Refreshments

“I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.” -Philemon 1:4-6

When we arrive at church, at the house of friends and loved ones, at Immerse on Wednesday nights, or at bible study/small group, are we arriving with a heart and mind aimed at the filling of our own tank, or to fill the tanks of others? When we pray for others, are we always coming from the perspective of receiving from the Lord, or are we praying as Paul did for Philemon? Is the prayer and fellowship culture in our homes one that is prone to taking, asking, and seeking out selfishly, even selfishly, for others? Examine Paul’s prayer closely, and you will see that he is not praying for Philemon to share his faith that it might benefit him (Philemon), draw him closer to God, or to be a better Christian. Paul’s prayer for Philemon is that the sharing of his faith would be done entirely for the “sake of Christ”. Even indicating that the good that is in us isn’t for us…it is for and from Christ alone. Are we praying in this manner for our brothers and sisters here at New Life? If not, why not? If so, what brought you to that point in your walk with Christ?

“For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.” -Philemon 1:7

Brothers and sisters, we are called to refresh one another for the sake of Christ. Paul does not derive joy from Philemon’s love for him…he derives joy and comfort because Philemon’s love and care for the hearts of the saints has filled him up. This is not the culture of our world. Sadly, it is often not the culture amongst churches that claim to represent Christ and the kingdom of God. Why is this? It seems lazy of us to brush it aside and to be dismissive by saying something along the lines of, “Well, they must not really know Christ”, or “That is an unhealthy church.” This is hard to face with honest reflection, because it forces us to ask ourselves if we are simply consumers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, or if we are living for Him.

The example that Paul sets here, which is actually the example that God has set, is that part of living with and for Christ means that we are loving fellow saints in a manner that causes their hearts to experience refreshment! If you have ever experienced the joy of witnessing a fellow brother or sister in Christ serve others in the same way that Paul describes Philemon, the impact is often profound. This is complex because it forces us to push aside any selfishness that we carry. It also forces us to reconcile whether the way we fellowship is actually draining others rather than rejuvenating them. Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying. We must be able to turn to one another for comfort, support, and to lean on one another in times of need. But we must also be careful not to be lulled into a consumer-only mindset of fellowship. May Christ move in our lives in such a way that we refresh one another for His sake, and that causes us to stand in awe of his work in the lives of fellow saints!

Your brother in Christ,
Zack Fugate

Almost every time I open the bible I encounter a certain word at least once, and I’ve been increasingly aware of it in the last few months – whether personal bible time, Sunday morning preaching, corporate study with my brothers on Thursday mornings, or in our family’s daily bible time together first thing in the morning – I seem to be unable to get away from this one word.

Now, I was recently made hyper aware of this as I introduced my kids to a video series I had first encountered when I was a new believer. The first episode of this study series started with the professor writing the following question on the blackboard: “Why did Jesus come into the world?”. The students in the collegiate classroom-like setting attempted to answer with the expected replies – ”to save us”, “to die for our sins”, “to fulfill the prophecies”, etc… but all are kindly answered with a, “Good answer, but…no”. Finally, the teacher says this, “Did you know that Jesus actually, very specifically, very objectively answered this question?” We find it in the gospel of John, starting in 18:37 as Jesus is being interrogated by Pilate in the Praetorium – Jesus says, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth.”
 
Woah! Do you suspect that if Jesus himself said this is the reason, “…I came into the world,” and using the specific verb testify to indicate a trial is taking place, that the issue of truth is very important? Yes it is! In fact, Jesus uses the phrase, “I tell you the truth…” over 75 times, and in the book of John alone he uses the double-emphatic, “truly, truly…” 25 times. This is Christ literally testifying to the truth. But, let’s be clear, Jesus is not simply pointing out truth or more authoritatively making decisive claims on truth. No, no… Jesus actually is truth himself, and he created truth. Take John 1:17 – “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came to be through Jesus Christ.” And I think we all are familiar with John 14:6 – “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” This means we can only come to the Father through truth. And, being full of grace, Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit, a helper before he returns to the father, calling him, “the Spirit of Truth,” (J 14:16-17) and telling us that this Spirit of Truth will guide us into all truth (J 16:13). Woah again! Truth IS immensely important.

Now, backing up to the original scene of this interaction between Pilate and Jesus in John chapter 18 with this context, what we see is “truth” appearing before Pilate in human form. Truth breathes, speaks, and soon enough will bleed. It’s clear from the last exchange here the implications for us even today. Picking up right after what Christ declared in 18:37 – He then says, “...Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” and Pilate answers back, “What is truth?”.
 
We often focus on this final question by Pilate, and rightly so. But, I want to zero in on a key – the seemingly inconsequential phrase, “on the side of”. This indicates that there are sides! And, shockingly, one of them is not with the truth. Of course, we know this to be true from the first pages of Genesis, or even in the most minor of interactions with our current culture. But, do we all just pick a side and put on that jersey? No, scripture makes it clear that we as believers can be deceived, and in being so we will distort, suppress, reject and exchange truth. In fact we are warned repeatedly by writers like Paul and James to see to it that we are not captured by lies and deception, but to remain in truth.

A passage I’ve encountered again recently both in personal study and with the elders seems to really drive this dynamic home. This is this from 2 Timothy 4: “For the time will come when men will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”  How sad this reads. Written to Timothy, a man charged with preaching the word. This blunt foretelling covers both believers and non-believers. Those who will not endure, or put up with truth. Yet Paul bookends this with solid encouragement to his friend to remain in Christ (in truth!) and preach the truth. Oh how we need this, too.

So, church – It is clear to me that truth is fundamentally important as I now take special notice of it every time I encounter it in scripture. I’d like to encourage you to take notice, too. And more importantly, I’m encouraging you to be on the side of truth: Don’t be deceived. Open your ears and embrace sound doctrine. Hear the urging of the Spirit of Truth. Be led into all truth. Listen to Christ.

Todd Asmus 

“Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.”
– Psalm 30:4

Each week that we meet together as a locally-gathered body of Jesus Christ, we sing songs
within the worship service. This seems normal if you have grown up within the church, but quite odd if unfamiliar with Christian church services. Why singing?! Music is found in every culture, both globally and historically, and often can be tied to every human emotion - it moves us. It can be found in our cars, at sporting events, restaurants, fairs, parades and shopping centers; but why would a bunch of Christians sing when they gather together?

Commanded To Sing
Since God is the Creator of all things, He is both the inventor of music and the maker of
each one of our voices. This is extraordinary - that He would place music within our world and something within us that would naturally overflow into song. But looking at Scripture, we see something that is even more extraordinary, that God Himself sings!

“The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.”
- Zephaniah 3:17

Even when Christ was on the earth, Scripture notes that He sang with His disciples at the Last Supper.

“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”
- Matthew 26:30

The bible has over 400 references to singing and at least 50 direct commands to sing; I
think it’s an understatement to say that our Lord cares about singing! These commands to sing never come with a qualification like, “if you feel like it” or “if you have a good voice”. God commands us to sing - period. And being made in His image, singing is evidence showing that we reflect God’s image within us.

Sing Unto the Lord
Therefore, the highest form of singing is done as unto the Lord, which is our musical
worship. We are called to praise Him, worship Him, thank Him and bless Him. Therefore, most of the songs that we sing are directed to God. But we’re also called to declare His wonders, which we do in songs about God - Who He is, what He has done, what He is doing and what He will do.

Singing As A Ministry to One Another
It’s clear that congregational singing amidst the corporate gathering is done unto the Lord,
but at the same time we are also called to sing to one another. Did you know that you have a biblical role as a ‘vocal minister’ amidst the church as we admonish one another through singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16)? As we sing to one another, we remind each other of the glorious truths about our God and His glorious works and therefore in turn, we pour out the praise, thanksgiving, glory and the adoration that is due His name. Incredible! And remember, in order to sing to one another, we all need each other (from youngest to oldest!) so that you and I can build up the body in love.

More Than Just Singing
Please pray that as we sing bible-saturated song lyrics, we would all glimpse the great worth of God, His holiness, that He is trustworthy and immensely loving; that our imaginations would be captured with Christ’s beauty, wonders and glories; that we would all taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8) so that our hearts would overflow in the praise and adoration of our God; that the biblically-rich song lyrics would be etched into our memories so that we would be armed with wondrous truths and better equipped to fight the fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12) and all to the glory of our blessed Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. May He be praised forever and ever!

Looking to Jesus,
pastor jeff

       We were driving as a family, heading south as the sun began it’s glorious ascent from the horizon on the east. Our home is tucked neatly in amongst strong, solid oaks and rich, healthy maples, so we rarely see the sunrise as a family. Perhaps the beauty and glory that God intended the sunrise to display has not yet been lost on our children through that bane of sinful men, familiarity. May we all delight in every single sunrise and never let a single sunrise pass without being reminded that God set the sun on its course this day, as on all other days. One of my daughters gave words to what seemed to be tapping on each of our hearts – this sunrise was beautiful. As we observed the brilliance of what the light of the sun is and does, that same blessed daughter remarked that the sun was making my face shine (as I was thinking to myself that the sun was awfully bright and I should have brought sunglasses). Praise the LORD for the beauty that he has placed all around us in his creation, and the examples he gives us in scripture to point our hearts to Christ and his glories, AND the opportunities he gives us as parents to present these truths to our children in every day, familiar things! God, by his Holy Spirit, has presented to us many ways in which Jesus Christ is the light of the world, the light in the darkness, how the sun testifies to his faithfulness and promise and glory and how Jesus will actually make the sun unnecessary when he returns by his awesome light. The 3rd and 4th graders are studying the gospel of Matthew on Wednesday nights. (insert plug for Immerse, Wednesday 6:15ish, it is not too late to start coming and looking again at the true light, Jesus our King, with your brothers and sisters!) In Matthew 13:43, Jesus concludes the explanation of a parable about the kingdom of heaven by saying “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” After pronouncing sure and certain judgement on sin and lawbreakers, the unrighteous, Jesus holds out a profound and glorious promise. The righteous will shine like the sun. This is incomprehensible. No wonder Jesus concludes this verse by saying “He who has ears, let him hear.” Shine like the sun? Those who were once his enemies, those whom Jesus Christ has redeemed for his sovereign good pleasure, will actually shine like the sun. But if we hold to a high view of Jesus as the Son of the living God, when we consider the overpowering awesomeness of the true light of Christ, when he is no longer veiled but reveals his full Deity in glory, how could those who spend eternity with him not shine like the sun! We reflect Jesus now, though marred and tarnished, as we grow in conformance to him. This is strong encouragement to continue looking toward the light each day. But we also look with joy to the day of the Lord. God, who began a good work in his people, each one of them, will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Look, brother and sister! Take heart, father and mother! Come closer, son and daughter. Has it been many days, or months, since you basked in the light of Christ? Do you wonder where you are going in this present evil and dark world? Are you experiencing the frailty of this sin-ridden frame, your physical body? Those who belong to Jesus the King of the kingdom, have a promise as sure as the daily ascent of the sun. You are not far from shining like the sun, in the presence of your Lord and Savior, your light in this darkness, Jesus Christ.

Sam Umlauf 

Rene and I were walking through “The Garden”, this morning as we read of Esau after Jacob leaves for Paddam-aram. (Genesis 28:6-9) Esau had turned his back on his “Birth-right”. He no longer could receive the Blessing, just as God had foretold to Rebekah. The older would serve the younger. The blessing is singular and travels in one seed. Even in a set of twins. It cannot be split. There is one Way and one Door. Even after Esau is told this and cannot get it, though he seeks it with weeping and tears, he sees that Jacob obeys and that the Canaanite women displease Rebekah.
Through this, Isaac hears his wife and acts accordingly. Esau thinks, “Jacob got the blessing. Jacob obeyed and avoided the Canaanite women. If I do the same, I will get a blessing.” The whole world, and particularly Christians, think along this line. “If I obey and if I avoid sin, then I will be blessed.” There is only one Blessing. God ordains it to travel in one family only. It has continued in that line forever. We are all outside of that family. However, John 1:12-13 says “But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the RIGHT to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” What glorious news! We can be in the Family! We can receive the Blessing!
Not by obedience or by avoiding sin (if these were possible) but, by the gift of God. He gave us the “right”. This word for right, exousia, means “the power of choice” (liberty of doing as one pleases/the power of rule). This now made the whole idea of “choosing Jesus” make sense to us. If we believe in Him, He gives us the power to rule over ourselves and to choose Him over our most desired god, our self. There is only one choice. Me or God. I choose God. Thanks be to God alone!
What does this have to do with missions? Well, if you believe, you have the right to join the family. But how will you believe if you do not have faith? Faith is indeed a gift from God but it comes through hearing the Word. How will you hear if someone does not tell you? And how can someone tell you if they are not sent and do not go? This is His Mission. He commands us to tell others... our family, our town, our nation, our world. You choose where you will go and where you will send others. You choose how you will apply your prayers and God given resources. The mission team is here to help you walk through this. We all have to tell others the Good News. We have the Right to be Children of God and inherit the blessing.
NLCC mission team is in a new season. I am moving out of the chair and Ben Wilson has agreed to step in and continue to lead us as we seek to do God’s will. I have thoroughly enjoyed the years of service and look forward to continuing with missions and the team in the years to come God willing. The following is a summary of the mission team to this point.
NLCC supports 12 missionary Families. To keep everyone up to date and informed, we post their biographies and newsletters on the wall at the back of the sanctuary, and some are posted online through Connect. The Mission team has many “connectors”. People willing to partner more closely with the missionary family to connect their hearts with the hearts of the people of the church. Their task is to try and keep everyone up to date and to coordinate needs and requests.
In the fellowship area you will find plastic table bios with prayer requests and praises from various missionaries throughout the year. Fellowship time is an excellent time to read about the missionaries and share with others about the mission. This provides a means of extending ourselves in the Lord’s work and joining together with the body of Christ through our prayer and God given resources. You don’t need to travel to commit yourself to God’s mission. We have the privilege of participating right where we are, in the work and testimony of the Lord.
Often, we get the chance to have missionaries visit. It is our goal to have each missionary present once a year in person or by a video, often occurring on Rice and Beans Sunday. “Adopt-a-Missionary”. This is an opportunity for individuals to get involved with specific missionaries as they feel called. New Life firmly believes that it is not only the responsibility of the corporate body to get involved in missionary work, but it is the direct call and enabling of God on each individual to go and make disciples of all nations. 1Corinthians 12:7 “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” We are developing an Adopt a Missionary webpage. Look forward to it in the near future.
The mission team is a group of interested, like-minded believers gathering for monthly meetings in the Word, supporting the mission, organizing ideas and supporting local or overseas mission groups. In the process we desire to develop deeper relationship in the body with God and others. Everyone is encouraged to attend.

To God alone be the Glory!!
Lorraine and Rene

“... missions is the overflow of love from the enjoyment of divine fellowship “ - “Overflow,” by Michael Reeves (pg. 56)

These days it seems impossible to avoid Artificial Intelligence (AI). Every time you use a computer and every time you call a company for information or help, you encounter some form of AI seeking to make life “easier.” The reality is not always what we perceive as “easier.”

I received a 1099-R form reporting some income. I could not find any record that it was deposited into our checking account, so I called the company. I had to deal with AI. I had to tell it my birthdate four times. After some “help” that was not so helpful, the AI started all over and I had to repeat everything. When I was asked how they could help me, I said, “I want to talk to a person.” Then we started all over again with another request for my birthdate and how they could help me. I said, “I need to talk to a person.” A few seconds later I was actually talking with a real person with GGI (God Given Intelligence). Within minutes he clarified the matter and I was able to find the deposit in our checking account. AI was not needed for this. It was not “easier.” It did not seem their AI actually had much “intelligence.”

It is not hard to find articles that discuss the “evils” of AI. Most of us innocently and safely use AI to look-up things on the Internet. What we find may or may not be really what we were hoping to learn, but it does not seem that AI is evil. It is evident that AI is doing things humans used to do—with various levels of success. Some warn that AI will end up taking over the world.

In our Immerse study of the Book of Proverbs, we found a proverbial gem in Proverbs 16:4:


“Its purpose,” can be translated, “His purpose.” Both are legitimate translations of the Hebrew and a few translations render it this way. The Lord made everything for His purpose. “His purpose” and “its purpose” are the exact same thing. This should not be surprising to us since we understand the Lord is the Sovereign Ruler of all things.

Of course, God did not make everything, but that is not what the proverb is saying. For an obvious example, He did not create anything evil. We might rearrange the words of the proverb to express this more clearly: “Everything the Lord made is for His purpose.”

The proverb includes the surprising words, “even the wicked.” It would be easy to think the world would be a better place if there were no wicked people. Wicked people seem to be among the worst things on Earth. God didn’t create any wicked people, but He created people who chose to sin. The Lord’s plan, which surpasses man’s thoughts, includes the wicked. He even uses the wicked for his purposes. He used Sennacherib and Nebuchadnezzar to punish Israel and Judah for refusing to worship Him. He used some jealous men to put Daniel into the lion’s den to prove Daniel’s innocence and God’s power. It is harder for us to see that God used Hitler for some useful purpose that still escapes us. We may someday find out how Hitler fit into God’s plan. God even uses the devil to accomplish His purposes. This will be most evident in the Last Days.

Since our God is all-powerful and sovereign, He is able to use everything that exists—even what He did not create and those who reject Him—for His purpose.

There is absolutely nothing in all creation that is outside the realm of the Lord’s purpose. The Lord will use all things—whether created by Him or not—for His glory. God even used the sin of man and its impact on the world to do something that was for His purpose and glory: He provided a perfect salvation.

The proverb we have been considering leaves one important matter unstated: what is God’s purpose? Obviously, He has many purposes that fit into many circumstances, needs, and situations. But there is one overriding cosmic purpose. It is found in Numbers 14:21:


Now, that is quite a purpose! It gives us something important to meditate on, and that meditation gives us great joy. It is impossible for us to grasp what it will be like when God’s cosmic purpose is fulfilled. One biblical hint that teases us is the description of the New Jerusalem where the tree of life on the banks of a river produces twelve different fruits every month. This does not fit with what we know about fruit-bearing trees. But “the tree of life” is different from the trees we know. In addition, what we know is obviously before the earth being filled with the glory of the Lord. What a day that will be!

Jay Swisher

During Christmas a few weeks ago, I was reminded of the beauty and reality of being united with Christ. The Apostle Paul uses the supporting phase being “In-Christ”, and this phase is found over 90 times in the New Testament, it is such an important theme. I also realize that my finite mind cannot fully understand or comprehend the depths of this amazing and glorious truth. Union with Christ is the essence of what it means to be a Christian.

John Calvin writes in his institutes of the Christian Religion, “When considering our salvation, our mystical union with the Lord should be given the highest degree of importance.”

Jesus teaches us; “I am the True Vine and My Father is the vinedresser” (John 15:1). This is the last of the seven “I am” statements of Jesus which is only recorded in John’s Gospel. These “I am” proclamations point to His unique divine identity and purpose. At this time, Jesus was preparing the remaining eleven men, Judas had already departed, for His pending crucifixion, His resurrection, and His subsequent departure for Heaven. He had just told them that He would be leaving them (John 14:2). Knowing how disturbed they would feel, He gave them this lovely metaphor of the True Vine as one of His encouragements.

The main truth Christ is teaching in this metaphor is the importance of abiding in Him to bear fruit. Scripture uses metaphors to further support the reality of our union with Christ: Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches. Jesus is the Head, and we are His body (Colossians 1:18). Jesus is the Cornerstone, and we are the living stones built upon Him (1 Peter 2:4-7). He is the bridegroom, and we are His bride (Ephesians 5:31-32). We are crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20).

Jesus wanted His friends, not only those eleven, but those of all time, to know that He was not going to desert them, even though they would no longer enjoy His physical presence. His living energy, His spiritual reality would continue to nourish and sustain them just as the roots and trunk of a grape vine produces the energy that nourishes and sustains its branches while developing their fruit. Jesus wanted us to know that, even though we cannot see Him, we are as closely connected to Him as the branches of a vine are connected to its stem. Our desire to know and love Him and the energy to serve Him will keep flowing into and through us as we abide in Him.

Jesus went on to remove any misunderstanding about what He meant (John 15:4). He said that no branch can live, let alone produce leaves and fruit, by itself. Cut off from the trunk, a branch is dead. Just as a vine’s branches rely on being connected to the trunk from which they receive their energy to bear fruit, Jesus’ disciples depend on being connected to Him for their spiritual life and the ability to serve Him effectively. The fruit we produce is that of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Our source of life and spiritual fruit is not in ourselves; it is outside us, in Christ Jesus. We can live, live rightly, and serve Him effectively only if we are rightly connected to Him in a faith/love relationship.

So, we depend on Jesus for everything, starting with our very life – “For in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28) and including our reconciliation with God through Him (Romans 5:10). No one can serve God effectively until he is connected with Jesus Christ by faith. Jesus is our only connection with the God who gave life and who produces in us a fruitful life of righteousness and service.

As the Father cares for the Son, so He cares for those joined to the Son by faith. That glorious truth is the central point Jesus is making. It is one of the most sublime truths in all Scripture. Believers are united by faith to the beloved Son of God.

Rest in this Biblical truth!

Your brother in Christ, Jim Nelson

Repeatedly in the Bible the people are called to remember the wonders of the Lord. Memorials were made and names of places were changed to be ever-present reminders of the faithfulness of Yahweh. The Passover was celebrated generation after generation to teach and retell the deliverance of the Israelites out of bondage by the hand of God so that no generation would forget.

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
  I will ponder all your work,
    and meditate on your mighty deeds” (Psalm 77:11-12).

Psalm 77 is a great example of this call to think about the Lord (see also Psalm 143:5). The repetition of the parallel lines in verse 11 underscores the importance that we recall
and remember what the Lord has done. Then in verse 12, we are called to ponder and meditate. The rhetorical force here in this passage is that we are to contemplate deeply, to muse again and again on His wondrous work and grace toward us.

Asaph goes on to elaborate some of awesome and mighty deeds of Yahweh in remainder of this Psalm. Read the whole thing. It is well worth our time to linger there awhile.

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul exhorts his child in the faith to: “ Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel” (2 Timothy 2:8). It is an imperative command for Timothy (and us!) to continually be reminded of and think about and meditate upon his Messiah, the One that rose to life victorious over death, the King! Paul greatly desired that Jesus would always be at the forefront of the mind.

But we so easily forget; we are readily distracted by other things and take our eyes off Christ. The cares of this world then take the dominant position of our minds. And so, we need to constantly fill ourselves with Him and remind ourselves of the good news of Jesus that we would walk increasingly in his grace.

When Jesus gave us the Lord’s supper, He told us to “do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). The bread and the cup are to help us regularly ponder His body broken for us, His blood spilled for our sin, the good news of our salvation in Him. Remember Him! Remember Him!

May we dwell daily on His holiness and goodness as we drink from the clear, deep living waters of Scripture. As we approach the end of another year, perhaps it is also a good time to reflect on our own lives and to be reminded of the faithfulness of the Lord to us throughout 2025. We pray that all remembrance of Christ will enlighten us and increase our hope in Him (Ephesians 1:18) in 2026 and beyond.

Great are the deeds of the One who conquered death and the grave, who brings life eternal to all who believe in Him!

Brian Gates

“Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name, worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.”-Psalm 29:1-2

In Psalm 29, David’s hymn of praise to the Lord is a call for all of creation, including the angels (heavenly beings), to place glory where it belongs…with the Lord. As a demonstration of the Lord’s awesome power, David provides seven descriptions of God’s voice. He sings that the Lord’s voice is over many waters, powerful, full of majesty, breaking the cedars of Lebanon, flashing forth flames of fire, shaking the wilderness, and causing the deer to give birth while stripping the forest bare. As a final, definitive example of God’s power in the psalm, David provides a breathtaking image of the Lord:

“The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.”-Psalm 29:10

Imagine, all of earth engulfed in the flood, and our heavenly Father sat, just as he sits now…enthroned, controlling every wave, rain drop, current, cloud, and the outcome of all of creation. I ask, brothers and sisters in Christ, when was the last time you slowed down and broke away from the insane daily pace, to simply find yourself completely enamored with the awesome power of our Lord? Oh, how sweet is it to marvel at our heavenly Father’s voice and rest in the fact that He is to receive all glory. But I ask, are we listening? Just as Pastor Tony has highlighted most recently in his teachings through Colossians, the genesis of idol worship begins the very moment that we seek to grab hold of even the slightest amount of glory. For just as David exclaims in Psalm 29, all glory and strength belongs to the Lord alone. Mankind does…not…possess…strength. All strength comes from the Lord; no other sources for strength exist.

“May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!”-Psalm 29:11

David finishes Psalm 29 with an intimate picture of the Lord’s love for mankind, and acknowledges God’s power makes distinctions between the faithful and the unfaithful. But we cannot take David to mean that we have the strength or ability to accomplish this on our own accord, by our own acts. As God’s children, saved by the grace of Christ’s death on the cross, we are called to be faithful, and in our faith God intervenes on our behalf to lovingly provide strength, peace, and the gift of eternal life with Him! Pray with me, brothers and sisters in Christ, that we might find ourselves bound in God’s grace, faithfully seeking Christ and properly placing glory where glory belongs!

–your brother in Christ, zack fugate

The season of Advent is upon us. We often find ourselves in hopeful anticipation of all of the gatherings, traveling, gift giving and receiving, and favorite family traditions. With all the hustle and bustle we can easily forget why we’re doing what we’re doing and who are we to be focused on the most. Reminders to look to again to Jesus are needed for us all.

In Luke 7, John the Baptist, hearing of the reports of the miracles Jesus was doing early in His ministry, sent messengers to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come or should we look for another?”

What would spur on such a question from John the Baptist? Perhaps at that point, being in jail, John was maybe a little discouraged that things were not going as he might have anticipated. John’s understanding of Jesus being the Anointed One may have brought thoughts of Jesus beginning to restore Jerusalem, the city, and kingdom back in Israel. But that didn’t seem to be happening the way he and even the disciples anticipated things happening. What they had imagined to happen would happen but in a more profound and marvelous way than they could have ever hoped. First, however, would have to come the cross. John and others would need encouragement as they patiently waited for God to fulfill all His promises.

After John’s disciples left and asked the question, Jesus responded with encouragement to trust Him by showing them and all who were in the crowds who He was. Luke records, “In that very hour Jesus did many miracles, healing of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight.” Afterwards Jesus quoted portions from the prophet Isaiah chapter 35 (below) and chapter 61.


Jesus was showing everyone that He is “the one” whom Isaiah prophesied about. It would be through Him that all that has been broken and made lame would be restored.

Have we forgotten who Jesus is and what He has done? Are we, like John, anticipating different outcomes and circumstances than the present plan God is working in us and have become discouraged? Does it sometimes feel like things around or in us that are broken will never change? Has your awe of Christ grown dull? Call out to Jesus and ask Him to show you again who He is.

Just as with John, we too need reminders when we forget, confirmations when we’re discouraged, or a gracious poke when we’re stuck on hoping for things to happen our way. We need to be sent to see Jesus and ask Him to confirm in our hearts again what is true of Him and His plan to restore broken sinners back to Himself. Our great God is still in the business of opening the eyes of those blind to see Him and raising the dead unto life by faith in Him. He is doing these great miracles all around us even now, Praise the Lord!

As a catalyst for conversations around our Savior in the home or with fellow brothers and sisters, we’ve put out an Advent Bible reading plan for the month of December on the welcome table. It will lead you to see the fulfillment of God’s promises in Christ all throughout Scripture. Make sure to grab one of those. I encourage you to also check out the 3 advent books we have in the Resource Center: The Dawning of Indestructible Joy by Piper, From Heaven: a 28 day Advent Devotional by A.W. Tozer, and Love Came Down at Christmas by Sinclair Ferguson. Other resources that come to mind are The Coming of the King by J.C. Ryle, Everyday Gospel Christmas Devotional by Paul Tripp, and one that my family and I like to go through with our young kiddos is Prepare Him Room by Marty Machowski. All these are helpful resources that keep our minds on Christ this Christmas.

Please don’t miss the wonder, awe, treasure, and glory of Christ afresh this season.

Looking to Jesus,
Pastor Paul

As we walk through the Garden this week, we continue to tarry in one of our favorite and oldest corners of His creation. In the busy parts of our lives, we often see pictures of plants that are ancient like the giant Sierra Sequoias and pass them by without too much thought. But when we really pause amongst these colossal living Ebenezers to consider the ancient nature and the grand reach of these trees in time and space, we can't help but stand in awe. This Genesis corner of His Horticultural Park has many beautiful flowers and bushes in it, but this week we stood in awe of a tremendous old tree that seemed to reach from where we stood all the way down to the beginning of time. We could only guess how far the roots would go, but it seemed that perhaps this was one of the first trees that He tenderly planted and made to spring up in the very beginning when He set mankind there. So old and majestic this tree is, one must believe that it was in God’s mind's eye from before the beginning. What joy He must have in watching it grow and seeing us recognize His Sovereignty in it. Imagine it growing next to the very tree of life. How wonderful, how marvelous. This is the place that took our breath away this week. We will try to give you an inkling of what we saw, but I encourage you to take a long slow walk through Genesis 18 and see if you can glimpse some of the Grandeur that we were able to rest under.

Genesis 18:1 opens with Abraham as he “sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.” That ought to grab your attention! It brings back shades of something we have seen in this garden before. “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day...” Adam and Eve hid from the Lord. As Abraham sits and likely sweats, and the heat of this world envelops him, we yearn for a time when we can just walk in the cool of the day with the Lord. The very thing the sin of our original ancestors and our own sin without Christ prohibits. Perhaps Abraham will not hide this time?

To give you the proper setting, we should look back at what we have just seen. Chapter 17, Abram is 99 and Yehovah (the LORD) appears to him and says “I am El Shaddai (God Almighty) walk before Me and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.” Abram falls on his face and God proceeds to layout the covenant over him, changing his name to Abraham and promising many nations and informing Abraham that he and his generations will watch over and guard the covenant, and commanding him to apply the sign of circumcision to all males within the covenant. God changes Sarai’s name to Sarah and promises the child Isaac. The new Abraham scoffs and pleads for what he believes is his hope for the future in Ishmael. God is gracious to Ishmael but confirms His promise is through Isaac in the near future.

Abraham sits in the heat and waits for fulfillment. No wonder as he sees the Lord approaching, he runs to Him and begs Him not to pass over him. He offers a “little water” and a “morsel of bread” then he has about thirty loaves of bread and enough meat for hundreds of people prepared. Sounds like he is serving a king? In short, the promise is repeated. Sarah scoffs and the Lord asks if anything is too hard for Him. From there the “men” looked down on Sodom, and this is the point where we reached to base of this towering oak tree we were overwhelmed by.

In Genesis 18, the three “men” are talking amongst themselves but if you look closely Abraham is right there within earshot. God asks Himself out loud if He should hide from the father of many nations what His plans are. Does God need to talk to Himself audibly? He then explains the plan for Sodom to Abraham. Abraham then goes on what seems to be a ridiculous and almost unending plea for all of wicked Sodom if only there can be found a “few good men”. Abraham's plea goes on for one third of chapter eighteen. As Abraham communes with the very God of the universe in prayer, the sheer length of this audacious bargaining with the Him has to make us take notice that there must be something special going on here. As we rested in the shade of this spreading canopy, it occurred to us that perhaps God talking to Himself is not that unusual. Is this not what His Word truly is? He starts off before the Garden discussing with Himself the plan to make humans in “Our image”. Here He is discussing His thoughts about His plans for the wickedness of men. All through it He lets Abraham eaves drop. Myriad times in the scripture God lets man in on His thoughts. Through direct words like this, through the prophets and in these last days by His Son who is the Word of God enlightening this world.

Notice the effect on Abraham. Knowing God is God he pleads and argues with Him that He might relent. God allows it and agrees, knowing that evil is evil and He will deal with it. Wow! We get to eavesdrop on the very Word of God as He audibly explains His plan to Himself for the cosmos. He does this out loud for our benefit, that we, like Abraham, might plead repeatedly to Him to relent. And while, as He agrees to let the wicked sodomites live if there are some righteous ones, He knows that wickedness will be punished to an extent far beyond our conception. How great are His plans. How loving that we get to listen and plead to the God of the universe and that He does not punish us for our insolent suggestion that He let all the wicked live just because some goodness exists. As the Psalmist writes (92:5) “How great are your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep!” and God reminds us through Isaiah 55:8, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways your ways, declares the LORD.” Thank you, LORD, that we can hear you. Thank you, LORD, that we can pour out our weak and sin filled hearts to You and that You do not strike us down for our selfish insolence. Your will be done. To you alone be the Glory.

Rene/Lorraine Milner

“Let no corrupting talk come from your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion that it may give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29

At the end of chapter four, the apostle Paul writes to the Ephesians that since they are in Christ, they are to no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. He is referring to their old way of life as Gentiles (unbelievers) do, corrupt through deceitful desires (verse 22). All of this old life is to be daily being renewed through the work of the Spirit of Christ in the believer. One work of the Spirit in our sanctification is in what comes
from our mouth.

Paul says in verse 29, “Let NO corrupting talk come from your mouth.” Firstly, we are shown that not one ounce of corrupting talk is fitting to come from the mouth of a believer. Secondly, our speech is to be characterized in these ways:
However, more often than we want to admit, this does not describe what comes from our mouths.

What exactly is corrupting talk? Let’s consider the very first example of corrupting talk in the Bible: the serpent’s to the woman. His words came as the direct opposite of the speech that Paul instructs us in as those united to Christ.

The words the serpent spoke promised building up in wisdom and likeness of God, but rather brought about corruption of mind and heart. They were precise words specifically designed to instill doubt in the goodness of God and the truth of His holy Word. The serpent’s words were craftily spoken and most unfitting as he spoke to the woman to orient her desires towards herself and her own will and not towards obedience to the will and command of God, her maker. Though the serpent spoke directly to Eve, he also intentionally positioned himself so that Adam could hear the poison of his words in order to lead both of them away from the gracious favor of God and into sin and corruption.

When we participate in corrupting talk, we are speaking the same language as the serpent in the garden! Yikes! It’s a language that by words and tone and mannerisms, sow doubt and orients one’s mind away from the will and worship of God. It’s a speech critical of what God says is good, nagging and wearying the hearer to think otherwise. Its words spoken in a way to divide devour and destroy what God has made good in one another and amongst His body the church. The ripple effect of this speech goes far and wide, and after leaving your mouth, corrupt words are not easily gathered back like seeds from a cottonwood tree on a windy summer day.

This command Paul gives goes two ways. If we are commanded to not let any corrupting talk come from our mouths, we are also in the same sense commanded to not participate by listening to corrupting talk of any sorts, nor entertain corrupting talk within our minds.

So how are we to put off this old corrupting talk of our former ways that imitates the ancient serpent and put on the grace filled speech that builds up that comes from our Father in heaven? Taking this one verse on its own we might immediately be inclined to try harder to control our speech. However, this passage has less to do with us changing our talk and more to do with leaning upon the work of the Spirit to sanctify our heart. As the Scripture says, out of the mouth, the heart speaks. We may try harder at controlling what comes from our mouth, but it is our heart that needs the transformation. And how is our heart transformed? Our heart is transformed as we gaze upon Christ and as we meditate on His person and His work especially seen in this very letter in chapter one and two. That is why I believe the commands in this letter come in the latter chapters not the beginning. The way that our speech will change from that which is corruptible to that which is good and building up is only when we, by the Spirit, set our mind on the way that Christ has spoken to us.

Consider in what manner the Word of grace from the Father in heaven came to us (the Word made flesh) with such tender love and affection, kindness and mercy. Consider the heart motive of Jesus in speaking to sinful man to do them good and for building up not tearing down. How He always speaks in a manner that fits the occasion as the Spirit of God who knows the thoughts and intentions of our heart, precisely instructing each of us in the depths of our inner being to be conformed to His Son. And God’s Word is ALL of grace to us spoken by a good Heavenly Father, full of love towards sinners who are in need of grace.

When we allow our hearts to be molded and shaped by Him, the Word He spoke, and the way He still speaks to us, our speech too will be transformed. Then, by the work of the Spirit, what comes from our mouth is of Him, and what is of Him builds up, and what is of Him is fitting for every occasion, and what is of Him is grace to all who hear. Go therefore, and speak of Him! Tell others of His love, His goodness, His gospel and His mighty works. Point out His grace in one another, stir in one another greater awe and trust in Christ our Savior. And where you find that your speech is showing areas of corruption and decay, give it quickly to the Lord and let His words and His ways and the grace of His truth wash over you again.

-Pastor Paul

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
- 1 Peter 2:9

One of the hardest things for me to do as a follower of Jesus Christ is to daily “see” the things that are unseen and to try and remember them every hour of every day - to be a walking worshiper of our Lord, the King of all things seen and unseen. The truths and wonders that God has relayed to us in His Scripture are breathtaking! We have been given numerous new identities in Christ. And He has miraculously transferred us from a kingdom of darkness (which means we were a part of this evil and condemned kingdom before we became Christians), to His marvelous light! Of course I’d be proclaiming His excellencies wherever I am and to whomever I’m with!

And yet, I forget. I get distracted. The burdens of the day cloud out the remarkable truths and realities of what it means to be a new creation in Christ Jesus our Lord.

As Christians, we are called in the Scriptures to worship our God, praising Him for Who He is, what He has done, what He is doing and what He has promised to do, such as in 1 Peter 2:9. That means our worship of Him should be every day and all throughout the day - not just on Sunday mornings and not just when we “feel” like it or are at that moment thankful.

The prophet Habakkuk lays out a bleak picture of his surroundings and the situation he’s in, but reminds himself (and us) of why he actively trusts in the LORD and worships Him:

"Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.” - Habakkuk 3:17-19

So when is it a good time to worship God? Anytime and in any circumstance.

As worshipers of the Father, Son and Spirit, we must set our trust in God high, for He has proven Himself time and again that He is completely trustworthy. Remember that the Lord always plans to bring about all things for His glory and our good, even when we don’t fully see or understand that which is going on around us. Do not lean on your own understanding - instead, remind yourself what He has said and worship Him. Trust Him and delight in Him with all your heart; our Savior and King, Jesus Christ, has shown us in His birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension that everything He has said in His Word is perfectly true and trustworthy. Let us daily look to Him, trust in Him and pour out our praises and thanksgivings in worship to the only One worthy of all honor, glory and blessing. Proclaim the excellencies of our glorious God!

looking to Jesus,
- pastor jeff

“When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations at it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.”-Ephesians 3:1-7

As some of you may know, it was about a year and a half ago that I experienced a very serious medical issue that resulted in 19 days of intubation, three intense throat surgeries, extremely high fevers, and months of physical rehabilitation. The outpouring of God’s love that our family received from family, friends, New Life family, staff members from Unity School District, and our surrounding community in general was nothing short of incredible. I don’t know if we will truly ever be able to express or show the depth or magnitude of thankfulness that we feel for the overwhelming love that washed over our family during that time. Since then, I have not really spoken much about our experiences, or shared with many people about the types of emotions or intense moments our family has walked through as a result of such a large life event. First and foremost, God graciously continued to move in a powerful way in each of our lives as we each found ourselves broken at the foot of the cross in different ways. The story that I am about to share is one just one part of that journey, and the verses above provide scriptural foundation of the heavy, yet beautiful reminder that the most important legacy we can leave in this world is that which is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

After I was intubated for the first two days, they took me off the ventilator thinking I was starting to improve. Within two hours, my throat began to close and they we once again going to have to put me under. After putting me back on the ventilator, I was still awake and given a chance to hug my family and say bye before they officially put be under to prepare me for further care. I asked everyone to leave so that I could have a conversation with my oldest son, Isaiah. Frankly, nothing prepared me for having to talk with my 16-year-old son about what I wanted or needed him to take care of if I wasn’t going to make it, but I knew it was a conversation that needed to happen. As everyone left the room, Isaiah came and stood by my bed, tears in his eyes and tears in mine…we both knew the weight of the conversation without saying a word. The trouble was, I couldn’t speak. I had a tube down my throat and I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth. So, with a pen and a pad of paper, I began to write down a number of things that I wanted to ask of my son in case I never woke up. With strength from God alone, he stood there as a young man strong with tears, bearing the weight. As words became less, and a father’s love abounded, I was overwhelmed with one final message that I wanted him to know…that I needed him to know. In all capital letters, the final words I wrote on the pad of paper to Isaiah were, “GOD IS WITH YOU!” Then we embraced one another and cried…he walked out of the room, then Sara came back in the room to give me a kiss before I went to sleep and, through God’s grace and the incredible skills and decisions he gave my amazing medical staff, I woke up 17 days later.

“To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with the power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”-Ephesians 3:8-20

As Paul reveals the mystery of the gospel of Christ to the Gentiles in his letter to the Ephesians, he was imprisoned and fully aware that his life was increasingly in danger, yet he wrote it anyways. It is critical to understand that I am not boasting about this moment with my son, rather that I am sharing that in my complete brokenness, every fiber of Christ living within me wanted Isaiah to know that He…was/is…with…him…always, and that significant message must be carried on “throughout all generations.” That moment is one that continues to shape me and Isaiah, and while I first thought God wanted to bring Isaiah comfort in that moment, I now understand he was comforting and instructing us both.

-your brother in Christ, zack fugate

In about the 7 th century BC, there reigned in Judah a king named Hezekiah. At this extraordinarily tumultuous time in Israel’s history, the country had been divided into two nations: the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom (often called Judah). It was during this period of Israel’s history that the Assyrian kingdom took the Northern Kingdom into captivity. They were overthrown and taken away as slaves into Assyria.

Imagine being the king of Judah – while you saw your Northern brothers and sisters be overrun and decimated by the unstoppable super-power of the day. Hezekiah would have known that Jerusalem, Judah’s capitol, was next on Assyria’s chopping block.

In 2 Chronicles 32:9 we learn the King of Assyria indeed had decided to turn his attention to Jerusalem. So, as the drama unfolds, he sends word to Hezekiah and the people of Judah – threatening them.

He challenges them by asking, “On what are you trusting…Is not Hezekiah misleading you…when he tells you, 'The Lord our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria?'” (2 Chron 32:10-11). The king of Assyria spends considerable effort on this propaganda campaign. Assyria believes that their threatening reputation should be enough to convince the people to abandon their loyalty to the Lord and His king – Hezekiah. If Assyria can divide the people and convince them to surrender – given the fact that no one has been able to stop them (including their northern counterparts) – then the battle would be won without a battle.

This campaign of words continues for several weeks (or even months). The King of Assyria “wrote letters to cast contempt on the Lord, the God of Israel… [explaining that] the God of Hezekiah will not deliver his people from his hand” (V17).

So what does Hezekiah do? What should Hezekiah do? The unity of his kingdom is being threatened. What we expect him to do is to wage a counter-propaganda campaign of words. We might expect him to spend his efforts calming the people’s fears – seeking to convince them to not panic! Stay united! Hold the line! The sentiment of “keep calm and carry on” comes to mind. We expect Hezekiah to call the people to rally together!

But this is not what he does.

After Assyria’s onslaught of divisive words – he does what we ought to do. His response is recorded in 2 Chronicles 32:20, “Then Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed because of this and cried to heaven.”

We may think that the people need their king to speak to them – but Hezekiah (interestingly, with God’s prophet – whose role is usually to speak to the people on God’s behalf) speaks to God.

When God’s people desperately need fears calmed, it is far more productive to call out to God than to call out to the people.

It is tempting to believe that when there is difficulty in our world and when there is the threat of division especially among the Christ’s church, that we must cry out to the people for unity! But really, what needs to happen is that we, each one of us, must cry out to God – the only one who can actually unite and strengthen us.

It is no wonder that Hezekiah’s own name declares this very truth – “Strengthened by God.”

Church of Jesus Christ, our strength doesn’t come from rallying one another. Our strength comes from our Savior alone. And it is a glorious truth that our King – King Jesus - is currently reigning and interceding on our behalf in the very throne room of God.

Join me as we cry out to Him.

Blessings,
Pastor tony

This is going to be a little more pragmatic of a pondering. Because of our training in medicine, Lorraine and I often share insights into medical issues and give advice on the health effects of various activities and disease processes. Recently we have come across some older research that seems to have gone under the radar for the most part. It seemed to us that this could have important consequences to the health of individuals and the body at large and so we thought perhaps we should share it here.

I am not sure why this particular research has been kept secret from a large percentage of people, but I can only guess that as usual there is a lot of miscommunication and conspiracy surrounding the truth which makes it hard to do good science. To help to clarify things we thought we would give you what we have been able to learn so far.

It would seem that there is a particle that is much like a virus. Although it has not been fully qualified, it has many of the same principles. It is small and can replicate from a single cell. It tends to cause an infection in certain individuals and once inside the host it tends to replicate at various rates. It is unclear why, but for some people it grows rapidly and for others it is much slower. Once infected the contact can spread the infection to others to various degrees. It seems that the spreading of the infection depends somewhat on the distance to others and the amount of time spent with them but for this disease there is something about certain hosts that seem to spread it more rapidly. These individuals have been colloquially termed super spreaders. Part of the reason for the slow recognition of this disease is the latent nature of its evolution. The symptoms are often very subtle and can go unnoticed for years, but occasionally there is a very virulent case that leads to obvious symptoms and can even bring about sudden death. In the end the disease itself appears always fatal but can look like a lot of other medical issues and so it often goes unnoticed as the actual cause of death.

Because the actual particle itself has not been seen with the human eye, it is hard to identify as the root cause in many of these cases. There is no cure found to this point but there has been some research going on around a couple of different prevention vaccines particularly in Europe and in southeast Asia. Personally, we find this research very hard to follow and not a little unbelievable, but there seems to be some recent success with both types of vaccines. They both seem to prevent people from catching this particle and even with significant exposure can prevent the incorporation of the particle into the body of the exposed individual. As with all new vaccines there are some concerning features with this vaccine and research seems to be quite slow. This is likely because the side effects (at least in our opinion) are worse than the disease itself. Many governments are starting to see more people infected and as we start to see the disease spread there has been widespread political pressure to eradicate it. Perhaps we are a little conspiracy theorist ourselves, but it looks like this may be another of those times when the governments of the world get together to control certain behaviors and our very way of life in a supposed effort to “save humanity”. Like we have not seen this in the recent past.

With all this developing yet vague information on this particle you may be wondering why we even bring it up. Because of the widespread nature of this disease, most of you who are reading this have already been infected. To a large part there is no reversal or cure. We bring this up because we believe that understanding this particular particle and its symptoms can help you live well with it and perhaps even die well. True the disease will change your behavior and perhaps affect your ability to perform tasks you always thought were necessary for life, but knowing how to handle this you can orient your time left in such a way that others can benefit from your experience and perhaps do even better themselves. In full disclosure we actually believe that living with this particle might lead to a better life. This may indeed be the next evolution of mankind.

Call us crazy but perhaps this particular infection left to its own may make us a better version of human. To us this “God” particle is something worth spreading. As much as the world would try to prevent passing it from one to another, we believe that this unidentifiable particle is really a physical thing. It is a piece of the Spirit of God that is transferred from one person to another by getting close enough to each other to transfer the very essence of this “infection” to them. It starts as a single particle enters into their very being and then with the right nurturing through the Spirit and the Word, the particle multiplies.

The outward symptoms are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control. Eventually this will lead to the death of the individual but a new life far beyond the understanding of this world. As much as Atheism and Islam put up gates to inoculate the world against it, the very gates of hell itself cannot stand against the spread of this God particle. We have chosen to accept the process and even embrace the replication of this particle in our bodies to the point that hopefully someday all of our cells of flesh will be replaced by these new cells and shedding off this mortal body will seem like a loss of nothing but dead skin. It may seem crazy but we actually want others to suffer from this infection until the whole world, if possible, would be affected. Is it possible that this could be for the glory of God alone? We believe it.

“For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” 1 Corinthians 1:22-25.

“And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption...” 1 Corinthians 1:30.

I was recently reading in 1 Corinthians, marveling at the immeasurable contrast between the wisdom of our Lord and the wisdom of man. One might define knowledge as the acquisition of facts and information, whereas wisdom is rightly applying knowledge. A fun illustration I heard long ago: knowledge tells you it is raining outside; wisdom tells you to bring an umbrella.

The Greeks sought enlightenment through human intellect and wisdom. Human wisdom, with what little it could offer in pointing to Truth, did not (nor could not) lead those who sought it to the ultimate meaning and purpose in life— to know Christ as Savior and glorify his great name. The Gospel seemed absurd and foolish in the eyes of “wise” men, yet, in the end, they are the true fools.

Paul says that Christ “became to us wisdom from God,” and it is that glorious wisdom from above shows us that only by faith in Jesus can we be redeemed and become righteous. His wisdom is given to us that we would walk in him (James 1:5). 1 Corinthians 2:16 states that “we have the mind of Christ”. How amazing is that? What a gift we have been given!

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” Colossians 3:16.

As we study his Word and pray, we receive wisdom and understanding from the very author of Truth. And in that wisdom the Church is edified, and Christ is glorified.

As Paul is reflecting on the salvation of Israel and the Gentiles in Romans 11, he breaks out into a beautiful prayer that begins “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” Romans 11:33.

The Lord has given us such a great well of wisdom and knowledge that we can never reach the bottom. I pray that we will drink deeply of these riches, and, like the apostle Paul, exalt him ever more and more.

Brian Gates

For several days now I’ve enjoyed a new kind of happiness and even a little excitement. Why? Because my notebook computer is now running Windows 11. Yes, I know, I need to “get a life,” but let me explain.

Ever since Windows 11 first came out, Microsoft has offered a free upgrade for Windows 10 users. They provided a handy tool you could run to see if your computer was capable of running the new version. Mine did not qualify. As an unhappy Windows 10 user, I was disappointed. But the situation changed last week when I learned that a clever programmer had developed a way to install Windows 11 despite Microsoft’s lie.

Yes, it was a lie. The lie has been exposed. As I contemplated this discovery, I thought of some other lies that have been exposed.

The most famous lie was a simple one: “You will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Eve, unaware that that she had been confronted with a lie, accepted it as true and acted on it. She was deceived. She involved her husband, Adam, who also thought the lie sounded pretty good. Their outright disobedience of a simple command clearly stated by God, changed history.

Adam and Eve were not the only ones who fell victim to the lie. Every day since the deception and sin of Adam and Eve, people continue to think they can make choices that seem perfectly innocent. Underneath the façade lies (pun intended) a desire to be like God and know good and evil for themselves. The problem is that their choices do not make them “like God”—they prove themselves to be sinners in rebellion against God and very much not like God. The enemy of God knew that to be the case, but he offered something he could not deliver, and that brought eternal condemnation. It was a deliberate deception because no one can be like God. But it seems so desirable that it has continued working.

Another lie that continues to be used to destroy the lives of people was told by Woman Folly in Proverbs 9. This metaphorical woman bears all the marks of being a prostitute, an immoral woman, or an unfaithful wife. In verse 17 she says, “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” The result of “drinking her water” and “eating her bread” is a “free trip” to spiritual death where she has many victims (v. 18).

There is one other “lie” we should consider—Satan also lied to Judas. It was a most subtle lie in that Satan entered into Judas and apparently led him to think that betraying Jesus was somehow a good idea. Judas hoped he would receive financial gain as he approached the chief priests with the offer of delivering Jesus to them in exchange for money (Mt. 26:14). Neither Satan nor Judas knew that the result of Judas’ action would be such an important element in God’s plan. The death Judas facilitated was the central focus of God’s way of providing his perfect salvation to all who would put their trust in Jesus.

Microsoft’s “little white lie” does not have the eternal moral implications of any of these “whoppers.” They were simply trying to encourage people to buy new computers with Windows 11 preinstalled. Their motive was merely for financial gain. Like all lies, there is a moral element. Many computer users like me experienced years of frustration and disappointment being stuck with a despised operating system. Windows 10 will become obsolete and unsupported in a few months. This impending mini-disaster motivated programmers to find a way to overcome the lie.

In conclusion, I want to be perfectly clear that my happiness over getting Windows 11 on my computer does not compare with my infinite eternal joy that comes from God’s faithful and true promise of salvation and abundant life.

Jay Swisher

Last week I needed to cut down 2 trees to make room for a new drain field. At the end of the day, I truly needed physical rest. What a blessing rest is, especially when your whole body really hurts! This made me think about the gift of grace we have in eternal spiritual rest.

The concept of entering into God’s rest comes from Hebrews chapters 3-4. The word “rest” is used twelve times in chapter 4 alone. God is certainly driving home a point! What is this rest the Hebrew writer is talking about? How do we enter it? And how do we
fail to enter it? The writer to the Hebrews begins his discussion of God’s rest in chapter 3, where he references the Israelites wandering in the desert. In giving them the land of Canaan, God had promised them that He would go before them and defeat all their
enemies in order that they could live securely. All that was required of them was to fully trust in Him and His promises. However, they refused to obey Him and lived in unbelief. Instead, they murmured against Him, even yearning to go back to their bondage under the Egyptians. But let’s not be too hard on the Israelites. We need to ask ourselves, why do we keep going back to the bondage of sin and disobedience? Romans 8:2 tells us, “For the law of the Spirit of Life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” Like the Israelites, we hold onto our sinful nature, and unbelief, rather than trusting, obeying, and resting in Him.

Using the Israelites as an example of those who were not resting in God’s promise, the writer of Hebrews goes on in chapter 4 to make the application personal, both to the Hebrew Christians and to us: Hebrew 4:1, “Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seems to have failed to reach it”. The promise that still stands is the promise of salvation through God’s provision – Jesus Christ. He alone can provide the eternal rest of salvation through His blood shed on the cross for the remission of sins. God’s rest, then, is in the spiritual realm, the rest of
salvation.

Faith, the author goes on to assert, is the key to entering God’s rest. The Hebrews had the gospel preached to them, just as the Israelites knew the truth about God, but the messages were of no value to them because those who heard did not combine it with faith (see Hebrew 4:2). Some had heard the good news of Christ, but they rejected it for lack of faith.

Hebrews 4:10-13 explains the nature of this faith. The kind of faith that enables us to enter God’s rest is a faith that first demands that we rest from relying on our own works, also known as self-righteousness. Paul drives home this point throughout his letters even going back to Abraham. In Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast”.

Hebrews 4:11, “make every effort to enter that rest” by choosing to depend solely on God, to trust Him implicitly, to yield totally to the promises of God through the free grace of His salvation. Why? So “that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience” We either trust ourselves to save us, or we trust God to do that through the once for all sacrifice of Christ on the cross, (Hebrews 7:27). By failing to trust God fully in His promises, we become disobedient and fail to enter the rest that is eternal life, just as the children of Israel became disobedient when they failed to enter the Promised Land.

Hebrews chapters 3-4 is encouraging us to let Christ alone who is our Good Shepherd take us into our spiritual Canaan where we will find rest, green pastures, and blessings. Unlike the Israelites whose unbelief prevented them from entering the Promised Land, we are to enter God’s rest by faith in Him.

The author of Hebrews closes chapter 4 with the significant role of God’s Word in our life. God’s Word is alive and active, powerful, and penetrating. It diagnoses our needs and points us to God’s power. It discloses the condition of our heart. It demands our obedient response. Hebrews 4:12, “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two -edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

May we rest in Christ alone for salvation, the founder and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Your brother In Christ, Jim Nelson

A few months ago, I began sharing some ponderings regarding 1 Peter 2:9 – where Peter tells us, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

In previous articles we pondered the glorious titles, “a chosen race” and “a royal priesthood.” In this article we are going to limit ourselves to the next phrase: “a holy nation.”

A holy nation…

For many of us, the word of God has become… familiar. It has become common in our minds. It has, in many respects, lost its luster. That is why it is so very important for us to continue to look – continue to let those eternal words work upon our hearts. Chesterton aptly observes, “If you look at a thing nine hundred and ninety-nine times, you are perfectly safe; if you look at it the thousandth time, you are in frightful danger of seeing it for the first time.” Let’s put ourselves in danger and look at this phrase one more time.

We hear Peter tell his listeners (and us – if you are one of the Lord’s elect exiles – 1:1), “You are… a holy nation…” and we read it – as though it were a mundane and almost meaningless observation. But this phrase is anything but meaningless.

What do these words mean?

Let’s start with the word “holy.” What does the word “holy” mean? Our 21 st century mind simply thinks “holy” is a fancy word for something ‘spiritual’ or ‘religious.’ But “holy” is so much more than these trite and truncated ankle-deep descriptions. The word “holy” is a major theme throughout Scripture (used 915 times!). With such a copiously used word (see how I used a fancy word to describe a fancy word!?), we can only scratch the surface here. The word, at its core, communicates separation. If something is holy – it is something that has been separated from the rest.

But it is not generic separation – by the time Peter uses the word, the word is synonymous with being separated from the world and being brought near to God. A thing is holy if it is separated from the world/sin and brought to the Lord. Indeed, for the Old Testament Jew, the Holy of Holies was the place where God alone resided. Where He was - was the defining mark of what was holy.

So, brothers and sisters, let that reality sink in. Those of us who have been purchased by the blood of Christ – those who have been reunited with the Lord – we are described as “holy!” We have been separated from the world and brought into fellowship with the Lord of hosts! This alone would be mind-bending enough for a pastoral pondering. But Peter goes on to further explain that we aren’t merely “holy” (as true as that might be). He describes our plight as that of a “holy nation.”

Just as the word “holy” means something so much more to the original audience, so too does the word “nation.” I am convinced that they would have read these words in bewilderment.

What makes this phrase so bewildering? For the first reader (and for those of us who have read it for Chesterton’s thousandth time), this phrase describes something simply impossible.

The Greek word translated as “nation” comes from the Greek word “gentile.” To the ardent and the casual Jew alike, there is no human category that is more unholy. When they used the word “gentile” it was a simple way of describing something as common, normal, or (namely) unholy. Thus, these two words, paired together by Peter, in the old paradigm of Judaism, is –a paradox.

To say it another way, Peter proclaims them (and us) as holy unholy ones! How could the unholy be holy!? Peter is proclaiming that God has done the impossible. The God-man has made holy the unholy. He has saved the unsavable. He has loved the unlovable. He has chosen the rejected. Those who were “not a people” are actually “a people” (see the very next verse). It is as ludicrous as the idea that the least shall be the greatest!

The paradox is true. As J.H.A. Hart keenly observed of this two-word phrase on Peter’s pen, “To the Jew…[this is] as much of a paradox as Christ crucified” (Hart, 57).

But this is the difficulty for us. The old salvation that we have received has lost its luster because we have forgotten that what Christ did – was impossible. The dead live. There is, present in each one of us, the tendency to believe that inside of us – there was a sliver of holiness that God saw in us – and that is why he died for us. But what actually happened was that Christ made the dead live. He did what we could never do.

It is 100%, in every way, a miracle. We’ve been made alive with our Savior. The unholy is perfectly holy.

If you are in Christ Jesus, Holy and beloved – a chosen race, a royal priesthood – all this is made possible only in the miracle of the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. That which was impossible is now possible - In Christ Jesus.

We proclaim the impossible. We who were dead in our trespasses and sins are alive – we are alive because we have died to our ourselves because the one who is “life” itself died.

Let the truth – that Christ has truly made the unholy holy – begin to shape how we view this world. Let your worldview be flipped on its head and see the world clearly for the first time.

In our Crucified Living Savior,
tony

Have you benefited from our live-stream service on Sunday mornings while you were away? Have you shared a link with a friend and pointed them to the archived sermons on the website? Have you been helped by having the Sunday service streamed in another room such as the family center or the kitchen in the past? In one way or another, everyone at New Life has been and has benefited from the hard work of those on the Video Ministry Team.

This ministry, like every other at New Life, exists to exult Jesus and make Him known, and the ways in which this ministry accomplishes that is through the behind-the-scenes inter-workings of the Sunday service and providing availability for many others to tune in from afar. Everything seen on the TV screens and streamed to the internet is controlled by the video ministry.

Often there are many at New Life that cannot always attend each Sunday, and this work provides a way for them to tune in and participate from afar. The service is also recorded and formatted so that the sermon recordings can be uploaded on the New Life website, YouTube, Facebook and more. You may not be aware of this, but even people from other countries are viewing our services. Praise the Lord for this ability to proclaim His Word in ways we never imagined in previous generations.

There are a few ways you can be involved in this ministry. Each Sunday there are two camera operators and a switcher. The two camera operators simply sit in their stations and move the camera to follow the speaker as they move about the room, zooming in and out as needed. This means the camera operator will have to view the service through the camera, since what they see is what is put on the TVs. This is a simple task and does not require any previous experience with cameras.

The switcher role basically watches the two camera feeds plus another computer feed of the slides and videos then clicks to switch between the feeds. This person also monitors the volume level of the service as it is being broadcast out to live-stream. It sounds complicated, but it really isn’t. To serve on this ministry team requires a willing and faithful believer who can remain alert and focused on the service (that’s where the coffee comes in.) Don’t let the sight of all the cables, switches, and lights scare you away. Anyone can learn these roles, and the fruit of these labors go a long way.  It would be great to get a few more trained-up in this ministry as regular servers or short notice fill-ins when needed, and perhaps some who would commit for the long haul to help to see this ministry through for years to come.

If you are interested in being a part of serving in the Video Ministry, please call or email Jim Mabee, our Video Ministry leader. You can find his contact information in the Newsletter, or better yet, greet him in person as you can often find him in the video booth Sunday mornings.

Since our last pondering in the beginning of March, we have been immersed in Genesis 1-3. What a delight! Despite spending hours together each week pondering the depths of the beginning we feel like we have barely scratched the surface. Together for the first time we saw the profundity of what God did in that short (at least on paper) time. Yes, the genesis of the physical world as we had seen before but, looking at it from each other’s perspectives and sharing our understanding a whole new world is beginning (pun intended).

Genesis One. We had always known that God made the heavens and the earth and all that fills the earth, but as we looked at it we began to realize that this also was the “genesis” of many other things so much more real and vital than the physical world. This is the beginning of all the concepts. All the rules and mechanisms that guide the universe. The things we cannot see. All the concepts that interact with our daily lives and give us meaning and purpose. Those things that we cannot see but that are so much more vital to our entire existence than the mere physical structure around us.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void…

Confused, empty unreal and a waste. Into this God originates the concept of meaning, reality and organization. God speaks light into existence and in so doing gives birth to “good”. The writer records God as “seeing” that it was good, when in fact God already knew it was good. Why is that? For whatever reason, light and good will forever be inextricably linked. Perhaps dark then by extrapolation will be “bad”? At the same time light gives order to the physical creation. Days, seasons, years. Time itself created with that very first “speech”. In this act, the concept of seeing and knowing is born as well. Later we see that Eve sees some things but has no ability to truly know the good and evil. In the end all of our eternal existence hangs on that very “seeing and knowing”. To start, we are ever seeing but never knowing. We need something other than our eyes to truly see, but that is ahead of where we are.

God goes on and speaks land, water, vegetation and animals into existence. The meaning was first, then physical creation, and then mankind. The reason was there before mankind. What you ask was the reason? Fill the land and subdue the land and the animals. The concept of dominion began. The concept of true rule (rada) as God had intended. Not the kind of “rule over” (masal) later made into existence by Adam and Eve’s transgression. The kind that will forever create a struggle in the life of couples.

Interestingly God spoke everything into existence. Then God speaks to those with Him about man and actually forms mankind out of the dust. Hence the concept that man is different and separate from the rest of creation. As He creates all of this, God blesses it causing the concept of blessing (and consequently cursing) to come into existence. From blessing He moves on to creating the concept of multiplication and fruitfulness.

Order and all the structure of our understanding in the sciences is made in the time that He ordains each plant and animal after its own kind. Then work comes into being when God creates the garden for man to (awbad/shamar) serve and guard it. Not work as we made it to be while standing at the foot of the only tree with a command. Not the pain, labor, hardship, sorrow and toil (Issabon) of Eve in childbirth and Adam in scratching out a living from the land, but the work of living in the garden with “the voice of Yehovah Elohim going about in the garden (of delight) in the (ruah) breath/wind/spirit”. (see Gen. 3:8,literally) That was work as God created and intended. Following this God initiates the concept of rest. Our idea of rest is all messed up because our idea of work is all messed up. Oh Lord, “take us back to the garden of delight where we can learn to work as intended and rest as you desire.”

Yet at the end, before the rest, Mankind. God makes mankind. Male and female together he makes them. In the beginning they are created as one. They are mankind. So often we separate them and don’t realize that in the beginning man and women were one. It is God who separates them. Some would say because male should not be “alone”. In this moment God creates the realization that mankind needs a Helper. Often,
we read this and think of Eve but if this is true only of Eve, then Eve was already with Adam long before she was made into woman. She was intimately a part of him. Why then would the one God take them apart? We touched on this before. Mal_2:15 “Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.”

He took them apart so that He could put them back together with The Spirit joining them. And there you have it; the concept of Faithfulness and Fidelity is born. The very purpose of marriage is to put two together with something stronger than the flesh that holds ribs to muscle and organs. The Spirit.

Although Adam and Eve continue to help each other for better or worse to this very day, in this moment God creates what we would call His greatest concept of all. After making the heavens and the earth, with all the rules and concepts that govern creation, then all the creatures and mankind, God reveals to eternity the concept of the Helper. After Adam has named all the animals, with the recognition that there is no helper for him, Eve is made, and Adam declares that she is bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. He seems delighted in her but there is no indication from God that this is truly the helper. She definitely helps him get into trouble but there is at least a hint here that there is a True and Lasting Helper that is to come. And God rests.

“…remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” - Ephesians 2:12-13

What our Savior accomplished through His life, death, resurrection and exaltation can never
be over-celebrated or rejoiced in! From the above verses, weigh out what our position before God was before we believed: separated, alienated, strangers, no hope, without God. To say that our position was bleak and desolate does no justice to how truly far away we were from God. But, that was our position before God--past tense!

As we gaze and marvel upon the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Savior, one of the amazing elements that God communicates in His Scriptures is the concept of ‘dwelling’. We know that because of the sin of Adam, God and man were separated. But since the garden of Eden, God had let His people know of His plan to restore this relationship through a Man who would crush the serpent (Genesis 3:15). But first, God rescues His people from Egypt, makes covenant with them as His chosen people, and tells them that He will dwell in their presence, “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” (Exodus 25:8) Wow. After the law is given to Israel, God promises blessings for obedience if they walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, “I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.” (Leviticus 26:11-12) But, obeying the law is impossible because… sin. It infects every part of us. It makes us hostile to God and totally warps our affections. It separates us beyond all comprehension. This is clear throughout the Old Testament; Israel could not keep God’s law and became rebelliously vile, so He sent them into exile - twice! And yet even amidst the exile in Babylon, God tells them of His promise, “My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people,” (Ezekiel 37:27) God’s continual pursuit of His people is awe-inspiring! And yet, sin still separated man from God. Sin. It had to be dealt with. But man could do nothing except offer up animal sacrifices again and again. And yet, this also was futile, “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:4) But God…

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) The name of the One to come was ‘God with us - Immanuel’! God wants to be with His people! So, the Father sent to the earth His one and only Son, Jesus. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.” (John 1:14, 18) God literally walked amongst and spoke to His people, calling them to Himself! God amongst sinners! And yet, sin still separated and had to be dealt with. Jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross, bearing the punishment for our sin, being our propitiation, our substitute, that we could receive forgiveness of sins and His righteousness, that God would be reconciled to sinners and we sinners would be reconciled to God! Not only that, Jesus stated that He would be with us always (Matthew 28:20)! So He sent His Holy Spirit to live within His people, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11) He dwells within us! What astonishing news this is! Because of His loving kindness - to the praise of His glory and grace. And yet this isn’t the end of the story - there’s more! The end of this age will come, but we’ve been given the ending. God reveals from His throne that His promise and desire to be with His people forever will happen. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.'” (Revelation 21:3) What our Savior accomplished must draw out perpetual praise from us. Praise be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit Who have graciously purchased us that we should be the people of God, dwelling together forever! Amen.

- looking to Jesus,
pastor jeff

This Friday is the anniversary of the most profound display of love the world has ever known. The magnitude of love is matched only by the magnitude of sorrow that day represents. As such, we will be holding a very important service on Friday night at 6:30 pm. This is a service that you don't want to miss. If you are new to New Life Christian Community you may be surprised to learn that we, as a body of believers, will be fasting from Good Friday night until Easter Sunday morning.

On Good Friday, we mourn (with a glorious hope!) the death of our Savior Jesus Christ. Though He would be raised three days later, it is our sin that required His dreadful death. That is a sobering thought. Our sin should move us to tears, especially when we remember that Christ chose to die for our sins.

That being said, we should have the attitude of Nehemiah in Nehemiah 1:4. He writes, “As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” May our sin move us to a time of fasting and prayer with the expected hope that awaits us on Sunday morning! At 8:00 am, on Sunday we will break our fast with communion and a pot-luck breakfast. It is one of our favorite meals of the year. Following breakfast, the service will start at 9:30 am, as usual.

Please fast only if you believe that the Lord is calling you to participate. We do not believe that anyone can earn any kind of favor with God from our fasting. We don’t fast to ensure that God listens to our prayers. We fast in order for God to work in us. We fast because we long to be more like Christ. Jesus fasted on several occasions
(especially during times of trial and prayer). Furthermore, fasting is not necessarily abstinence from food. You may feel called to abstain from something other than food. Perhaps God would call you to give up your time on the internet. You may feel called to abstain from certain kinds of foods. Whatever you choose to refrain from (if God calls you to fast) let it be something that you wouldn’t normally want to give up. You may be wondering… Why would God call us to fast at all? Here are a few reasons to consider:

1. Fasting helps us to reorder our priorities. Too often we, as sinful beings, make decisions based upon our physical desires (not that this is always bad) rather than upon God’s desires. When our physical desires contradict God’s desires, and we choose our physical desires rather than God’s, we sin. Fasting is a practical way to make decisions for reasons other than for our physical desires. It does not guarantee that we will be basing our decisions upon God’s desires, but it certainly helps us to break the habit of making all our decisions because of physical delight. Let not our bellies be our god. In this way, with practice, it can help us to begin our decision-making process with God Almighty.

2. Fasting helps us to pray more emphatically. I am not sure why, but there is a direct connection between food and our prayer life. When we are overly full (with a good meal), it can be very difficult to focus on any conversation at all (let alone one with God). We have all experienced this difficulty after a large meal (sleep calls us loudly!). When we fast we are more alert than ever! There is a “sense of God’s presence as our bodies are freed from digesting and processing food. This enables us to focus on eternal spiritual realities that are much more important” (Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 391). Those who have fasted can attest to this aspect of prayer and fasting.

3. Fasting helps us to humbly confess our sins to God. Just as a baby knows when she is hungry (while letting the rest of the world know), when we fast we too cannot help but acknowledge our need for food. This aspect of growth is also experienced when we go through a very trying time. When our physical weakness is obviously before us we are reminded that we truly need God. It forces us to acknowledge the fact that we are mortal beings.


In Scripture, almost always, fasting goes hand in hand with prayer. If you would like to aid your prayer life (and who wouldn’t), I would strongly encourage you seek the Lord in some sort of fast. Please remember, we will be fasting in order that we might be in prayer together.

Easter is a time when we acknowledge that Jesus gave up everything for us. He, as Paul writes in Philippians 2, “emptied Himself” and became “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” In Galatians 2:20 Paul writes, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” If we have been crucified with Christ and are willing to become “obedient to the point of death”, let us humble ourselves this weekend (of all weekends) and seek God’s face fervently. Use the time that you would have otherwise spent over meals and meal preparation to seek God’s face in prayer.

Want to know what to pray for? Continue reading for some suggestions and please add your own to the list.
1. Pray for family members who don’t yet know the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Pray that God might give you an opportunity to talk to your neighbors about Jesus Christ.
3. Pray for missionaries who are overseas. Pray for missionaries who are not overseas.
4. Pray that the good news of Jesus Christ would continue to be spread to all those in the St. Croix River Valley. That we would not stop ministering here until everyone knows Jesus Christ!
5. Pray that God would give you new eyes – to see the world as He does.
6. Parents, pray for your children. Children, pray for your parents.
7. Pray for the marriages at New Life.

What does it take to provide facilities that are “safe, pleasant, accessible, and smooth-running”? The answer is twofold: dedicated people, and financial resources – both, of course, God-dependent. Let’s take a deeper look at these.

When I took over the lead of the Building & Grounds (B&G) ministry a few years ago, there was a large, dedicated team committed to this ministry. Fast forward to today, and that group has dwindled to the point that there are only a few dedicated individuals that commit themselves to this God-honoring mission. Much of that attrition has occurred as people have left New Life. For example, one family moved to Florida, in which case I can understand bowing-out. Two who filled key B&G roles now support Grace And Truth Fellowship in Milltown (praising the Lord for the Grace And Truth ministry!!!). The bottom line: B&G is significantly understaffed.

Regarding financial resources, these are necessary in order to provide for routine supplies (light bulbs, vacuum cleaner bags), and to care for items that require professional expertise; e.g.: roofing, paving, electrical, plowing. These costs are budgeted, and come out of the general offerings. To give you some idea re: some larger expenses, consider this: the HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning) units on the roof (RTU’s = Roof Top Units) are about 30
years old, and, for all intents and purposes, are living on borrowed time. Replacing all four of these RTU’s would cost in the neighborhood of $80,000.

There are lots of opportunities; some planned, some otherwise. When things are running smoothly, activities are generally proactive; i.e.: planned. An example of this is “preventive maintenance” tasks, aka: PM’s. These can include such things as filter changes.

But emergencies (building alarm, no heat, no hot water, roof leaks) are not anticipated, and must be addressed with urgency; i.e.: they can’t be delayed. As you might guess, the better we are at planning, and the more volunteers we have, the fewer emergencies.

There are lots of opportunities to get involved, from plumbing to general cleanup. We certainly could use more helpers; e.g.: to fill vacancies (someone to perform “preventive maintenance” tasks, someone to handle plumbing tasks, and someone who can deal with HVAC issues). We also need those who can serve as back-ups, to relieve some of the demand on the “regulars.”

Please join me in prayer that the Lord would provide the necessary helpers. A team of 5-6 dedicated members would be great! Please understand that time-wise, the demand on team members would rarely exceed a few hours per month.

Do you have a skill that the Lord wants you to use to help in this ministry? If so, please contact:

Jim Judkins, Building & Grounds Lead (contact info at top of Ministry Directory section of the Newsletter). Thank you!