Pastor's Letter Category

Tenacious Faith

One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and on seeing Him [Jesus], fell at His feet and implored Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.” And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him. Mark 5:22-24

In Mark 5, an account is given of two people who were desperate and tenacious enough to seek God’s help. Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, overcame prestige barriers and fell at Jesus’ feet to ask for healing for his 12-year-old daughter, and a woman with a 12-year hemorrhage overcame social and inferiority barriers to reach out and touch Jesus. Whether you are a big shot or a “nobody,” Jesus’ love and grace know no bounds.

Called to Change the World

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 15:4

This verse underscores the reason we read the Bible and give our lives to its truth. The Apostle Paul talks about how “all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable,” and when we look at the Scriptures, we see account after account of God’s faithfulness throughout the generations (2 Timothy 3:16).

New Beginnings

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1

RENEW YOUR PERSPECTIVE. There is more to life than meets the eye—more than maintenance, survival, or just coping. Your perspective is renewed when you seek the things above and start seeing yourself as God sees you. You can live the Christian life. You can pray amazing prayers and experience victory. And you can identify the call on your life and see it come to pass.

Hope, Encouragement & Perseverance

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus. Romans 15:4-5

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

The historical accounts we read in the Bible reveal a pattern of how God consistently helps people. When we run into alarming situations, we can turn to the Scriptures to see examples of God’s faithfulness through the ages.

Casting Your Cares on Him

Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. 1 Peter 5:7 AMP

Jesus said when you see signs of the end times do not be afraid, but instead “straighten up and lift up your heads” and “be on guard so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness [escapism methods] and the worries of life” (Luke 21:28, 34a). You may have lapsed into unbelief and fear, but Jesus’ mercy triumphs over judgment. You can destroy fear with faith and get back in your A-game.

Moving Forward in 2012: The Year of Stability

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”

But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42

God is calling you to carry joy to a fallen world, but the devil wants you to become so preoccupied with the issues in your own life that you stay in the constant cycle of maintaining and trying to overcome discouragement and distraction instead of being what God has called you to be.

You Are Loved

Long before [God] laid down earth’s foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago He decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son. Ephesians 1:4-6 The Message

When Jesus, the King, was born in a feeding trough over 2,000 years ago, God was showing the love and value He places on each one of us.

The Power of God’s Word

There is a God in heaven who cares about you. When you experience high times and feel like you are flowing with the Holy Spirit, or when you feel worn slick with nothing going your way, God’s grace stays constant, undiminished. Wherever you are, day or night, you can cry out to the Lord and He will respond.

Rely on God: Part Two

Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail). Psalm 55:22 AMP

There is always the “day before the breakthrough”: the period of time when the weapons of mass distraction—anxiety, worry, lethargy—assail us. The devil loves to attack when we’re in these areas and times of uncertainty. But God is consistent. You can trust Him. As you read this, I pray that a spirit of faith will stir in your heart and you will be able to connect with just how faithful God is.

You Can Rely On God

Jesus is capable and He has broad shoulders. He bore our sins and carried our sickness (1 Peter 2:24). We aren’t designed to carry burdens all the time. That’s why we need to defy the tendency to be super worried and instead cast our cares on God—He wants to bring vitality and strength to our lives.

God Is Faithful

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8

You may have been meditating on some pretty weird stuff, but God wants us to focus on things that are excellent and worthy of praise. If we are really going to revolutionize the world, we’ve got to be different in our thinking. Shake off the heaviness and fear by focusing on who Jesus is and by renewing your mind in the Word. Here are some scriptures that will help you press past the mind-numbing attacks of the devil and remember that God is faithful. He will calm whatever storm you’re in and get you to the other side (Matthew 8:24-28).

Take Inventory.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8

These traits (in bold) are faith’s focus. To “dwell” means, in this context, to “take inventory.” In Philippians 4:6-7, Paul writes that we are to “be anxious for nothing” and then, in verse 8, he gives the very steps and cure for worry: Dwell on or take inventory of these eight attributes. Imagine two shelves: one shelf full of anxiety-producing items and one full of peace-producing things. Don’t keep examining the peace-stealers—hurtful things people have done, shortcomings of the past, regretted actions. Instead, constantly write down and think about the incredible acts God has done in your life.

Daily Victory

My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their body. Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put devious speech far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. Proverbs 4:20-26

The path toward daily victory lies in how we guard our inner life. A lot of things are vying for our attention and, with all the sensory reinforcement in the world, many have forgotten the hidden person of the heart. But how we tend to the soil of our hearts will show up in our words, our thought life, and our attitudes.

Staying Refreshed!

The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and very green. Psalm 92:12-14

v. re·fresh: To revive . . . give new vigor or spirit to. To give new freshness or brightness to; restore. To renew by stimulation, to fill up again; replenish.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition*

The Huge Deal

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:31-32

This is the huge deal: God has called us to the royal law of love (James 2:8). Bitterness and unresolved anger give the devil an opportunity to keep us from moving forward: “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity” (Ephesians 4:26-27).

Run the Race

We are marathon runners, not short-term sprinters. Like the early church, we must choose to continually devote ourselves to a life of pursuing God (Acts 2:42). Endurance has decisional aspects. In the 1968 Olympics, marathon runner John Stephen Akhwari chose to finish his race despite injury. His response when asked why he didn’t quit: “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; they sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.” In the Word, God has provided powerful examples of people who ran with endurance—Esther, Noah, Abraham, Martha, Ruth, Moses. We are standing on the shoulders of these people who endured.

Fulfill the Call

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14

God’s will can be accepted and fulfilled. We must fight through the incredible discouragement that tries to numb us as we go through life, and press toward the upward call. It’s a fight worth fighting. There is breakthrough on the other side of the mountain, a reward at the end. You are not designed to be just in maintenance mode, but you are called to impact the world.

Strengthened by the Holy Spirit

But you, my friends, must fortify yourselves in your most sacred faith. Continue to pray in the power of the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God, and look forward to the day when our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy will give eternal life. Jude 20-21 New English Bible

Fortify yourselves in your most sacred faith. These verses show us ways we can be strengthened. We need strength from God because the things He has called us to do cannot be achieved by our own human effort. “He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4b).

Created for Purpose

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

God created you for very specific reasons to have an impactful and fruitful life—to accomplish things that have eternal repercussions. But there is a mind-numbing resistance to this call that we must resist by fixing our eyes on Jesus.

Designed for Fruitfulness

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:27-28

God has a big, beautiful plan for you—not to be idle or miserable, but to have an abundant, fruitful life (John 10:10).

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

Jesus Has Made You Worthy

Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20

Whenever Jesus shows up, things change. He ate with both tax collectors and Pharisees—people from all levels of society—regardless of what others thought. And now, He wants to be invited to dine, linger, and fellowship with us.

Your Place in the World

But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. Ephesians 4:15-16

God’s plans for you are significant. If you’re feeling beat down, socially awkward, or insignificant, Jesus powerfully affirmed your value when He gave His life at the prime age of 33 so that people like you and me can experience freedom from bondage. Worth is determined by the price someone is willing to pay. The significant and fruitful life is accessible to all who seek God—it’s not a spectator sport but the proper working of each individual part.

A Tenacious Life

Te•na•cious (verb): holding or grasping firmly; forceful and persistent; holding together firmly; tough or cohesive. Collins English Dictionary

Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; but the righteous will live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:4

Your commitment makes a difference. The world right now needs people who have backbone, who persevere through challenging circumstances.

From Weakness To Strength

Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places. Habakkuk 3:17-19

The book of Habakkuk provides a beautiful picture of how to move from doubt to faith, from confusion to understanding, from fear to hope. Habakkuk was a guy who lived during one of the most difficult times of the nation of Judah, but he learned to seek God for his strength.

Joseph: A Fruitful and Restored Life

Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; its branches run over a wall. Genesis 49:22

Joseph’s story shows someone who seemed destined to wither, but against all odds he flourished! As Jacob prayed a blessing over his kids at the end of his life, he described his son Joseph as a fruitful bough who thrived so much that his branches ran over a wall. Wherever Joseph was—slavery, prison—he always rose to the top.