faithful

FINAL INSTRUCTIONS!

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Frankly Speaking,

“13 Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith.

Be courageous. Be strong.

14 And do everything with love.”

~ I Corinthians 16:13-14 NLT

FINAL INSRUCTIONS! ~ If you weren’t sure you’d ever see someone again what would your final words be to the one whom you love? Paul leaves the Corinthian church with five incredible statements of faith. As you examine them, I am sure you find that each of them applies to you as well. 😊

First, “Be on guard.” The Bible is full of warnings about our hearts. Jesus often warned His disciples to “Be on guard.” John writes, “Little children, guard yourselves from idols.” (I John 5:21) In another passage, the Bible also tells us that, “The peace of God will guard our hearts and minds.” (Philippians 4:7) We are told to always keep watch as we walk through this life. Trials and temptation will come our way; we must choose to remain ready!

Second, “Stand firm in the faith.” Regarding the Armor of God, we must we are challenged to “Stand Firm.” (Ephesians 6:11 & 13) Attacks and trouble will come throughout our lives. How we deal with them proves our faith.

Third, “Be courageous” and fourth, “Be strong.” This is what Moses told Joshua as he prepared for death. Moses wanted to be sure Joshua was ready to lead. Later, Joshua repeated it often. Here’s what he said, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

Fifth and finally, “Do everything with love.” This is Christianity 101. Whatever we do, we do it all with the love of God in our hearts.  In this letter to the church at Corinth, God has told us to love above all else. If we have tongues of angels, knowledge of future events, faith to move mountains, give all our money to the poor, and allow our bodies to be broken, without love we are nothing. People don’t care how much you know: they simply need to know how much you care!

So, let’s love like there may be no tomorrow. 😊

LIVING IN THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS.

Blessings in CHRIST,

Pastor Wes

I PETER 3:15

PS ~ Be safe, and we hope to see you soon. 🙂

HOW MUCH SHOULD WE PAY “THE PREACHER?”

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Frankly Speaking,

To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.

I have become all things to all people

so that by all possible means I might save some.

I Corinthians 9:22 NIV

A Minister’s Benefits Package! ~ (Or, Quit Putting a Muzzle on that OX! 😊) Should ministers be paid? Most of us agree that the work ministers do requires some form of compensation. After all, most ministers have spent years of their lives preparing and training to effectively do the work of the ministry. 😊 They feed, encourage, & lead our families.

Now, “How much should a minister be paid?” is very important question. After all, we have seen ministers with jet planes, golden faucets in the bathroom, and huge houses. For every one of these people who have abused the office or title, there are many ministry families genuinely struggling to merely survive without going bankrupt.  The question ought to be, “What can we do to provide for the families of each member of our ministry team?” The question ought never be “How little can we pay them?”

What is our church budget? What is the economy like where the church is located? Many pastors and other staff members serve small churches.  Obviously, the annual budget determines how well a church can support a pastor and whether each minister is full-time or part-time.  One thing you may not realize is that pastors have no Social Security, no retirement, no dental plan, no healthcare coverage, and no life insurance. Most of our employers pay half of our Social Security and Medicare benefits before we ever see our pay checks. Many ministers retire with no plan. ☹

While this may be uncomfortable for some to think about, church leadership must wrestle with this to best support those called by God to lead the church. Dr. John Piper shares insights regrading ministerial compensation.

God shares His plan in I Corinthians 9:1-27. Let’s follow Him.😊

LIVING IN THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS

Blessings in CHRIST,

Pastor Wes

I PETER 3:15

THE GOOD WOUNDS OF A FRIEND

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Frankly Speaking,

14 I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children.                                                               I Corinthians 4:14 NLT

GOOD WOUNDS! ~ How do you handle being corrected by someone who cares? According to Pew Research, 65% of American adults believe that “people are too easily offended.” What if a caring friend exposes sin in your life and calls you out in love? They are right, but it hurts. What would you do?  It seems many just want to go to church to be reminded what good people we are. This is anti-biblical. The Bible confronts every human being declaring each of us as a terrible sinner not fit for heaven. “There is none righteous.” (read Romans 3:1-23)

Some people are ok with a pastor saying, “Well, we’re all just sinners, right?” However, the Bible declares this TRUTH, JESUS’ death is the only way we can be saved from hell. Every person on Earth needs JESUS!  Feathers ruffled yet? More biblical honesty ahead…

Guess what? You are a no good filthy, dirty, lying, cheating, selfish sinner. Yes, I am too! Without that painful truth as our starting point, we cannot understand why we so desperately need JESUS. If we believe the lie that we are pretty good, then we think we almost make it to heaven on our own. We are almost good enough! That is a lie from the pit of hell! The devil wants us to believe that because he does not want us to realize how urgently and desperately, we need THE LORD JESUS to forgive us and cleanse us from all our sin. We need A NEW LIFE!

Yes, we need encouragement sometimes. However, we are in desperate need of correction as well. If all you hear at church is positivity and encouragement… RUN!!! The Bible is a book of rebuke and correction as well as encouragement! We need to hear it when we are wrong. Yes, it hurts, but genuine repentance brings healing! 😊

LIVING IN THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS

Blessings in CHRIST,

Pastor Wes

I PETER 3:15

PALM SUNDAY to EASTER SUNDAY!

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FRANKLY SPEAKING,

But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “TEACHER, rebuke YOUR followers for saying things like that!”

HE replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”

Luke 19:39-40 ~ NLT~ (Habakkuk 2:11)

PALM SUNDAY to EASTER SUNDAY! What does your family do to make the most of this wonderful week? How do you make it special and different than any other time of the year? I fear many of us place more emphasis on CHRISTMAS than EASTER. For us, CHRISTMAS and EASTER ought to all be about HIS birth, death, burial, and resurrection. If you are a CHRIST–follower, I urge you to avoid making bunnies, peeps, and baskets the focus of this EASTER WEEK! Let’s emphasize JESUS & proclaim “HOSANNA! ~ Save Us!”

In the passage above, the Pharisees tell JESUS to keep EASTER a secret. If you read and listen to what JESUS said about this in Luke 12:8-9, then you will realize this is a very serious issue to our LORD and SAVIOR!

“And I assure you of this: I, THE MESSIAH, will publicly honor you in the presence of GOD’S angels if you publicly acknowledge ME here on earth as your Friend.” ~ The Living Bible ~ (TLB)

Listen to this same verse in THE MESSAGE BIBLE ~ (TMB):

“Stand up for ME among the people you meet and THE SON OF MAN will stand up for you before all GOD’S angels. But if you pretend you don’t know ME, do you think I’ll defend you before GOD’S angels?

Today, in church we sing the song, “Somebody is gonna praise HIS name” by PETRA. The lyrics state, “It will either be you and me, or it’s gonna be a rock or tree.” There is another great song that says, “Ain’t no rock gonna cry out in my place!” Do you struggle to share your faith in JESUS? FEAR NOT! ~ BE BOLD, BRAVE, & VERBAL! This is a great week to tell others about JESUS! They are wondering and listening. May JESUS and HIS HOLY WORD be on our hearts and lips every day this week! 😊

Living in THE SHADOW of the CROSS

Blessings in CHRIST

Pastor Wes

I Peter 3:15