of live them.  Prayer and Fasting is a great way to slow down life and designate a time each day during the rest of the fast and opening up yourself to have a greater impartation of wisdom and for a greater revelation about your life and the significance of who you are in Christ.  Sometimes we can get so caught up in “microwave” prayers that we forget to stop and remember the enormous and wonderful inheritance we have in Christ.  When we get a revelation about the special place we have in this world, we will go from “surviving” this life to truely “living” this life.  Let this be a time of transformation in your walk with God and not just the traditional time of “praying without eating”.  We are part of a much greater plan than any of us could ever conceive and God has put us in a place of needing to be obedient and  listen to what He says.

Loving and praying for you,
Pastor Brian

Mark 11:22-24 Have faith in God.

Here are some of the key points I’ve tried to employ from these verses:

• Have faith in God – not in myself, nor in the natural possibilities, nor in my believing, but simply trust Him to do what He says He will do. The God kind of faith is from the spirit realm, not the natural.
• He makes the impossibility of moving the mountain possible. II Corinthians 4:18b says, “…for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Temporal means changeable. Mountains in the natural are not movable, but according to His word, they are seen and so are temporal and changeable. So often when the Lord has brought me to a place where I must apply this kind of faith, I want Him, the Eternal One to change, when He is not subject to change, but the mountain always is. I always ask myself, “Can I see the problem?” Then it is temporal and subject to change!
• Doubt forms in my human heart – in my thinking, imagination, attitude, and feelings, but not in my spirit. Being Spirit-led is essential for a faith walk. I must walk by the Spirit and not by my natural thoughts, no matter how brilliant and reasonable they may seem, nor by my feelings, no matter how justified. I must ignore my heart and listen in my spirit for His Word and leading.
• And as soon as I have His word I need to begin saying it. It isn’t about how many times I say it, like confessing the word is some sort of incantation, God forbid, but it is simply overcoming everything in me that resists saying what He says is going to happen. I’ve found I really hate this step of faith because my heart fears it won’t happen and I’ll be made a fool. Agreeing with Him with my mouth means I must humble myself:

About a month after I was born-again the Lord led me to make an appointment with a previous employer to see if he had any openings. This was 1975 in Albuquerque when the unemployment rate hovered at 13% and I desperately needed a job. This appointment included humbling myself and apologizing to my employer for leaving as I had. He graciously heard me out as I told him how receiving Jesus had changed my life. He explained there were no openings right then but would keep me in mind. As I slipped into my car to leave, I heard the Holy Spirit say, “Get out a piece of paper and write this down: I will work for this company in Denver, Colorado.” I wrote it out, really puzzled; I didn’t necessarily want to move to Denver but I knew it was His voice and obeyed. For the next several months, He prompted me to pull the little piece of paper out of my purse and read it again and again. By the way you should know I had not even heard of Brother Hagin or any faith teaching yet, but the Holy Spirit is our teacher, isn’t He? One year later, my old boss called me for an interview, not for a job in Albuquerque, but for one in Denver!

• Lastly and the hardest part to get: “all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you.” Most people think, “Well if I already received them why would I be praying for them?” What helped me get this verse was when I realized everything I will ever need was given at the death and resurrection of Christ and the day I accepted Him as my Savior and Lord, I received them. At that moment in time, placed in Him and His Spirit placed in me, all the promises of God were made to me, “Yes and Amen” (2 Cor. 1:20). This took place in the spirit realm which makes it eternally unchangeable. Faith says I believe I received…and the Word says they shall be granted! What mountain is the Holy Spirit talking to you about moving today? Have Faith in God.  Pastor Sharon

I don’t know if your childhood was as surreal as mine; growing up as a pastor’s kid seems to set you up for a parade of odd characters to march through your life.  And many of your recollections of the tender years have a curious, unreal quality.  As I reflected on Isaiah’s words above, my mind drifted to one such recollection.

As a tot in Children’s Church, I was pretty convinced that God was real and Jesus loved me, etc. and many of my fellow church-going chums felt the same.  The folks in charge, however, seemed to never truly feel confident that we understood their message.  They suspected, I think, that we children nodded our heads and clapped our hands and gave clever answers in order to get candy. This wasn’t completely untrue.  For whatever reason, church seemed to have mountains of the sweet stuff, generously dished out for good behavior or bright answers.

I see now that these pastors and teachers wanted us to know more than simple answers to get candy.  They were trying to connect us to the loving God of the universe; a God with a personal and profound plan for our little lives.  And that is why they invited huge men to come to our Children’s Church to break things.

Now, I wasn’t a large boy, and so these men with necks like oak trees and biceps like beach balls seemed to me like something from a nightmare. They simply marched in, muscles bulging, matching singlets glistening, and immediately started smashing things.   Wood planks, cinderblocks, phonebooks, hot-water bottles…anything was fair game for these purveyors of mayhem.  And one of them would get on the microphone and plead with us children to pray for these men as they did things our mothers would never let us do. I mean to say, if I were to come home from school one day, greet the family, pet the dog, and then begin mashing stacks of bricks with my elbows…my mother would have destroyed me.

But this was power of an untamed sort. These fellows wreaking havoc displayed strength in an exciting and Samson-esque way. Surely this was how that brawny man-of-old mowed down all those miserable Philistines? Certainly David showed a similar liveliness when he smote Goliath? Even Esther, slip of a girl though she may have been, must have had an intensity that could have inflated a hot-water bottle till it exploded?

When I reflect on Isaiah 40:29-31, my mind earnestly tries to consider it’s encouragements in an enlightened, grown-up way.  The furrowed brow of a tough decision, the pious resolution to do the right thing…of course these everyday tests require God’s strength.  But my mind continuously drifts to those mighty men and their wanton skills.  Is it possible that God had something a little more robust in mind when He inspired these immortal words?  Certainly the thought of attacking the enemy of our souls with similar ferocity, his lies broken into small gritty fragments under the crushing blow of God’s Word, holds a sort of charm?

Pastor Dustin

3 As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness! 4 And by that same mighty power, he has given us all of his rich and wonderful promises. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature.

I dont think the church body accesses the power that God gives frequently enough.  You may say, “I access it everyday because I have such a crazy life for some reason or another and have to have that power to survive.”  That is the point.  God’s power is not for us to “have just enough”, it is for us to do as it says at the end of the verse above, “…share in his divine nature.”  Maybe a better way to put it is that we access the power of God more times for getting out of a jam than we do for improving and deepening our walk with him.  I find myself asking for God’s power more to help with the struggles of life instead of asking for God’s power to improve the quality of my relationship with him.  We all get busy, but that can be no excuse for “existing with Christ.”  Look at the first part of verse 3 – there is a stipulation to accessing this power – “As we know Jesus better…”  We cannot say we know about God if we don’t get to know Him better, and that comes with time.  I appreciate you taking time to read this blog post today, but don’t let reading this be confused with spending time with God.

The verses in 2 Peter talk about the overflowing and abundant life we have access to everyday!  I was reading in a commentary about how all of God’s promises were aimed at bringing fallen man back to the image of God.  Wow.  I want my life to reflect that level of grace God has shown me and move from a fallen state to the complete image of God.  Take some time today and ask God to show you areas of your life that need an infusion of his power; enough not to just get by, but to improve the quality of your relationship with Him.

God is also with us, right now, in every circumstance from beginning to end and we have complete access to the Word.  Sometimes we’re afraid to do things because we imagine a scary outcome and we don’t think God is with us or will be there through the end.  God wants us to have courage for right now.  What if we just take each day one at a time and each “fight” one at a time?

• Let’s have the courage to fast and pray today; don’t focus on the 10 days still to go.
• Let’s have the courage to make a doctor’s appointment now for those nagging symptoms; don’t think about all the diagnoses we might receive.
• Let’s courageously ask God to help us identify our part in the dysfunction in our relationships; don’t focus on the other person’s weaknesses.
• Let’s have the courage to avoid using alcohol or other substances to make us forget about our issues or to temporarily make us feel better; let’s boldly and soberly face our “stuff”.
• Let’s adjust our spending habits today and seek God’s wisdom for church giving; don’t focus on everything we may have to do without.

It takes courage to take the first step but God is with us from the first step, through the “fight” and against any opponent we face.

Corliss

When Moses “saw” God he had to cover his face—the fading glory was too much for the people to see. In contrast our faces are unveiled. Why? As Christians we are indwelt with the glory of Christ—it does not come and go. Our fame and glory goes; but Christ’s does not fade nor decrease. We desire for Christ’s glory to shine through us. The more transparent we are; the less there is of us, the brighter Christ’s glory shines through.

All Christians reflect the Lord’s glory. How? Like the moon reflects the sun we reflect the SON. However, we cannot reflect what we do not gaze at. The more you look at Christ, pay attention to His character and ways, love Him, obey Him, the more we reflect Christ’s glory.

Today let’s ask God what keeps us from allowing Christ to shine through, what hides His glory? Then let’s ask ourselves what is the chief object of our gaze, our attention. We reflect what we gaze at the most, is that Christ? “Lord, forgive us for clouding your glory in our lives, help us today to truly reflect You and allow you to transform our lives.”

Pastor Frieda

Pastor Aaron Ingram