Spiritual Enrichment

Dear Church Family,

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the men who attended the men’s conference last weekend. We had a great time growing in the Lord and in our relationships with one another. It’s always nice when you can have a good time and grow at the same time. Pastor Rebecca mentioned that the women’s conference she attended a few weeks ago was excellent as well.

Jesus regularly took time in His ministry to be built up Himself before He ministered to others. Peter said in 2 Peter 3:18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”. Devotional times, church services, and special conferences are great opportunities for spiritual enrichment.

I encourage each of you to consider going to Rhema’s Campmeeting this summer with our group going down to Tulsa. Special times that are set apart to spend time growing in the Lord and can be very beneficial in our walk with God. They get us out of our daily routines and allow for extended periods of time being in God’s presence and His Word. They enable us to reach a saturation point where we are filled up with the Spirit as talked about in Ephesians 5:18.

I know it is not possible for many people to get away for special conferences. It is good to know that God will meet us wherever we are at. Whether it is you by yourself or at a special conference, extra time with God is always going to pay great dividends in your life. I appreciate your hunger for God and look forward to continuing to grow with you in the Lord. May God pour out one blessing after another in your life!

God bless, Pastor Jeff

P.S. For more information about Campmeeting, please contact the church office or log onto the following website: www.rhema.org.

Faith...It's Simple

Dear Men and Women of God,

As I write today, I am considering all the things I have to be thankful for...including you! Life with God is so good! Where would we be without Him? He has a plan to make every area of our lives beautiful if we will trust, yield to, and have faith in Him.

As you may remember, my themes for my monthly newsletters this year revolve around a particular virtue that I think should be cultivated in the Christian's life. The last two months I discussed contentment and passion. This month I would like to address a topic that I hope you all are familiar with...FAITH.

If you are born again by the Spirit of God, you have faith and are able to operate in it. Faith is the very nature of God that is alive in our recreated spirits. We receive a measure of it when we are born-again, but we can grow in it as well. Faith is something that most Christians have heard a lot about; however, not all of us operate in it regularly.

Let's look at a simple Bible definition of faith:

Hebrews 11:6 (New King James version)
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

(The Message)
It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that He exists and that He cares enough to respond to those who seek Him.


According to this verse, there are two main ideas involved with living a life of faith:
#1-Believing that God exists
#2-Believing that he cares for us enough to answer us when we pray

Have you spent time fellowshipping with the Lord and/or asked Him to meet a need lately? I know the Lord has quietly reminded me several times, "How long has it been since you asked me for something? Stretch your faith! Let it grow! Believe Me for something!" These challenges from the Lord encourage me to pray about all things-not just the "big" things. Trusting God for EVERYTHING keeps our relationship growing and vibrant. God pours His blessings on us and we pour our love back on Him through thanksgiving and worship.

Last Sunday, Pastor Jeff preached about transition and the seasons of life that we all experience. It is especially essential that we exercise our faith during times of change. We cannot always see the path ahead clearly, but we can trust that the Lord knows the next step, has a good plan, and will guide us into it. Our faith, combined with our confessions that line up with the Word of God, will together forge an incredible, light-filled path for our lives. This is the most exciting and peace-filled kind of life to live!

Pastor Jeff and I pray that yours is an ever-increasing faith! We love you and are believing for God's very best in your life!

In Christ,
Pastor Rebecca

Your Family Is Worth It

Dear Church Family,

I want to take this opportunity the week before Valentine’s Day to encourage all of you who are married that your marriage is worth the investment. I encourage each of you to take a little extra time this next week to in some way let your spouse know they are valuable to you. That doesn’t mean that they are perfect, but they are a gift from God. Each of us should take time to express that to our spouse.

Our marriages are to reflect the relationship between Christ and the church according to Ephesians 5:22-33. Wives are to show a great deal of respect and honor for their husbands as the church should respect and honor Christ. Husbands are to love their wives even as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. That means we are to give and sacrifice for the benefit of our wives.

I believe that if Christian couples will properly model the marriage relationship it will help draw people in the world to Christ. It will also provide a blueprint for our children to have great marriages when they grow up. Our decisions and actions will almost always have an impact way beyond ourselves, including in the marriage relationship.

I want to also encourage all parents to attend the parenting class that will begin on Wednesday, February 15th. God is turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers (see Malachi 4:5-6). This is a great opportunity to grow in our parenting skills. Parenting is one of the most important things that you will ever do if you have children. This class will enrich your family and train you on how to impact the next generation for the glory of God. We can do it. This class will provide tools that will help each of us to succeed!

Pastor Rebecca and I love each of you very much. We thank God for the opportunity to be your pastors and to speak into your lives. Thanks for all you do to help us reach this region for the glory of God!

Pastor Jeff

Tips for Holiday Cheer

Dear Church Family,

Believe it or not Thanksgiving is only two weeks away. Another year has nearly flown by already. The older I get the more it seems that time is speeding up. Every time I ponder that thought the Lord reminds me about the importance of making the most of every moment and every day. Those moments and days quickly turn into years. God is big on stewardship, and He wants us to be good stewards of our time as well.

Back to my main point about tips for holiday cheer…most of us greatly look forward to this time of the year. As much as we look forward to the holiday season, it is also one of the most stressful times of the year for many families. I have put together four tips to help keep and to increase the amount of holiday cheer for each of us.

My first tip is to plan wisely. There is extra shopping to do. There are extra meals to make and extra goodies to bake. There are family gatherings to plan. There are holiday decorations to put up and take down. The list could go on. One could almost get stressed just thinking about it. Proverbs 24:6 says, “For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety.” The Bible encourages us to plan wisely for events that lie ahead. My wife and mother-in-law go so far as to bake their Christmas goodies in October and freeze them for later. (I always manage to sneak a few before they get them frozen.) We also decide when we will be meeting with my side and with Pastor Rebecca’s side of the family months in advance.

My second tip is to have a budget. Luke 14:28 says, “For which of you intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it?” Budgeting is a good idea through the holidays, even if you don’t do it the rest of the year. There are gifts bought and trips often made. Don’t just charge everything and then wait until January to figure out how you are going to deal with the bills. It is a good idea to have a budget ahead of time. The holidays are really more about Christ than the gifts anyway, so don’t get buried in debt trying to “outdo yourself”.

My third tip is to be selfless. Many times during the holidays various family members want to do certain things at certain times and in a certain way. It might not always be what we want to do or when we want to do it. We must develop somewhat of a “go with the flow” mentality. Obviously, we should not do things beyond our moral and Biblical convictions.

My fourth tip is to keep first things first. Don’t neglect your spiritual life because of the business of the holidays. If you normally pray, go to church, and read your Bible then still do those things. You will find yourself unfulfilled and without joy if you neglect those important things at any time, including during the holidays. The other things going on cannot take the place of Christ in your life. It is also a great time to be a witness to those who need Christ in their lives.

Coming from a large family and now being married with in-laws and four kids, I have found these things to be of help. I pray that they are a blessing to you as well.

Pastor Jeff

Finishing Strong

Dear Church Family,

I want to take this opportunity to encourage each of you to finish this year strong in your walk with God, your church attendance, and your fruitfulness for God. We usually take time at the beginning of each year and pray for the new year and talk about vision for the new year. It is important that we start strong but also that we stay strong and finish strong.
Jesus said in Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End”. God is pouring out His Spirit in these last days and wants to end this age on a high note. Let’s hook up with His plan and be a great part of His end time harvest of souls.
Proverbs 24:10 says, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small”. As God’s people He wants us to be strong and steadfast at all times, to the very end of whatever it is that He is asking us to do.
God spoke this admonition with me recently to share with the church. “Be careful not to unhook as things get busy this fall and transition into the holidays. How we finish this year will greatly impact our fruitfulness next year.” Let’s finish strong! Let’s have momentum going into next year!
Thank you for being an awesome church. I know that we will do this and bear much fruit for the kingdom of God. God bless.

Pastor Jeff

Thirty Years of Faithfulness

What a joy it was last week to celebrate thirty years of God’s faithfulness to our church! Even though I have only been a part of things here for a little over 8 ½ years, it is evident to me that God has been very faithful to this church to bless people and to work in and through their lives in an awesome way. I loved hearing about the hunger of those who were a part of the church from the very beginning. I believe that hunger is a big reason why God has been able to do what He has done through this ministry. Let’s never lose that hunger to see God work in our lives and the lives of those around us.

Psalm 119:89,90 says, “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations…” Thank God that He is faithful to all generations. Let’s release our faith and believe that if the Lord hasn’t come back within the next thirty years that the next generation will continue to see the mighty hand of God on our church in that time span. We have a great foundation in the Word and in the Spirit. The sky truly is the limit on where we can go from here.

Will you join with us and commit to seeing the world around us reached in a mighty way? Even though we have seen God’s goodness here, there are many around us who haven’t tasted of it yet. Let’s not be content to just see ourselves and our families reached. Jesus is coming back for a glorious church. He’s waiting for the precious fruit of the earth to be harvested!

We have an amazing future ahead because we will remain faithful to an amazing God who has already proven Himself faithful to us! Thank you for being a part of something wonderful. We appreciate each of you and the part that you play in what God is doing through the church today.

God bless you,
Pastor Jeff

Consistency

Dear Church Family,

Hello! I hope you all have been well and enjoying this beautiful spring weather.

I have an interesting thought that I would like to share with you this month. A few weeks ago, I was doing lunch dishes at the kitchen sink, absentmindedly pondering how many times in a day, week, month, lifetime...that I perform my duty of cleaning dishes. I was not having a bad attitude about it-just thinking about how it is an "always-there" job that needs to be done each day. Suddenly I heard the Lord speak ever so clearly in my spirit, "Success in the Christian walk lies in consistency." He began to expound to me about how being consistent to do what is right each day-to do the things I know to do with a good attitude-make more of an eternal difference than I can see in the natural.

I have been meditating on this thought for several weeks now. Sometimes being consistent is difficult. It is easier to take the path of least resistance and give into our flesh. It is easier to skip our Bible reading and prayer time to sleep in a little later, to let the house go while we scroll through Facebook updates, to watch TV instead of imparting into our children, to take a nap instead of exercising...the list goes on. And to consistently walk in self-discipline every day, every week, every month-what a challenge! However, we can do it, and we can do it successfully with the help of the Holy Spirit.

After receiving this word from the Lord, I began reading Rev. Mike Keyes' new book called "Be Strong, Stay Strong." Interestingly enough, the theme of his book is being consistent in your Christian walk. In chapter 2 he says that the Lord told him, " 'I will give you a....definition for spiritual strength. Strength can be defined as consistency of action.' " Rev. Keyes then went on to say, "Consistency of action will produce strength in our lives-there is no doubt about it. I believe spiritual weakness is a product of spiritual inconsistency." He says that there are seven spiritual priorities that a believer should perform every day:

1. Worship
2. Praise
3. Prayer
4. Confession
5. Meditation
6. Study and Reading
7. Sharing

After we have accomplished these each day, I would add to this list joyfully fulfilling our responsibilities as husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, and employees. If we will choose to be consistent each day, I believe we will outlast anything the devil sends our way and see our victory in the end. And each time we make right choices and prioritize what's important, we gain more and more strength.

Let's strive to be people who don't waver between being strong and passionate one day, yet weak and defeated the next! Let's be people who are well-balanced and strong of spirit, and who know how to consistently put first things first.

God bless you as you grow in strength in and through Him!
Pastor Rebecca,