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.

God’s Sovereignty in Perilous Times

Romans 12:1-5 is a biblical account of God’s truth and sovereignty over human history and culture. There are several applicable lessons to be learned from this text. First, in application to the current status of the world today we can clearly see that history repeats itself. 

This Herod is Herod Agrippa I, which reigned in Palestine between A.D. 37-44. He was the grandson of Herod the Great, the individual that was visited by the Magi from the East. He was responsible for the infant massacre in Bethlehem when Jesus was a baby, along with many other similar acts of violence. Agrippa I had a difficult time following the leadership ability of his family and even found himself imprisoned by Rome due to careless comments in relation to Caesar. However, even with this track record was shortly given the office of ruler (king) of northern Palestine. In this role his methodology of leadership was to spend money and quickly found himself with more debt than the people could pay. 

When the money pressure became too intense, he began to use another tactic, declare war on the poor, helpless and despised. This classification clearly fit the Jewish Christians of that day and James, one of the sons of thunder and brother of John, was the first target. This action pleased the religious, wealthy, influential people of that day and took there minds off of his other failures. His next target was Peter however, God in His sovereign plan and control protected Peter to go on and do great things for the Lord. 

The second lesson is this, whatever may come our way due to whatever reasons the best way to respond is by being steadfast in our love, service and admiration of the Almighty God. We see and know that by only the power of God, the Church survived and is still surviving today. God is sovereign in perilous times as well as the good times. 

The third lesson is that we must not be overcome by the temporal and miss the eternal. A true believer’s home is not this world. We have much more to look forward to and put our trust in than leaders who can’t manage money and government, issues and treats of persecution or anything else the world and the evil one can dish out. We serve the God Almighty who created all things and will sustain what is His. 

Lastly, was can also see that God always wins. Herod, in his pride, took too much ground and when he began to take God’s position on earth, earth swallowed him up. I encourage you to be confident not in the circumstance but in the One who saves to the uttermost. 

Life

Encouragement for the day...

For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. (Luke 12:23 ESV) Oh if we could truly see what life really is! I am confident that most believers miss so much joy and peace (spiritual rest) due to the obstructions of what we think is life. Jesus cautioned believers of missing the reality of life. Think about it as Jesus sees it, life is Himself. John 14:6 Jesus said of Himself that he was the Life! Jesus sees life as something much longer in time than we do, eternity. Jesus sees life has climaxing with forever being in His presence and safety. Jesus sees life as an opportunity to lay up valuable treasures that we rarely think about. Finally, Jesus sees life as being abundant in Him. So how's your life perspective? Move over to Jesus' view it is a lot better! 

Encouragement for the day...

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. (Psalms 73:2 ESV) Bad things can happen during a fall. Bones can be broken, normal life can be quickly altered. In ancient times when war was done mostly by hand to hand combat, a soldiers shoes were oven spiked to ensure firm footing. Our life today is no different we need to stand firmly on the most solid and safest surfaces, spiritually, morally, and ethically. Don't allow yourself to stumble, stay in the safety of God's Word and in the sure relationship of Jesus. Check your steps today and take the safe route, at the time it may seem slower but it is the only way not to fall.