Victory in Jesus

I see so many Christians living life beat down by there past failures and all the distractions of the busy life. As I read A.W. Tozer in my morning quiet time I just had to share his statements written many years ago. Listen, and apply the wisdom of God through His servant.

We Are Declared Not Guilty by the Highest Court

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:11

The Christian believer cannot be happy and victorious in the true liberty of the children of God if he is still quaking about his past sins.

God knows that sin is a terrible thing—yes, and the devil knows it, too! So the devil follows us around and as long as we will permit it, he will taunt us about our past sins.

As for myself, I have learned to talk back to him on this score.

I say, “Yes, Devil, sin is terrible—but I remind you that I got it from you! And I remind you, Devil, that everything good—forgiveness and cleansing and blessing—everything that is good I have freely received from Jesus Christ!”

Everything that is bad and that is against me I got from the devil—so why should he have the effrontery and the brass to argue with me about it? Yet he will do it because he is the devil, and he is committed to keeping God’s children shut up in a little cage, their spiritual wings clipped.

Brethren, we have been declared “Not guilty!” by the highest court in all the universe. It is good to know that on the basis of grace as taught in the Word of God, when God forgives a man, He trusts him as though he had never sinned.

The Bible does not teach that if a man falls down, he can never rise again. The fact that he falls is not the most important thing—but rather that he is forgiven and allows God to lift him up! That is the basis of our Christian assurance and God wants us to be happy in it.

Renewed Day by Day Volume One by A. W. Tozer Compiled by Gerald B. Smith © 1991 by Zur Ltd.

Tozer, A. W., 1897–1963 Renewed Day by Day Volume I / A. W. Tozer. ISBN: 978-1-60066-009-2

The Destructive Power of Depression

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. (Psalm 43:5 ESV) Depression is a deadly killer. It kills life in some form or another. Depression kills joy and true joy only comes from the satisfaction and peace of God in the redemption of salvation. Salvation is by faith so depression is a faith killer, depression is anti-faith. When believers choose not to have faith they sin, depression is sin. I hate it, it sneaks in on you. However, there are some important facts that believers need to know about depression. First, there is an antidote, prayer. When Jesus was moments away from the cross He told His disciples to watch and pray for the spirit is willing (we want joy) but the flesh is weak. Second, depression's residence is the human mind. The Word of God is filled with antidepressants. The truth of God produces faith and faith and truth are the best antidepressants made. Don't allow depression and its cousins (disappointment, etc.) to kill your focus, hope and joy. Your God reigns! 

Beware of Depression

i will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. (Psalm 119:15 ESV) Depression is becoming a major health problem in today's world. Depression is found is almost all ages, in both genders and in all levels of society. Depression can be found at the base of hostility, suicide and abandonment. It is a serious issue and though medication can help and is not a bad thing, there is something better. I am confident the best antidote for depression and stinking thinking is to make Psalms 119:15 a constant practice. The depth, truth and fulfillment of the Word of God does amazing things to the mind and the outlook on life. To focus on what the Creator God wants and offers lifts ones purpose from day to day disappointments to a plan that is safe, secure and delightful. If you are struggling a little or a lot with life's disappointments a steadfast practice of meditation on God's Word will change your life. I encourage you to make it a mainstay in your daily life, it is a major blessing for me.  

The Work of Faith

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 ESV) Our culture today has the intent of the 'easy button', make it easy for me. With the help of technology our thinking has changed drastically over time. We don't dig ditches, we use a trencher. We don't harvest crops, we pay corporations to do that for us. Though this may not be all bad this mentality falls into our spirituality. Faith is not easy to the natural man, especially in a high knowledgable society. Could this explain why so many people have trouble experiencing God? When you omit faith everything that is important crumbles. The key is found in this text, to seek Him, God Almighty. It isn't natural to the nature of mankind, it isn't easy because it requires intentionality, focus, time and things that we aren't necessarily used to. However, the rewards are out of this world! I encourage you to make this a priority at any cost.

Latest news on Bradley

Bradley was found by a California police officer north of San Francisco on April 8th, 2014. He was in good shape as far as his health and focus. The officer explained his parents were very concerned about him, especially after receiving the email he sent. He stated that we just read it wrong and he was still on a spiritual venture. After spending some time with Brad the police officer left him and reported the encounter to the Mountain View police in which they in turn provided us with the information. We are certainly glad that Bradley is ok and providing for himself well. We still miss him and are having trouble understanding his venture, yet God is in control of all things including our situation. Please continue to pray for Bradley as he looks for what God has for him and that truth will reign in his heart and mind. We also ask that you pray for us that we can accept the things we cannot change and be all we can be to the glory of God Almighty! Thank you for caring, praying and keeping track of this situation. God bless!

Pastor Steve and Jeannine.

Fear and Faith

But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” (Mark 5:36 ESV) Fear can be crippling. It can have multiple negative affects on the body in many areas, physically, emotionally, psychologically, etc. I have come to believe that the greatest fear is the fear of the unknown. This is one of the reasons we all fear death, we've never died before. We've never been beyond life. This is seen in the healing of Jarius's daughter.  Jesus knew their fears and the biggest problem with fear is that it can't coexist with faith and without faith a person cannot please God. (Heb. 11:6) When someone has something medically wrong with them, the hard part is going through the discovery stage. When someone is missing the hardest part is just knowing if they are ok. In Paul's encouragement to his son in the faith he shared, "for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." (2 Timothy 1:7 ESV) So we come to the mean time and there is almost always a mean time. What do you do? Just like fear crushes or eliminates faith, faith eliminates fear. But we cannot stop there. Just to tell someone to have faith is not enough, you must discover where faith comes from. Again the Word of God answers that question as well. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17 ESV) So we must go to the Word to grow faith. As a person saturates themselves in the Word, sincere prayer will almost always follow. Many religions discuss faith, however only Christianity gives the believer tangible evidence of how faith is obtained. God is so complete, so precious, even in times of crisis the truth shines through. As I write this our son has missing missing for almost a month. This is what the Holy Spirit is showing us and we hope it is an encouragement to you.