Prayers and Answers

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. (1 John 5:14, 15)

There are some prayers God is guaranteed to answer. There are some petitions He will always grant, supplication that turns His head, and request He is anxious to fulfill. The prayer warrior is not contending with a stingy and reluctant God, nor is he wrestling blessing out of a tight fist – but he rests His cares at the feet of his Father, Who already know what he needs. He is not looking for the answer only, but looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of his faith, and the One who fills all his every need.

Truly, there is not a good question for which Jesus is not the answer, and no human need He Himself does not fill. The intercessor prays the prayers he heard Jesus pray, and Jesus never offered a prayer the Father did not answer and honor . . .

"Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me.” (John 11:41b, 42a)

Jesus prioritized His relationship to the Father, always honoring, praising, emulating, and abiding in Him. Therefore, His prayers fit perfectly with the will of the Father Who already knows and sees all. All His Words were salt and light, and all His prayers were conceived and offered in the agreement with the will of the Father. The saint who increases in abiding with Him and lives in His presence will know His heart, and he will lift up prayers God is ever willing to receive and answer. Do you pray like that?

Pastor Eric

Revelation- When Jesus Calls My Name

Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” 

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). John 20:14-16

Jesus had become the central figure in Mary’s world, yet she still understood so little of Him. She knew Jesus – so she thought. She had been with Him, watched Him, served Him, followed Him, and deeply loved Him. Yes, Mary knew Jesus better than most, but that knowledge was so limited that she didn’t recognize Him though He stood right in front of her . . . “and [she] did not know that it was Jesus.”  Mary’s knowledge was built on familiarity and experience, and that’s true of most of us today. And, just like Mary, there is something lacking our in knowledge of who Jesus really is.

There is a deeper level of knowing the Lord reserved for those desperate for His abiding presence – those of us who hunger and thirst for a more personal and authentic relationship with God. We don’t see Him at first, but He sees us - Jesus said to her, “Mary”. Once we hear our name on His lips, we are never the same. She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!”  Now we see the One who sees us. This is the point where our knowledge of Him becomes something greater; it becomes revelation.

The term “revelation” means unveiling. Therefore it is perfectly possible to possess knowledge, yet totally miss the true nature of a matter altogether. God is determined that our knowledge of His Son progress beyond an intellectual acknowledgment of the historical Jesus – that He was simply a great teacher, a martyr, a great man, and a prophet. The Holy Spirit will not stop until we come to see Christ for ALL He is – God, Lord, and our personal Savior! This is the unveiling He does in our hearts when we earnestly seek Him. He comes to us and calls us by name, bringing us into the most intimate personal relationship – oneness! Search for Him and listen closely. You’ll hear Him calling your name.

Love and peace,

Pastor Eric 

Look Up, Look In, and Look Out!

In Isaiah 61: 1 the Lord says, 

"…He has sent Me (Jesus) to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound."

In that Spirit, I pray you receive the fresh power of God that enables you, restores you, cleanses you, invigorates you, and causes you to rejoice in Him with exceeding gladness! It's a wonderful thing to serve a God who knows our personal pain and frustrations, and He's determined to minister healing to us if we will ask and receive it.  

Are you feeling defeated? Are you feeling like the bar of holiness is too high and you'll never reach it? Do you feel God is sick of hearing you prayers because you've fallen short so many times? Do you feel like everyone else is moving on with God, while you're stuck in the muck and mire? If so, I have a few instructions for you.

First, look up! Remember the God who made the heavens and all that's within cares more about you than anything else he ever created. After all He didn't send His Son to die for the heavens, but for you! Cast your cares upon Him - literally throw them to Him. He knows just what you should do, and He will show you how to do it.  

Next, look in! The Spirit of God lives in you, because you have been born again. Since He lives in you and you obey His voice, He will lead you into all righteousness. Clarity, victory, and righteousness enter at the precise instant we obey God's Word. Simply do all He says to you without hesitation. Return to the place you disobeyed Him, confess and repent, and your peace will come rushing in like a river. 

Finally, look out! When Jesus, the King of Glory comes in, He brings with Him a tremendous bounty of blessings, good and perfect gifts, and precious experiences. Do you have room enough in your storehouse of faith to receive all He wants to give you? If you don't, let the glorious light of the Holy Spirit chase the darkness, and make room in your heart for Him. The scriptures teach there is fullness of joy in His presence. Seek Him, and you will surely find Him.

And remember, God knows exactly what you need. He's always on time, and the time for you to look up, look in and look out is now!!

Love,

Your friend and pastor,

Eric

Intimacy

Jesus continued, "There was a man who had two sons.  The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.  Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild (prodigal) living.  (Luke 15: 11-13)

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I wonder if I'm the only one who sees himself in this passage! I'm amazed at how much and how often I'm like the prodigal son. Too often, I view God as my heavenly blessing machine. I treat Him like a fast food drive-through, picking up my blessings "to go." Even though I know my spiritual fast food diet will catch up with me one day, I presume the grace and mercy of God will cover me anyway. Sad.

The blessings we seek from God can distance us from Him, if we're not very careful to pursue an intimate relationship with Him. In spite of so much preaching today about our breakthrough, our destiny, and our shining moment, the Bible is more focused on our character. So, our Father prepares and presents a feast for us everyday, and we must be careful to turn aside from all other concerns and sup with Him through worship, prayer, and the Word. Our schedules tell us we don't have time for this, but our souls long for the moments of sitting at the table with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - laughing, sharing, and talking. 

The prodigal son goes to his father to get a blessing; but to the children of God, being with the Father is our blessing.

Love you all,

Pastor Eric

On Love

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13

Love is the quintessential characteristic of the Kingdom of God. The Bible teaches us God is love, that God loved us so much that He gave His only Son for us, that the love we show is the proof we are His, and that love never fails to accomplish His will. 

It's a fantastic thing that God doesn't leave us alone to struggle with the challenge to love in our own strength, but the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who is given to us by God (Romans 5:5)! We are commanded to love as Christ loves, and to forgive because Christ loves and forgives us, and we the power to do those things dwells in us.

To be sure, there will be many offenses, slights, hurts, and attacks that are sent our way by the enemy of our souls. These are meant to plant a seed of bitterness and mistrust in our hearts which makes us withhold love, and we can become cold to others without even realizing it. But God trusts us with these trials to give us the opportunity to forgive and love, just as He has done for us. When we pass the test of loving those who hurt us, we are perfected in His love, and we are light of the world we're called to be.

So be encouraged. Go back to that person or situation which the Spirit has already brought to your mind.  Confess the sin of cold love, and be cleansed and strengthened to love again by the power of the Holy Spirit.  The joy of the Lord will flood your soul, and you will be set free once again to do the perfect will of your Father and to love your neighbor as yourself!

Love and perfect peace,

Eric

Choosing to Fight the Good Fight

Spiritual warfare is a reality silently raging all around us, though we don’t always   recognize it. Once we acknowledge and embrace this fact, we are eligible to become soldiers in the most powerful and successful army ever assembled. Imagine being enlisted in a fighting force that’s been given the assurance of ultimate victory, an infallible battle plan, a Supreme Commander, and mighty weapons 100% guaranteed to defeat and vanquish your enemies!

The only uncertainty is whether those enlisted will actually show up for battle. Truly, there seems to be a multitude of legitimate reasons for dodging the draft. “My family needs me . . . I have important business to tend to . . . My hands are full already . . . Isn’t spiritual warfare for pastors and ministers anyway?” All too often, it’s all about us!  How sad that we spend so much energy considering the price we pay to serve God, while forgetting the price Jesus paid to save us.

“Go into all the world . . .” The call to “go” will be answered by the chosen few willing to strap on the full armor of God and fight the good fight of faith, knowing the battle is the Lord’s and the victory is nigh. The armor is only for those who will fight – it is cumbersome and useless for who refuse to go to war.

So let me encourage you today. Ignite the flame within you with the Word of God, and serve with the saints like never before. Lift your hands through the clouds and darkness all around you, and be the conqueror God says you are. Get in the fight, take back all Satan and sin have stolen from you, and glorify God in all you do. Most importantly, know this -- we have the victory in Christ Jesus. And remember, the only spiritual battle you can lose is the one you refuse to fight!

Love and peace,

Pastor Eric

The Trap of Good Ideas

2 Samuel 24:10

And David's heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

Proverbs 14:12

There is a way that seems right to a man,

But its end is the way of death.

David is a man after God's own heart. He knows God and loves God, and he has experienced the favor and power of God no king had ever known. Yet even this great leader fell hard into the trap of good ideas - that is, a tone-deafness, and a life out of harmony with God's Word and counsel. David thought he knew God's voice and His heart, but he failed to heed the deceitfulness of his riches and his own heart. Therefore, he could not distinguish God's will from his own, and he made the costly mistake of numbering that which belonged to God - and those numbers threatened to become His god. 

A dull conscience is the inevitable result of pride that goes undetected and unabated. Pride is undetectable because it is blind to itself, and David erred greatly by ignoring Joab's pleas to reconsider his folly. David was too proud to be corrected, or even to stop long enough to pray, so his conscience did not kick in until it was too late.

David's decision to count God's people would cost Him a great number of those same people.

1 Timothy 6:6 says, 

Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

Even in his great prosperity, David was not content, and his enterprising spirit was an affront to God's miraculous provision and plan for Israel. Even today, we are often intrigued by numerical success and financial wherewithal at the expense of true riches. Perhaps we should spend less time counting what God has given and more time thanking Him for it. Perhaps it would be wise to be sure our good ideas are God ideas. Perhaps . . .

Love and peace,

Pastor Eric

Being Filled And Led By The Spirit

And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” This was done three times.  (Acts10: 13-16a)

Receiving the Holy Spirit is a great thing, but it’s only the beginning of the story. Peter had been baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and now God was teaching him to walk in the Spirit. The Lord Jesus was asking him to do something he would otherwise never do – go preach to the dreaded Gentiles. Jews of the day didn’t even speak to Gentiles. What a difficult thing it must have been for Peter to obey when he had no understanding of what the Lord was after!    

One of the earmarks of a Spirit-filled believer is God working through him or her in ways never imagined. If we are truly Spirit-filled, we are responding to God’s call to go where we would not have gone, love those we once felt nothing for, forgive those who hurt us most, and give what we would have kept. That’s when the Holy Spirit is having His way with us. God sent Peter, a Jew, to a place he would never have gone, to minister the Gospel to people he didn’t think God even cared about. Peter’s obedience would make a way for those lost in ignorance and sin to enter into the Kingdom of God, because he allowed the Spirit Who filled him to also direct him.

I encourage you to trust God more than your feelings or experiences, like Peter did. Peter simply obeyed God. You, too, must obey Him - even when He takes you through new and uncomfortable challenges. He is an exceedingly good God who will perfect and prepare you to do all He asks of you, through the Spirit Who fills you. Learn the lesson Peter learned – if you will let God change your mind, He will use you to change your world.

Love and peace,

Pastor Eric

The Power of Paying Attention

Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend 

to your herds . . .                     Proverbs 27:23

One of the greatest weapons a disciple will ever employ is his attention to detail. We tend to believe that loving Jesus is the end all, but it is truly just the beginning. Nothing is more frustrating to a teacher than a student who is smart but inattentive – and we frustrate the Lord when we declare our love for Him and remain emotionally immature and undependable. There is no spiritual maturity without dragging our daily attitudes before the Lord for His painful and honest inspection, and be sure that He will inspect every millimeter of our character because He loves us.

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?               Psalms 139:7

Most of us turn inward and get surly with God when He first corrects us, and that tells us we are walking in the flesh. Yet, the Lord does not relent, for He knows He will have to judge us wherever we do not humble ourselves and repent. His mercy dictates His patience and His fierce determination to present us to Himself without spot or wrinkle. Our duty is to respond immediately when we are rebuked or corrected by His Holy Spirit, and in doing so we prove we are sons and servants of the Most High God. All this demands an open heart and a steely-eyed focus on our relationship with Him and our brothers and sisters in Christ. Be sure that we will give an account for every word, every deed, and to Himself without spot or wrinkle. Our duty is to respond immediately when we are rebuked or corrected by His Holy Spirit, and in doing so we prove we are sons and servants of the Most High God. All this demands an open heart and a steely-eyed focus on our relationship with Him and our brothers and sisters in Christ. Be sure that we will give an account for every word, every deed, and every gift we receive from above. So, let the Lord find us fully engaged in dialogue with Him, abiding in Him, and attentive to Him. It is a matter of life and death!

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; ²⁴ and see if there is               any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.  Psalms 139:23-24

Love and Peace beyond understanding,

Pastor Eric

What It Means to be a New Creature

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

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Let me suggest to you that nothing in the Kingdom of God is as it seems to be. Everything is counter-intuitive, and it takes us a while to understand and accept this new reality. When we are saved, there is a new creation, and we are members of a new family where God is our Father, holiness is the standard, and nothing is impossible. The Lord will instruct us, discipline us, challenge us, and change us into the image of Christ – but only as much as our faith and obedience will allow. We will remain virtually unchanged anywhere we dig in our heals and refuse to let Him lead. If we are too busy, too set in our ways, or too proud, the Lord cannot teach us anything. However, if we allow, He will take us places we could never go without Him. Is your heart open to Jesus like that?

The first thing God must change in us is a judgmental attitude toward others. Are we more interested in being right than glorifying God? Our words become abrasive and harsh when we judge those He sent us to love and show grace. We can even convince ourselves we are glorifying Him, when we are only grieving Him by demanding our rights and defending our point of view. Truthfully, we only hear God clearly when we humble ourselves and stop insisting on winning the argument and having things go our way. Forgive us, Lord!

The second thing the Lord desires in us is a willingness to receive correction, because He is after something in particular – oneness. He wants us to be one with Him and one in Him (John 17:20-26), and this can only be achieved when we are fully surrendered to the Holy Spirit and attentive to His slightest promptings and corrections. We should not think this type of intimacy only belongs to a precious few, but only a precious few seem to desire it. Let us be counted among those few!

Before God can use us, He has to change us. So much Christian work stems from the restless energy of saints who desperately want to change the world before being changed ourselves.

James 1:4 says,

But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

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God is doing a new thing in you, and “new” means something that has never been done before. The life of a new creature is not learned overnight. It is a beautiful and difficult work that only He can accomplish in us, and He does that work according to His will, His expertise, and His timing. So, be still and trust in Him. Let Him have His way with you. He knows what He doing.

Love and peace,

Pastor Eric

Keep the Faith

And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." Luke 17:5

Beware of a romanticized view of faith.  Faith is not a tool to get what we want from God, but a means for God to get what He wants from us!  Faith teaches us to wait, pray, and obey, while never imaginig that God is anything but completely trustworthy, and He will keep us and His promises to us.  It is a partnership, where we team up with God, believing and walking with Him toward things we can't yet see and what we don't yet have (Hebrews 11:1).  

Faith simply believes God.  It believes He cares even though we experience distressing times, it believes He heals even when we are sick, that He saves though our loved ones are lost in sin, and that He is with us even when we feel so alone.  Faith won't give up due to any of these circumstances, because it is rooted in our eternal God, not in our temporary plight.  Faith looks at Jesus and refuses to look for another answer, another Savior.  That's why nothing but faith pleases God (Hebrews 11:6).  

Not long ago, after a time of prayer, the Lord told me to act as if I had already received everything I'd just asked of Him.  "Just believe Me."  God was increasing my faith.   What visions, dreams, breakthroughs, and victories are you trusting God for?  Be sure your requests are rooted in the faith that lets you rest confidently in our Lord, because He never fails to hear us and help us when we pray.  God will be sure to keep His Word.  We must be sure to keep the faith!  

Love you,

Pastor

Do Not Worry

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God, and the peace which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.   Philippians 4:6, 7

Jesus was so resolutely connected to His Father by obedience and faith that He never wavered or lost sight of His mission – to bring many souls to glory. Men who loved Him one day would cry, “Crucify Him!” the next - yet He was not moved. Jesus often armored Himself for the onslaught of opposition with hours alone in the closet of prayer. When he came down from the mountaintop of communion with God, He was filled with the Spirit’s confidence and ready to step victoriously into the demon possessed valley.

Worry is a sure sign of spiritual laziness. God calls us away from wallowing in uncertainty to the sweet communion of prayer and worship – the same fellowship our Lord Jesus enjoyed. A saint cannot pray and worry – cannot truly thank God without trusting in His love and concern. Once we’ve touched the heart of God and received His Spirit afresh, we cannot dream He would ever leave or disappoint us.

For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: "In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength."             Isaiah 30:15

Shake off your doldrums and exercise your faith in Jesus. Your peace awaits!

Love and peace

Pastor Eric

I Will Build my Church

"I will Build my Church..."

  Matthew 16:18

For a pastor (at least this pastor), these words of Jesus are among the most comforting and reassuring words in the Bible.  They are also the most sobering and convicting, because they oppose so many beliefs I have about my job.  I always feel the self-imposed pressure to “grow up” the Father’s House both in membership and maturity, and God must remind me every day that it’s His job to build the church, and He instructed me to, “. . .  feed My sheep.”

Please refocus with me.  The question is not, “How can I get the church to grow or get others to come?”  But, “How can I share the love God has shed on me with others?”  We can trust that if the Lord is pleased with the Son of God in our lives, He will use us and our church to bring many sons and daughters to glory, and that excites me much more than simply larger numbers of bodies in chairs!

Here’s my point.  It’s my one desire to see Jesus Christ fully realized in my life.  It doesn’t matter what occurs or does not occur, what happens to me and the things I love, or if I get anything in life I so deeply desire – as long as the Heavenly Father receives glory and honor through me. Efforts to make the Father’s House in our image are simply vain and futile, because we can’t build the church.  But we can be built up in Christ and function as a member of a church where Christ builds up others in His image.

 

Now, I do believe that God will multiply and mature us mightily in this coming season.  My main task, though, is to see that this flock I pastor reflects the person, power, and the love Jesus Christ with anyone and everyone who comes among us. Examine yourself, as I’m examining myself.  Are we loving, honoring, praying, and giving in the way that Jesus commands?  If we are, God will delight in increasing us, because He’ll be multiplying Christ through us. That’s all the Father wants . . . more, much more of  Jesus!

Love and peace beyond understanding,

Pastor Eric

The God of Our Mistakes

For the Lord will not forsake His people, for His great name's sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you His people. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.                            1 Sam 12:22-23

The children of Israel had sinned greatly in asking for an earthly king and rejecting the Heavenly King. They looked away from God and looked to the world, and if we are not careful, we are sure to do the same. Yet the Lord did not use Israel’s disobedience against them, but He lovingly rebuked them and set Himself to bless them still. As such, He is not only our God when we make right choices, but also when our choices are poor. He is our God, even of our mistakes.

God chose us as members of His body and church, and He knew what He was doing. He did not choose us because we were righteous and able (we were not), but out of His love and His sovereign right as God, He made us who we are by His grace. Our goodness did not qualify us, nor will our shortcomings disqualify us, because His mind is already made up about us;

Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.    Romans 8:33                                                              

Therefore, the children God chooses must operate with a deeply–rooted confidence in the God who knows us best, and we follow Him with boldness and assurance even in precarious times. Even our good deeds and good intentions are not the point – they are simply the overflow of the life hidden with God in Christ. So, stay hidden, and go forward with the God Who sees you in the secret place and rewards you openly. He will never leave nor forsake you – even when you blow it!

Love and Prayers,

Pastor Eric

Let’s Talk About Love

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.   1 John 4:7

Beloveds, we are to love without hypocrisy. God is love, and we cannot love without His Spirit. His love is unique and unfathomably profound. It is beyond the love we can give or appreciate, and it is best expressed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, our love must mirror His love, or we are merely hypocrites - bad actors. Love embraces good and rejects evil, it is kind, generous, consistent, durable, and humble. It takes action, overcomes obstacles, and manifests in service to others. It talks less than it works. Love is alive and active, and the opposite of love is not hate, but apathy.

Our love is to be shared in maturity and wisdom. It handles the good and the difficult with the dignity of the Holy Spirit. Love does not require that it be returned or acknowledged, as it is not needy, but complete in Christ. Love is not showy or dramatic, and it is not hindered by or mired in controversy. Love always accomplishes what it sets out to do; and just as Jesus was not deterred from His mission, neither will you be, if you love God.

Remember, love is the best revenge.  No other power can compete with love, so it never has to get even. Love will never allow us to act in kind with those who wrong us, or the world, or those who don't know the Lord. Our example is Jesus, and He never avenged himself, vindicated himself, or felt the necessity of explaining Himself. His love spoke for Him, and He ever lives as the Lover and Savior of all men. Amen.

Love and perfect peace,

Pastor Eric

Faith That Believes God

Faith that Believes God

Galatians 3:6-9

just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

The gospel of Jesus Christ was preached to Abraham, in that we are saved by God's grace and our faith that believes God. That is the blessing "all nations" receive through Abraham - we believe like he did, and we are saved. In the same way, you and I are a blessing to "all nations" by our decision to believe God and walk according to that belief, for men are still saved by grace through faith. That fact has always been and forever will be. Without faith, it is (and always will be) impossible to please God - believing that He "is" and that He is good is the bedrock of saving grace. (Hebrews 11:6)

Our flesh and our carnal nature, however, war against the simplicity of faith, always seeking to justify itself through its own goodness and nobility. Therefore, we hear numerous messages, some mixed and some perverted, telling us there are other ways to God and other ways to please Him. Jesus is often left out and relegated to a sideshow in God's plan of redemption (and if I can be pleasing to God some other way, why do I need redemption???). So you will hear none of the rugged, bare truth of our lostness and our desperately sinful nature, little about the awfulness of the Calvary, the Blood of the Lamb - that is left out, no longer central to today's message. It's all about people and their needs, and our responsibility to relieve those needs. We are told we must fix the wrongs, change the world, procure justice, etc. But there is no acknowledgment of our inability to do anything worthy without Christ - and who needs faith when we can accomplish our goals by being good on our own? (By the way, "giving back" is nowhere in the scriptures, and is, in fact, antithetical to Christ and His Word - the world never gave you anything to "give back" but sin. This is the voice of the Anti-Christ).

Believing God is the greatest thing any man or woman will ever do, and this cannot be learned in a day, or in a laboratory, or in any field of our choosing. The Lord will place us in impossible and dire straits, he will squeeze and strain us, He will frustrate and offend us until we surrender to Him or forsake Him. The purity of our faith makes all the training and testing worth it to Him. Even Jesus learned obedience through suffering, and so will we.

You will never hear this message preached by great preachers of the day. What message are you preaching?

Love you,

Pastor Eric

WE ARE CHILDREN OF LIGHT

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of incredulity, and it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct the other way...”

From “A Tale of Two Cities,” by Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens’ words refer to the volatile days of 1775, but they also could be spoken of the present day. Perhaps you feel it to be the “best of times and the worst of times” in your life. Things may be going very well, but there are some stiff challenges - great spiritual victories but perplexing difficulties - feelings of being closer to a God than ever before, yet days of feeling like a spiritual failure. Can you identify? I believe you can.

 You are the light of the world.  (Matt 5:14)   

Being close to Jesus means living in the light - and being the light in the world is not all that easy, because the light reveals all our imperfections, even our innermost thoughts!  Also, His light will bring out all manner of things about those around us – the good, the bad, and the ugly!  Now that can be uncomfortable. It’s hard living in the Light! 

Whatever you do, be determined to walk closely with Jesus Christ, even when it is uncomfortable. Jesus taught His disciples that apart from total dependence on Him, they could do nothing productive or spiritual! Staying close to the Him keeps us encouraged, focused, and fruitful in spite of life’s discomforts and contradictions.

So, now you understand why so many perplexing issues are at hand. You’ve begun to “walk in the Light” and to be a light. Sometimes that light reveals unpleasant things in and around you. But Jesus will never bring anything to light without giving you the grace to deal with it. So, be encouraged, and face life on God’s terms. Whatever you do, don’t go back into darkness and sin. Ask God to give you His supernatural power to bear the hard times, and let the light that resonates from you reveal Jesus to everyone around you.  Remember, you are the light of the world, and He is the light in you!

Love,

Your pastor and God’s servant,

Eric

What is God Trying to Teach Me Anyhow??

Do you ever wonder why there seems to be an ever-increasing level of stress and pressure in your life?  I do.  In fact I’ve coined a new term for this condition – I call it “stressure.”  I don’t always know what causes it, and I don’t always know where to find relief from it.  But I do know God allows it in my life, and therefore, there must be a reason and a purpose for it.

In my opinion, one of the most amazing passages in the scriptures is Hebrew 5:5-8.  When we study and appreciate these verses, they will generate a deep sense of awe and reverence for the Lord Jesus Christ, and it will help us better understand the will of God in this stressure we’re experiencing.   It says:

 “So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest…Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” 

Jesus humbled Himself that He might become our High Priest. He glorified God by receiving His sufferings willingly and submitting His will to His Father.  What a remarkable relationship they shared - so much so that the death of the Son brought glory and praise to the Father.  Could the Lord be calling us to die to ourselves as Jesus did?  Perhaps the Lord allows just enough stressure in our lives to drive us to our knees with tears and cries of brokenness and submission.  It may feel like defeat, but the child of God prays to our Father who is able to save us from death and bring joy for every tear we shed.  And truly, the Lord is glorified by the wonderful service you render to Him and the saints in spite your sufferings!

Another astonishing phrase in this passage is:

“…though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things He suffered.”

It never dawned on me that Jesus had things to learn.  I always assumed because He was God in flesh, He knew everything.  Yet the scriptures teach He emptied Himself of the privileges of His deity, and became like us in every way, yet without sin (Philippians 2:5-11). Jesus humbled Himself to the lowly status of a child, student, and servant – and the method the Father used to train and mature Him was suffering.  Only then was He able to receive the mantle of High Priest, which was the Father’s purpose for Him.

I point these things out that we might realize the marvelous hand of God in our lives even in things that hurt and things we don’t like or understand.  When we begin to view our sufferings in light the eternal weight of glory God has for us, we are able to endure them with a joy that confounds the world around us. Most importantly, we give pleasure and glory to God when we trust Him with our lives through every season and circumstance.  So smile – the more stressure the more proud the Father is when we humble ourselves, and the more it makes us like Jesus!

Love and blessings,

Pastor Eric

The Choice to Rejoice

The Choice to Rejoice

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.               1 Peter 1:6-9

Rejoicing is joy in action, and it is most noteworthy that it is the response God expects from us regardless of circumstance. We are encouraged not only to rejoice in times of abundance and favor, but especially in times of trials and hardships. This is where the power of the Spirit of God seeks to reveal to us the exceeding goodness of our God and the blessing of a victorious life. It is doubtful any of us would choose joy through suffering, but the Lord has chosen it for us; it is His most useful tool for purifying our faith. Remember, it is impossible to please God without faith; and we receive no greater joy than that of knowing the Lord is pleased with us. 

-Worrying vs. Rejoicing. Choose joy.

-Grieving vs. Rejoicing. Choose joy. 

-Confusion vs. Joy. Choose joy.

-Fainting vs. Rejoicing. Choose joy.

Choosing joy!

Pastor Eric