The Best Gift Ever

Dear Church Family

Yesterday I went skiing at Mt. Crescent with Michael. It was his first time. He picked it right up and did great. We had a wonderful time together—so much so that Michael didn’t want to leave the ski slope. We finally headed home around 9:00 PM.

As I spent the day with Michael and had a great time bonding with him, it made me think of the Father’s love toward us and His desire to fellowship with us. He loved us enough to send His only begotten Son to this earth to become a sacrifice for us so that we could be in fellowship with Him and experience eternal life. What great love the Father has for us!

I want to encourage you this holiday season to draw close to God. He loves to fellowship with you as you spend time in prayer and meditating His Word. He also loves it when you sing songs of praise and worship to Him, even if you don’t have the greatest of voices (ha ha).

What a gift we have been given in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Let’s make the most of it by fellowshipping with God daily. After all, that’s why He came—so we could be in right standing with God and enjoy fellowship with Him! John 17:3 says, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent”.

Merry Christmas! Pastor Rebecca and I love you.

Pastor Jeff

Unshakable and Immovable

Dear Church Family,

Greetings in Jesus' Name! I hope this letter finds you well and enjoying the beautiful fall the Lord has blessed us with!

This month, I wanted to share some insight from a few passages of Scripture that have been a rock to me over the past few months. As this year has progressed and is now coming to a close, it seems that we have encountered many people in our sphere of influence who have faced challenges during the past several months. We ourselves are not exempt, and have also faced our own set of obstacles to overcome during the past year. In fact, I told Pastor Jeff that this might just have been one of our most challenging years ever!

Psalm 34:19 declares that, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." The New Living translations states it this way, "The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time." We as Christians are not exempt from trials, troubles, and adversity. However, we have the blessed hope that God is on our side, fighting for us, and will walk us through the midst of the battle on to the place of victory. If we will keep walking with the Lord through the trial, never giving up, we will soon find that we have made our way through it and come out stronger and triumphantly on the other side.

One thing I have learned and am growing strong in is to not be moved or shaken in the face of adversity. I was one who grew up hearing the faith message and knew all about it in my head, but did not really walk in it. In the past, when a challenge would arise, I would let my natural emotions and reactions dominate, instead of having a strong persuasion on the inside that God would come through for me. However, as I have grown in my walk with the Lord, I praise Him that I have come to a place where I can say with the psalmist, "I WILL NOT BE MOVED!"

What does it mean to not be moved? I believe it means that in the very face of an adverse report or a trial, we bear up with strength on the inside and stand strong, declaring the Word of God. It is a mind-set that God wants us all to live by-not being weak and swayed with every wind of adversity like those in the world; but being tough, bold, and confident because of who we are in Jesus Christ. We can walk in this attitude because of the power of the Holy Spirit on the inside of us.

Paul said in Ephesians 6: 13-14, "...and having done all, to stand; stand therefore..." In this passage, he was referring to a common military phrase which meant, "having conquered all, stand ready to do battle again." In other words, even after you have achieved the victory, don't sit and gloat! Stand back up and be ready to conquer once more!

Here is another verse I love: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15:58) The Greek word for steadfastness means to be seated, settled, and firm in the truth of the resurrection and of victory in Christ.

Here are a few more passages of Scripture to meditate on:

Psalm 16:8, "I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved."
Psalm 55:22, "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."
Psalm 62:2, "He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved."

I pray that you, too, are growing in your firm resolve to be immovable and unshakable!

You are loved,
Pastor Rebecca

Confession

Dear Church Family,

I recently shared in church a quote from FF Bosworth about confession. In case you didn’t get it written down, here it is: “A spiritual law that few of us recognize is that our confession rules us. It is what we confess with our lips that really dominates our inner being. Nothing will establish you and build your faith as quickly as confession. The confession of your lips that has grown out of faith in your heart will absolutely defeat the adversary in every combat. GOD CAN BE NO BIGGER IN YOU THAN YOU CONFESS HIM TO BE.”

Proverbs 18:21 tells us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Mark 11:23 and James 3:3-5 are also wonderful verses about how our words spoken in faith will affect what we see in life. If you don’t like what you are seeing, check up on what you are saying.

This brings us back to the very important discipline of meditating on the Word of God day and night (Joshua 1:8). The only way you are going to speak the right things is by meditating on the right things. You’ve got to be full enough of God’s Word that it is coming out of your mouth and bringing forth the things that God wants to do for you. You may have to catch yourself if you start to speak the wrong thing. I have done that several times. I choose to speak what God says. Most people are used to making all kinds of negative confessions every day. So if you’re going to do this, it is going to take a lot of discipline, especially at first.

Let’s practice a little by making these confessions: I am a child of God. I am blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. I am the healed of the Lord. All of my needs are met according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. I have the mind of Christ, the wisdom of God, the ability of God, the strength of God, and the power of God working in my life. The joy of the Lord is my strength. The peace of God guards my heart and mind. I am blessed to be a blessing. Thank you Lord for using me for your glory in the earth!

Pastor Rebecca and I love you and pray for you daily. May God bless you richly.

Pastor Jeff

Rising Higher

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As Believers, the Spirit of Grace is continually calling, encouraging us to rise up higher in Him, seeing ourselves in our rightful position as Sons and Daughters of the Most High. This position, purchased for us by the Blood of the Son, is seated in heavenly places with Christ. (Eph. 2:4-6)

Jude 1:20 in the Amplified Bible says, “But you, beloved, build yourselves up [founded] on your most holy faith [make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the Holy Spirit…”

Let me share with you an illustration I heard recently which so powerfully demonstrates this truth. Think of a hot air balloon-a vehicle created to rise up high into earth’s atmosphere. It is powered on the inside by a flame which, when the tethers are released, causes it to begin to ascend. After it is cut free, there is nothing that can make it descend, except for decreasing the heat of the flame inside.

You are like that hot air balloon. Your nature, after being born again and filled with the Spirit, is to rise up above the conditions of the earth. The Bible says that our God is a consuming fire. As you allow the flame of the Holy Spirit to burn brightly on the inside of you, you are lifted up above natural living and begin to experience supernatural living. The grace of God working on the inside of your spirit causes you to rise to your rightful spiritual place of sitting with Christ in heavenly places. The pull of the world-sin, fear, lack, sickness, condemnation, and other “weights” are like tethers which try to hold you down. But praise God, you have been cut free of these things by Jesus’ Blood. Don’t let them weigh you down any longer! Live according to your new nature –one who rises up! And keep the fire of God burning brightly on the inside by stirring yourself up in Him. Fires go out if they are not stirred, so we must take responsibility to keep ourselves ablaze by allowing the wind of the Spirit to blow upon His flame inside our spirit as we worship, pray, and meditate on the Word.

Whenever you feel yourself being “weighed down” by the pull of the world, remember this illustration and remember who you are in Christ! Nothing can keep you down!

Pastor Jeff and I love you and are believing for God’s best in your life!

Blessings,
Pastor Rebecca

P.S. Thank you for your prayers as we kicked off the first week of Victory Christian School! The first day was a beautiful, organized chaos, but by the end of the week the students and teachers were well on their way to settling into their more structured routines. It is so lovely to see these precious young ones begin their day with worship, Scripture memorization, and shouting LOUD praises to God (inspired by Pastor Jeff!) Come visit us some week day and see for yourself what God is doing!

Be Still and Know that I Am God

Dear Church Family,

I want to encourage each of you to make sure that you take time this summer to do what God told the psalmist in Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God”. It is easy this time of year to get busy with many things and to forget about our relationship with God. Unfortunately that can be a trap of the devil to get us out of the peace of God and out of the grace of God. There is no activity or amount of money to be made that is worth getting out of His peace or away from His strength.

John 17:3 says, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent”. Knowing God and spending time with Him is the source of all life and strength. If we want to remain strong as a people of God we must continue to spend time with Him and be strengthened.

Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint”. In the time that we live many are growing weary and lacking strength. We as the people of God can be strong and point them to the Source of our strength.

John 15:5 says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing”. As we abide in Him, life and strength flows into us and we are able to bear fruit for His glory. Without doing this we are fruitless and barren like the rest of the world.

Thank God we have a Source of strength. Let’s make sure we spend time with Him each day to receive from Him. This simple discipline would cure many of life’s ills.

God bless each of you. Enjoy the rest of your summer. It’s going quickly!

Sincerely,

Pastor Jeff

Pressing In

I would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to press into God this summer with all of your heart. Summer is typically a time when people like to take it easy, go on vacations, and enjoy various outdoor activities. I am reminding you that your relationship with God should never take a break. He is the source of all life, goodness, joy, etc. Each of our lives would be empty without Him.

So instead of coasting this summer spiritually, make it your aim to press in more than everbefore. Set personal goals to attain new heights in your walk with God. If you have children,this is a great time to take them farther with God. They are out of school and have no homework. Try to learn some extra Scriptures with them and have some family devotions.

Church attendance should also remain high. Don’t let summer activities keep you out of services. The one or two unavoidable situations are always understandable, but some people make little effort to plan activities around church attendance. To me that is a reflection of their heart. The heart that reverences God wants to be with God and wants to be in church around other Christians, hearing the Word and being encouraged.

I would like to especially encourage parents of teenagers to bring your child to Wednesday night youth service. This is their night to connect with God and each other and hear relevant youth messages. We had a smaller group in youth last Wednesday evening, which means this is a great time to bring your teens and let them get connected with other teens in our church. They can forge relationships that will last not only in the school year but for many years to come. They can make a difference for God together much easier than alone. We need our teens to get connected and built up and to be the influence when other unsaved teens step into
Velocity. This summer is your opportunity to get your teen connected and discipled. Let’s believe God for an explosion in our youth group this summer.

Our children’s classes are also great on Wednesday evening and we would love to see thatcontinue to grow. There are no homework assignments and no buses to catch the next morning. Let’s let this summer be a high point and not a low point in each of our spiritual lives.

Remember Proverbs 4:23, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Let’s keep God at the center of our hearts.

God bless.
Pastor Jeff

Why A School?

Some of you might be wondering why we have decided to start a Christian school. I can tell you that a lot of thought and prayer went into this decision. Pastor Rebecca and I believe this an exciting step for our church to be able to impact the younger generation of believers in a mighty way.

One does not have to go far to hear of the turmoil that this generation is facing. We believe that it is essential to prepare young people for life by properly equipping them with the Word of God and the influence of the Holy Spirit. By having children in school here at the church there will be plenty of opportunities to influence them in the right way.

Everyday our young people are being bombarded with wrong influences– from the kids they are hanging around with to the things they are being taught from a secular standpoint. We believe we can offer them something better, something that will help them to walk in victory spiritually every day of their lives. That’s why we are calling the school Victory Christian School. We are going to produce children who’s lives are on fire for God and who desire to live for Him and fulfill His plan for them.

I encourage you to strongly consider sending your child to our school if you have children. We are still working out some details like the tuition rate. It will probably be in the $1300 to $1800 range. You may be able to get your child some “scholarship” help if you do not have the funds. The church will be helping to offset some of the expense already to try to keep the rate in a reasonable range. We will also set up a payment plan where people can pay for the tuition over a 10 to 12 month time frame.

We will be offering pre-school through twelfth grades. I encourage you to come to the meeting on May 17th at 6:00PM to find out more about how the school will be set up. We will allow students to dual enroll so they can participate in sports or band at the public school. We also plan to have a music class in our school.

I ask that everyone keep this lifted up in prayer. This is a big step for us as a church, but we know that we serve a big God. We believe there will be countless lives touched through this ministry of the church. God bless you and thank you in advance for supporting this endeavor.

Pastor Jeff