Author: Believers Church

June 16, 2019 Believers Church

Reaching out in Red Wing MN

In May and June, we headed to Red Wing to assist Patti from the Connected Connection. The Gnosko member’s split into two groups. One staying behind to assist in organizing and the other group trekked to the property where we moved some of Patti’s items back to the shop location.

We moved a twenty-foot bar with ornated detailing from the 1880s. Moving that large item proved challenging. The group was able to get it from inside the building and onto a trailer bound for Red Wing. Back at the shop, a transformation of the outdoor space was completed with teamwork. Lunch was provided by Patti.

The next time we went we assisted Patti with shipments going to Honduras via cargo plane. We cleaned and organized donated items. We are blessed to help Patti, who at 78 years young is moving mountains assisting others. Pattie is a great example of serving others and does not let her age stop her.

Heyde Center for the Arts

In April, Gnosko found a bit of sunshine, warmth, and fellowship. We attended the 55th Annual Spring Art Show at the Heyde Center for the Arts in Chippewa Falls, WI. Local artists from the Chippewa Valley were invited to submit their art for the free show. This is a great community event to enjoy different mediums of art and creations. What a uniquely individual spark God puts within each of us…He created us to create, and this is just one form of that. Here’s a good article that speaks to it. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/make-god-look-great-create. Wrapping up our fellowship destination was by unanimous decision to Olson’s Ice Cream!

Healthier Living Update

With the help of the Holy Spirit, lots of support and encouragement, our Gnosko group is feeling much lighter these days. To the tune of 137 pounds (that’s 548 sticks of butter) and 68.25 inches lost! Please continue to pray and support our healthy habits.

June 13, 2019 Believers Church

It’s important to us at JFB Duluth that we never find ourselves gathering together as mere acquaintances at some type of empty, shallow social club. The church, and this church specifically, is designed by God to be much more than that. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 10:25 to not forsake gathering together. I am convinced this is meant to be much more than a command to have records showing our perfect attendance. Attending weekly church services without a depth of relationship and commitment and involvement will not be enough to fulfill what God is asking for in that verse. In fact, the verse prior says we are to consider how to spur one another to love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:24)

Getting to Know One Another

It’s clear all throughout scripture that God is greatly concerned with the way we interact with one another as believers. God says that above all we are to love one another. We are to willingly offer hospitality to one another. We should use our gifts to serve one another. (1 Peter 4:8-10) The Bible says we are to be unified. (Ephesians 4:3) Christians offer real accountability and say the hard things that need to be said out of love and compassion. (Proverbs 27:6) We are to be faithful in prayer for one another. (Romans 12:12)  If we are going to do this for one another it will necessitate more than simple attendance. We need to spend time with one another and get to know each other. We will spend time hearing about what God has done and is doing in on another’s lives. Real Christian fellowship goes far beyond the surface level conversations that suffice for worldly friendships.

Women’s Bible Study and Men’s Breakfast

Knowing God’s desire for us to involve ourselves in each other’s lives, we seek to do what we can to encourage that to happen. A couple of weeks ago the women of the church got together to have a Bible study where they discussed the tendency many have to make friendship a selfish endeavor, and how to instead pursue a Biblical idea of friendship. These nights the women get together have been full of good food and great discussion. The highs and lows that are experienced when following God are able to be discussed. It allows for an opportunity to come together, open up, and actively participate in all of the things scripture tells us should be part of a gathering of believers.  

On the same day, the men of the church started their day early by sharing a meal together as well. A couple of us came down to the church to cook breakfast and brew coffee, giving us a chance to truly serve one another and offer hospitality as the Bible says. Then all of the men of the church stopped in for breakfast on their commute to work. We were able to start the day focusing on God and His plan for the day. We were also able to obey scripture by spending time praying for each person on their way out the door for God’s blessing and direction for the day ahead and whatever else God was doing in their lives.

5th Wednesday of May

The last Wednesday of May we took a break from our regular routine of gathering at the church and headed over to a local park where we spent the evening grilling out, playing yard games, and just enjoying each other’s company. God blessed us with a great night and perfect weather. It was a good opportunity to step back from the busyness that comes along with church and be reminded of the privilege it is to be part of a church like ours (even if our frisbee skills need some work).

Stay Engaged

I can say without a doubt that I have found deeper friendships in this church than I have experienced elsewhere. Getting to be involved with all of you is a great joy in my life. My life is enriched by being a part of this fellowship and no doubt many of you can say the same. Remember that. Because, if you are a part of this church there will be times when people’s involvement is unwanted. You will have times when instead of embracing the fellowship and accountability that is offered, you will instead desire to run and hide. Remember that it truly is a privilege and joy to be engaged in the calling of God with one another.  

Pastor Jesse

June 10, 2019 Believers Church

Once upon a time, you were small. Very small. Nearly invisible. Almost as tall as a poppy seed, in fact. Your whole body, from top to bottom, used to be no more than two cells wide. But those two cells were healthy and active, and they multiplied. And they multiplied again. And then they multiplied yet again. The zygomatic stage was a short one, and nine months later, you were hardly recognizable. Ten years after that and you were another several bazillion times larger. And now? We’ll, you’re nothing short of megalithic. A virtual monster by comparison. You could probably crush a pop can if you wanted to.

Physical growth is normal & expected of a fetus. It’s anticipated and celebrated. Growth is a telltale sign of good health, hope, and strength; an expression of life and the promise of a future. And it’s also quite instructive.

In many ways, the physical body is a walking, talking parable of the church, with much to teach us about typical growth & development if we’re willing to learn. One of the simplest, yet easy to miss lessons is this: If the cells are healthy, the body is healthy. It may sound elementary, but it’s important to remember. If you hope to grow bigger, you’ll need strength at the cellular level. And it’s no different for churches. If the people in it are healthy, active, and reproducing, the church will flourish. If they are spiritually sick, sluggish, and sterile, the church is going to die.

Personal Effort

The smartest man in the world once said that, “winning souls” was a mark of true wisdom (Proverbs 11:30). What Solomon meant is that the intelligence of an individual is partly revealed in the success of their evangelistic efforts. In other words, seeking converts is not the work of fools. Whether they can’t do it because they’re foolish, or they won’t do it which only proves them to be foolish, evangelism is a field in which fools will rarely if ever be found. Because the winning of souls doesn’t happen mindlessly, fruitful evangelism is reserved for the wise. It requires thinking, and it requires labor, and it requires bravery. Lots of it.

Salvation is never accidental. If souls are to be won, it’ll either happen on purpose, or it won’t happen at all. It takes passion, prayer, thought, and effort (probably in that same order). Take away any one of those crucial ingredients and you’re bound to lose the souls you had expected to win, or left them to be won by someone else. Someone wise.

Personal Responsibility

Please notice that the work is to be done by the individual, not the church. A fellowship full of people who count on the activities of the church to do their evangelism for them is guaranteed to stunt in its growth. Outreaches will never be as fruitful as one-on-one ministry. Until the cells are ready and able to proliferate on their own, the body can’t grow. Healthy cells multiply, and when they do, the body gets stronger.

A church only grows if and when its people are eager and desperate to win souls. A prayerful & persistent Christian can do more effective advertising for the church in a single month than all the cereal commercials at General Mills can do in the entire year. The effectiveness you hope for is directly linked to the work you do within the field of evangelism. You can work your fingers to the bone in all other areas, but if you neglect that one particular field, the church will atrophy.

Personal Assessment

When a cell stops working, it dies and gets replaced. This does not guarantee, however, that the cell automatically goes away. The body is full of dead cells that still manage to attach themselves to it, even though they no longer contribute to the health & growth of the body. Unfortunately, the same is true of God’s church.

People who used to invite everyone they knew to join them on their mission, have long since lost their enthusiasm. They became too intellectual or grew too complacent. Some got too busy. Others replaced evangelism in their community with a service position in their church, and the fire that used to burn for the lost souls around them flickered out. And then they got bored. And though they don’t necessarily pose any real threat to the overall health of the body, they don’t hold any real value either. They bear a striking resemblance to who they were when they still had passion, but the life has long since gone out of them. They’re still stuck in the same spot as they were when they died, and like dead skin, they’re just waiting to fall off. Don’t let that be you.

A Personal Note

Dear Church: As we head into these summer months (which tend to be very outreach oriented and evangelistic in nature), let’s be careful that we’re still looking for personal opportunities to multiply. After all, those are the ones that will make the real difference. The health of the body depends on the cells.

Are there opportunities right in front of you that are getting missed because you’re too preoccupied with private interests? Are you expecting the church to fill the quota for personal evangelism that you alone are responsible for? Prove yourself healthy by pushing yourself into the lives of those around you with a spiritual purpose. Prove yourself alive by engaging with those outside of the church about eternal matters. Never let the busyness of your schedule suffocate the personal concern you have for the lost. Don’t let yourself rest until you’ve made yourself available to them. It’s time to fish for men.  

-Pastor Justin

June 7, 2019 Believers Church

Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines

by David Mathis

Three seemingly unremarkable principles shape and strengthen the Christian life: listening to God’s voice, speaking to him in prayer, and joining together with his people as the church.

Though seemingly normal and routine, the everyday “habits of grace” we cultivate give us access to these God-designed channels through which his love and power flow — including the greatest joy of all: knowing and enjoying Jesus.

“Hear his voice.

Have his ear.

Belong to his body.”

Reviews

“David Mathis has more than accomplished his goal of writing an introduction to the spiritual disciplines. What I love most about the book is how Mathis presents the disciplines—or ‘means of grace’ as he prefers to describe them—as habits to be cultivated in order to enjoy Jesus. The biblical practices Mathis explains are not ends—that was the mistake of the Pharisees in Jesus’s day and of legalists in our time. Rather they are means by which we seek, savor, and enjoy Jesus Christ. May the Lord use this book to help you place yourself ‘in the way of allurement’ that results in an increase of your joy in Jesus.” Donald S. Whitney, Associate Professor of Biblical Spirituality, Senior Associate Dean of the School of Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; author, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life

“So often as we consider the spiritual disciplines, we think of what we must do individually. Mathis takes a different approach that is both insightful and refreshing. Along with our personal time of prayer and reading, we are encouraged to seek advice from seasoned saints, have conversations about Bible study with others, and pray together. The Christian life, including the disciplines, isn’t meant to be done in isolation. Mathis’s depth of biblical knowledge along with his practical guidance and gracious delivery will leave you eager to pursue the disciplines, shored up by the grace of God.” Trillia Newbell, author, United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity and Fear and Faith

Download your free copy now in pdf
June 4, 2019 Believers Church

Part 1. From the Heart

“I can’t believe I said that. Why did I do that? Where did that come from?” Emotions can get the best of us. If we’re not careful, things like anger, lust, greed, fear, and envy can shape our actions much more than we want them to. Monitoring our behavior is not enough. We need to monitor our heart.

Pastor Andy Stanley began a new series on Sunday, June 2, called, “You’re Not the Boss of Me”. Walk through this series as Pastor Andy teaches concerning our most base heart issue… how to say “no” to the emotions that compete for control. Watch the sermon…

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June 1, 2019 Believers Church

Growing Up

No natural child likes discipline. Growing up, I wasn’t a very good boy. Often I drove my mother to the brink of insanity… I’m hoping it was just the brink! When she couldn’t handle me anymore, she would say, “Wait till your dad gets home…” Those words usually worked. As the hour drew near to my dad’s arrival, I would slowly make my way to my room in the farthest corner of the house, where I would try to remain silent and invisible. My hope was that my mom would either forget me or see that my actions showed an acceptance of my guilt. In either case, I hoped she wouldn’t tell my dad. I hoped to perhaps escape what I feared most…

My dad wasn’t abusive in any way. I don’t ever remember having bruises or marks. I don’t even remember him yelling at me. But I do remember him bending me over his knee, exposing my bare butt if needed, and giving me a few wallops that stung like a bee and cracked like the sound of firecrackers. And it worked… at least until the next time…

Recognizing Discipline

It doesn’t take long before we realize as children of God that we have another father, a heavenly Father, who also disciplines us. “For what son is there whom his father does not discipline” (Heb. 12:7). Though our heavenly Father’s methods may differ from our earthly fathers, they are none-the-less effective. One of the primary methods God uses to discipline his children is revealed by King David in the Psalms…

Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.

It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.

I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

Psalm 119:67, 71, 75

Like our earthly fathers, our heavenly father often uses affliction to discipline us. Affliction can be pretty ambiguous by definition. It could be physical pain. It could be loneliness. It could be a person. It could be a medical condition. It could be not having a job. It could be within our job. It could be a part of our very calling. Remember, Jesus obediently suffer unto death (Heb. 12:3-4). Whatever it is, it is critical we do not write off affliction as being strictly bad. As though it is not part of God’s will or God’s plan for us. Our affliction could be a carefully crafted tool, specifically designed by God, for us.

Responding to Discipline

How do we respond to discipline? It certainly isn’t pleasant. Do we run from it? Do we self-medicate to forget it? Do we pursue ungodly relationships to escape it? Do we switch jobs to avoid it? Do we abdicate our calling for the sake of our own peace and comfort? Henry Holloman in his book “The Forgotten Blessing” puts it this way,

Our first response to disciplinary trials is usually to ask God for relief by changing the circumstances or by removing us from the circumstances. Yet God often does neither. Instead, He uses the circumstances to change us. He is more interested in changing our Christian character than in changing our circumstances.

Henry Holloman, “The Forgotten Blessing”, pp. 22

Have we found these words to be true in our life? Do we see that God is often more interested in changing us… than our circumstances? If so, how should we respond to affliction? What are we to do the midst of it? The author of Hebrews gives us some direction,

My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.

It is for discipline that you have to endure.

Hebrews 12:5, 7

We are not to regard the Lords’ discipline lightly… In other words, it’s not by chance that we are in a difficult situation. It’s not circumstantial. It’s not an accident. It’s not a mistake of God’s sovereignty. Furthermore, it is for this very reason that we have to endure (Heb. 12:7). When we are afflicted, the last thing on our mind is enduring one more minute, or day, or month, or year. Yet enduring is exactly what God is asking us to do. That we might be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy (Col. 1:11). This endurance builds character (Rom. 5:3-5). And God is more interested in changing our character… than in changing our circumstances.

The Loving Father

I remember as a teenager when my Dad found some letters in my room that I was exchanging with a girl from a nearby town. He read my correspondence while I was away with her and a couple of friends at a roller skating rink. He didn’t like what he found in the letters. He didn’t like the company I was keeping. He didn’t like the path he saw me heading down.

When I got home, he sat me down in my room and expressed his disappointment and concern for me. He then told me in a stern but sullen voice that my relationship with her was over, that I was not to see her anymore, and that I was not to communicate with her anymore. I knew it was done. I thought the punishment at the time was cruel and unusual. I thought he was acting like a monster, though I knew for a fact he wasn’t. And now years later, looking back with a tear in my eye, I see nothing but a father’s uncompromising love for his son.

When will we get it? When will we realize that which is metered out by the hand of our heavenly Father comes from nothing less than perfect love (Heb. 12:6)? When will we stop bucking against affliction, and instead endure what he has appointed to us (Heb. 12:7)? When will we recognize the reason we suffer, is so that we might live (Heb. 12:9)? When will see our difficult circumstances as for our good, that we might share in his holiness (Heb. 12:10)? When will we see our trials as God’s tools for training us, that we might yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness (Heb. 12:11)?

For me, perhaps it will take a lifetime… I expect so… But I do look forward to that day when I finally get it… When I finally see the father’s love, even in the most difficult situations. May we all anticipate that day when we can look back, perhaps with tears in our eyes, and see how much the Father loved us… even in our afflictions.