Author: Believers Church

June 19, 2021 Believers Church

We have been trying new ways to reach out to the community this summer. Every Thursday evening the coffeehouse is setting up the kiosk in Veterans Park during “Music in the Park”. Some of us also did an ice cream giveaway at one of the trailheads this last Saturday. In addition, Burning Dog Radio joined us for a local poster bomb.

Street Level Ministries

This is the first summer we are meeting in person for Street Level in River Falls. We have been doing a number of grill-outs and Bible Studies outside in various spots around town. There have even been some new students joining us for it!

We put together a short video to show you some of what we have been doing. Have fun watching it here!

Prayer Requests

  • That we are effectively meeting people in the community through our various outreaches.
  • That we can see true discipleship in the lives of people coming to our various studies.

Further Information

We have been trying new ways to reach out to the community this summer. Every Thursday evening the coffeehouse is setting up the kiosk in Veterans Park during “Music in the Park”. Some of us also did an ice cream giveaway at one of the trailheads this last Saturday. In addition, the Radio joined us for a local poster bomb.

This is the first summer we are meeting in person for Street Level in River Falls. We have been doing a number of grill-outs and Bible Studies outside in various spots around town. There have even been some new students joining us for it!

June 15, 2021 Believers Church

The human heart is extremely fickle, especially when it comes to weather. We Duluthians beg and plead and hope all year round for Summer to come, and boy did it ever. The first few days of June saw 90 degrees and those who complain when it is too cold can now be heard complaining that it’s too hot. Typical.

Soaking in the Sun

The nice weather has allowed us to get to work on a variety of outdoor missions. The covenant community camped overnight, and the following morning we cleared trees, put in a culvert, and built steps to the outhouse.

Also, Community Group brought the coffee trailer to the zoo for their Mother’s Day event. This is the second time we’ve been a vendor, and our relationship continues to build. They seem to like us and we like them. In addition, Community Group is systematically going door-to-door from one end of the city to the other with church fliers. They never know who is going to answer the door, or if they will at all, so it keeps them on their toes.

Street Level officially ended their semester and have continued to meet at the Garage for work nights and fellowship. A lot of changes are taking place on the property. We cleaned the Upper Room for visitors, and are preparing the rest of the property to be used for Street Level’s regular meetings, fellowship and events this coming fall.

Face to Face Fellowship

With the lifting of the mask mandate and social distancing, we can finally see each other’s faces and sit by one another at the same table for meals. It’s a subtle thing, but it has renewed our spirits and encouraged more authentic fellowship.

We’ve not only enjoyed seeing our own faces again but we have recently enjoyed visiting Believers’ Church Menomonie. We shut the doors of Duluth to come down on Memorial Day weekend. The cross-church fellowship takes on new meaning and significance after a year like 2020.

Prayer, Please

On Wednesdays we continue through Jeremiah and on Sundays we’re a few chapters into Romans. We are just beginning new men’s and women’s studies through Disciplines of a Godly Man and Disciplines of a Godly Woman respectively. Please pray that with all of this teaching we would both absorb and execute and not be “hearers only.”

Also, we would appreciate prayer for God to lead us individually and corporately this Summer to make the most of opportunities as they come—to take chances and be bold for His sake. Thank you for any and all prayer—we’ll do the same!

–Kelsey

June 10, 2021 Believers Church

On May 6th, 1910 Hailey’s comet passed by the Earth. Never getting any closer than 13.9 million miles, it posed no real threat and yet many people were convinced the comet was responsible for the death of the king of England. One man, Camille Flammarion, caused mass hysteria around the world by convincing anyone that would listen that the comet’s tail was full of a gas that was going to “snuff out all life on planet Earth” as it passed by. (Spoiler alert: You and I are living proof that he was wrong.)

Despite the absurdity of Flammarion’s claims, many were convinced. A shepherd in Washington State was reported to have gone insane with worry about the comet. Churches found themselves packed with people preparing for the end. People were frantically packing all the nooks, crannies, and even keyholes in their homes in an attempt to keep the toxic gas out. Gas mask sales soared and a new market of “anti-comet pills” sprung up. One brand even promised “an elixir for escaping the wrath of the heavens”

Evidence of Belief

For good or bad our lives are shaped by what we believe. Your life will prove what you believe. These foolish individuals believed toxic fumes were headed their way. The only reasonable thing to do when convinced of that truth is to take whatever means necessary to be prepared for the impending doom. These people believed a lie and their life was evidence of it.

There can be no claim of belief if life remains unchanged by the truth claimed to be believed. Real belief necessitates real action. As the illustration goes, don’t claim to believe that I can walk a wheelbarrow on a tight rope if your unwilling to be sitting in the wheelbarrow. Over and over God says to believe in Him, trust him, and place our faith in Him. If a silly belief in a lie about a comet leads to such widespread observations, how much more so a belief in the truth and reality of God? Belief in such a weighty truth cannot help but be verified by the changes, and actions it causes.  

Look to the Examples

In Genesis 6:13 God told Noah of His plans to wipe out mankind and in verse 14 tells him to build a boat to escape the coming judgment. If Noah had claimed belief, but that belief had never led him to act he would have drowned like the rest of mankind, but he didn’t. God told Him the truth of what was to come, and Noah believed. He obeyed despite looking like an utter fool to the entire surrounding world for decades. He believed despite the decades of seemingly unrepaid hard work that lay ahead of him.   

Moses “believed God” so much so that he gave up his life of comfort and ease in Pharaoh’s house. His belief in God made him chose to have troubles along with God’s people rather than “enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” His belief in God took him on a journey of difficulty and despair that he undoubtedly never would have undertaken if he wasn’t convinced. Moses believed God and his life proved it. (Hebrews 11:23-28)

Christian history is full of examples of people who believed God enough to risk their reputations, comfort, welfare, and even lives. At first glance, it might seem crazy that these people would endure all of what they have, but in reality, if they really believe what they say they believe, it would be crazy not to. This world is broken, and mankind is desperately lost in their sin. There is no hope apart from the truth of Christ. Our lives shouldn’t just exhibit this reality in little discreet ways. They should shout it in a way that is unmistakable and impossible to miss.

Not all Examples are Good

Some claim this belief, but their lives prove that to be untrue. Remember the nation of Israel after the exodus from Egypt came to a turning point. It was time to cross over into the land that God has promised them. They claimed to know God and believe in Him. They also “knew” the truth that God had promised this land to them. But the time had come where their life could verify said faith. Instead, they believed a lie and their wasted life spent wandering in the wilderness showed it. (Numbers 13-14)

What about You?

What does your life show that you have faith in. Is your life evidence of deep conviction and faith in the truth of scripture, the reality of sin, and power of Christ? Or instead is your life evidence that sin is no big deal, church is moderately important and the mission of Jesus deserves halfhearted devotion? What lies are you believing? If you find your life is failing to measure up to what you claim to believe You can choose now to instead trust the truth, and live in light of that reality.

June 7, 2021 Believers Church

Do you know the secret of living?

In order to bear fruit, we must abide in Christ . . .

What is the secret of abiding? It is obeying; give God your will.

What is the secret of obeying? It is loving; give God your heart.

What is the secret of loving? It is knowing; give God your mind.

Christ gave His disciples complete instructions for living the abundant life. And He speaks to us today through His Word, saying: This life can be yours as well!

Look for the paperback in the lobby.

The Believers Bookstore is available to the public 9:00 am to 4:30 pm Tuesday through Friday. Also, look for the sign near the front door. Feel free to browse the shelves during the week.

Any questions? Contact: bookstore@jfbelievers.com

June 1, 2021 Believers Church

Imagine sitting down in a lawn chair in a beautiful backyard on a temperature-less afternoon. You have the best job in the world… doing what you love every day. You come home to a beautiful house and property that you wouldn’t trade with anyone. You are married to the spouse of your dreams. You are healthy and have money in the bank. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the squirrels are playing, and the rabbits are resting in the cool of the pines. You lack nothing. You have everything you could ever want… and much, much more…

Yet there I was… miserable. Not because of any external circumstance. Not because of any known sin I needed to repent of. I was just sitting there… sad and frustrated. I didn’t know why or at what. It didn’t make any sense. And then it did…

The Problem

The bible says, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells” (Romans 7:18). Often we think the cause of our problems is outside of ourselves. If we could only have that job, or own this property, or be married to that person, or be this healthy, or have that much money, or go to this kind of church… then our problems would… well… be negligible…

Yet Solomon availed himself of all these and more (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11). He was King, built a magnificent palace, married anyone he wanted, was healthy and wise, was the world’s wealthiest, and was the chosen head of God’s people, with their full support. He writes, “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure” (Ecclesiastes 2:10). Yet in the next verse concluded, “Indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

Do we know this Christian? Will we concede that no career, no person, no church, no external circumstance can fix what is wrong with us? Can we just admit it? “The problem is me… I’m the problem!”

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”
Jeremiah 17:9

The Solution

If the problem is me… how do we solve it? Just because we can say, “I know… I need to change…” doesn’t help matters. We don’t have the ability to change. Paul said, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice” (Romans 7:19). We can’t change ourselves. It’s impossible! That’s the point. Romans 7 ends with “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?“

Thankfully, Paul continues on in the next verses to give us the solution. He tells us the answer to our problems is “through Jesus Christ” (Romans 7:25) in the form of the “Spirit of life” (Romans 8:2). Through Jesus Christ’s death, we can now have His Spirit, His vitality, His mental disposition, His power, His life… We don’t have to be us. We can be Him, completely changed from the inside out.

But even as Christians, we are never free from the conflict between our flesh, and His Spirit. “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other” (Galatians 5:17). The Holy Spirit is not pushy. We must continually choose to go His way, to be led by Him, to live according to His will. We can experience his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control. But these results will only come by killing our flesh… with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:16-25). They cannot both survive…

“For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”
Galatians 6:8

We must surrender all…

Imagine

Imagine sitting down in a wet camp chair. It’s cold. You are a long way from snuggling up in your warm home. You brought your tent and are committed to camping, though it has all the potential of being a miserable night. And your spouse isn’t too excited about the idea either. A lot of your friends have already bowed out of this adventure (and for good reason). Then you realize you forgot your pot for heating your coffee in the morning… And on top of that, all the food items you brought are cold serve (i.e. salads, nuts).

Yet there I was… perfectly content. Not because the weather was going to change. Nor because of any external circumstances. I was just sitting there… so thankful and so blessed. It really didn’t make any sense. And then it did…

May 25, 2021 Believers Church

Read the latest news update from the mission field in the Philippines.

We continue to be thankful for the little things we used to take for granted. From March 2020 to April 2021, we have been able to attend in-person church services during 5 of those months. It is great to worship together with other believers after several months of hard lockdowns and barangay-enforced Sunday stay-at-home orders. Though one entrance to our road remains closed and checkpoints and curfews remain in place, we are thankful God has allowed us to have occasional visitors, minister in Toledo, and work from the office.

Street Level Ministries

By the time you are reading this, we will have held a coffee giveaway at Knockbucks Cafe in Toledo. The giveaway is one thing we are doing in an attempt to reach students on the west side of the island – especially UV students. Street Level may be small in number, but members have continued to volunteer for Word on the Street Magazine and Street Level Radio. We recently released issue 86 and are continually adding new content to Street Level Radio. Since students are still spread throughout the island, we are planning to continue our weekly SLM meetings online throughout the summer.

Fellowship before our Friday night Bible Discussion… Cebuano “til-as” = English “hairy caterpillar”

Exploring Creation Science

As classes end for many private schools Exploring Creation Science will start summer with a four-week series. “Examine the Evidence of Forensic Science” will explore various topics like fingerprints and DNA. These are also specially designed by God. Graduating students at Southern Bethany Christian School and Visayas Wesleyan Christian School will receive a special letter to grade 12 students. The letter is about Faith & Science. Students will also get a Word on the Street Magazine, and a bookmark with the verse Job 12:10. Since they have a copy of the magazine they also have information about SLM. This will also be shared with a short video on our Facebook page. This month also allowed for a lesson to be taught for the Believers Church Homeschool group.

Prayer Requests

  1. Continued vision and wisdom as a majority of our ministry remains online for the foreseeable future.
  2. True discipleship and a heart to reach other students among the SLM students.
  3. For churches throughout the island to be able to meet safely and be vigilant about safety protocols.
  4. Continued relationships and conversations with the people in our home and office communities that we see every day.