Month: August 2021

August 28, 2021 The Homeschool Ministry

If you think back to your time in school, there was probably a subject you did not really like. When we are homeschooling our kids the same thing tends to be true for each one of them. It may be they just do not have an interest in a particular subject. It may also be the case that one subject is more difficult for them.

Whichever the case may be, it is important to encourage them that what they are learning in school is not just about getting through the lessons but it is about learning about the world that God created. Here is a podcast from Pastor John Piper where he responds to a question he received from an 8 year old that didn’t like math. To quote the article, “God loves it when his people, including 8-year-olds, study his world, and understand it, and use it for his glory.”

It is important for all of us to remember that there is a reason to study what we are studying. We learn math (or any subject) not just to graduate and get a job, but ultimately to use what we learn for God’s Kingdom.

This is one of those articles that isn’t just for parents, but its also a good one for kids (or college students and those who hate math) to listen to.

August 24, 2021 Shofar Missions Cebu

Read more about what God is doing in the Philippines through Shofar Mission Cebu.

Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.

– William Carey

As the Philippines continues to battle an unseen virus, we continue to battle an unseen foe. Due to rising COVID cases throughout the nation, restrictions on gatherings and movements have been heightened. But what the enemy means for evil, God uses for good. We’re planning for another semester (at minimum) online. However, after more than a year of doing the bulk of our ministry virtually, we’re confident that God will still use our feeble efforts for His glory. We’ve learned to adapt and exploit various methods of communication for the sake of the gospel… and He’s been gracious enough to show us some fruit from it all.

Street Level Ministries

We are gearing up for the start of school in September, so we’ll be meeting with the current members to regroup, cast vision, and pray for the upcoming semester. Over the past few weeks, God has brought in a few new students and recent graduates to our Friday night meetings. One young lady got connected by receiving a copy of WOTS from a local book store. A few others saw our videos and posts on Facebook. The Holy Spirit used to put students in our way randomly on the streets near universities. Now, He’s doing it on the busy roads of the internet. You can’t outrun the hound of Heaven…

Issue 87 of Word on the Street Magazine has been released both digitally and in print. We’ll be sending copies out to various church and student contacts throughout the Visayas. Since universities are locked down and UV isn’t sending modules out, we’re praying for other ways to distribute the magazines. Recently, we welcomed a new member and volunteer to Street Level Radio. She got trained in on the technology and basics of DJing. Next week, she’ll start going live on air!

Exploring Creation Science

Some schools have started the new school year already, so lessons will continue to be offered online. Students at multiple schools can learn about biblical creation science via Facebook Live lessons every week. A few new Explore booklets have been created. They are sent to students that can’t watch lessons online (or have limited access to internet). As the new school year starts, we’re hoping that a couple schools in Toledo will tune in for lessons. One of the schools (connected to a small local church) will receive Explore booklets for their students. Exciting news for Inayawan Nazarene – they’re adding grade 7 to their school this year!

We don’t know what the next few weeks or months will hold, but we are expecting God to show up. Thanks so much for praying for and supporting us… we miss you all and hope to see you soon. Until then, we’ll keep working the night shift on this side of the pond 🙂

Prayer Requests:

  • That the curve flattens throughout the Philippines, for travel & gatherings restrictions to ease up, and for vaccines to inoculate the population.
  • For the Holy Spirit’s guidance, strengthening, and empowering… and that our ministry will bear fruit that remains.
  • That the new SLM students get connected and for all the students to grow as disciples.
  • For continued and new relationships with schools. Pray that that students would stay engaged with another year of online classes.

August 19, 2021 River Falls Ministry

Get the latest news from Believers Campus Church and Street Level Ministries in River Falls, WI.

Street Level Ministries

It has not been hard to enjoy great weather and outdoor adventures this summer with Street Level. We’ve sought to make the best of it all with hikes, grill-outs, and outdoor Bible studies. But we know this phase of the year will be over soon, and there are lots of changes in play. School starts just around the corner (9/1), and we are excited to start connecting with new students. Please pray for new and worthwhile relationships to be made this fall.

Believers Campus Church

The biggest change for the Fall is the creation of “Believers Campus Church”. After much discussion and preparation, this new inception of the ministry will take the place of our usual Wednesday Rewinds in River Falls. Believers Campus Church will operate as a church outreach directly on the UW-River Falls Campus. We have a room set up in the most centralized and frequented campus building, the University Center. Thus students will not need to travel far to find us, and hopefully, we are hard to miss! Please pray that the final preparations for this venture fall into place and that God’s Spirit uses it to minister to the campus.

Getting the Word Out

We have invested a great deal of time, energy, and resources into getting the word out about the ministry for this Fall. We recently spent a night labeling postcards that will be sent to about 1200 freshmen. These postcards advertise Street Level and the Campus Church and also act as a coupon for the coffeehouse. We will also soon be mailing out the most recent Word on the Street magazine when it is complete. There has been plenty to do with designing banners, printing posters, creating social media, and imagining a semester with fewer COVID restrictions (God willing). Please pray that we are visible to each student as we get the word out!

Check out the Street Level video ad that will be running this Fall:

For Further Information…

August 17, 2021 Pastor Tim Dodson | Menomonie

In our day much emphasis is placed on keeping physically fit. I have often seen teams of very serious bicyclers climbing steep hills and mountains. They can be seen sweating, panting, and pushing along to the top.  Certainly some physical exercise is necessary and should be practiced on a regular basis for your health, but the Bible says that spiritual exercise should be pursued even more rigorously.

How is your “spiritual health?” Time spent in prayer, Bible study, quiet times of meditation with God can bring spiritual consistency to a life of erratic living. We read in 1 Timothy 4:8, “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.’’

All of this is a relational aspect of our Christianity. You cannot expect to build and nurture a love relationship with anyone unless time and a focused commitment is made on behalf of that relationship. As the old saying goes, “No pain, No gain.” The only way we will ever successfully be able to “climb the mountain” to a consistent walk in Christ is through the practice and discipline of daily devotional exercise. The absence of personal daily devotions is perhaps the number one reason for backsliding among professing Christians.

The fact is, we all have a real need for daily “spiritual nourishment.” We read in the Bible that the heavyweights like Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Gideon, Job, and David—all met God early in the morning.

  • Genesis 19:27 says, “And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord.”
  • Genesis 28:18 says, “And Jacob rose up early in the morning” and prepared an altar before God.
  • Exodus 34:4 says, “And Moses rose up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai” and the Lord descended and stood with him.”
  • Job 1:5 says, “Job . . . rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings” and prayed for his children.
  • Psalm 5:3 says, “Oh Lord, in the morning will I direct my prayer to thee.”
  • Mark 1:35 says, “In the morning, rising up a great while before day, (Jesus) departed into a solitary place and . . . prayed.”

Man, if Jesus felt the need to rise early and pray, how is it that we think we do not need to do so?

Some of the most noted Christian leaders down through the centuries urged the practice of “the morning watch.”  Martin Luther said, “If I fail to spend time in devotions each morning, the devil seems to get the victory during the day.” John Wesley went to bed early, and then spent two hours in prayer and Bible study each morning, arising at 4:00 A.M. Oswald J. Smith said, “For over sixty years I have observed the morning watch. Because I meet God in the morning, I often solve problems before I come to them. Without the morning watch, my work would be many times more difficult.”

Going without breakfast is a poor habit, but so is failure to have a spiritual breakfast each day. To find quiet moments with God each morning requires discipline, but it is worth it as you begin to see success and consistency in your walk with Christ.

Some people prefer their devotional period in the evening, like Isaac, who “went out into the field to meditate at the evening” (Genesis 24:63). It depends a great deal on one’s personality and on the individual’s job or life schedule. You need to do your devotions when you are at your best…well awake and alert to hear the voice of God and to store away His words in your heart. The man who works on “an evening shift” will likely have his devotional time closer to noon each day. The important thing is to set a time, and then stick to that time every day. All of us need time to refuel, to collect our thoughts, and to set the pace for the day. God has promised to keep in perfect peace those whose minds are “stayed on” him (Isaiah 26:3).

One organization I know of publishes a small booklet entitled “How to Plan a Daily Morning Watch.” They call it “A Daily 7-Up”—suggesting that, a good place to start would be 7 minutes each morning. Are you willing to take even 7 minutes every morning for God?

This is how you might spend those 7 minutes: After getting out of bed, find a quiet place and with your Bible enjoy God for 7 minutes. The first 30 seconds: Prepare your heart. Thank Him for the good night of sleep and the opportunities that lay in the day ahead. The next 4 minutes: Read your Bible. Your greatest need is to hear some word from God. Start somewhere that will give you words that you can begin applying to your life immediately. One of the gospels like Mark, or Ephesians, Colossians, 1-2 Peter, etc.  Read for the pure joy of reading and allowing God to speak—perhaps just 20 verses…The next 2 ½ minutes: He spoke to you; you now speak to him.

It is important to develop a systematic plan for reading the Bible. A ‘plan of attack.’ At least a few times in life it is good to try and read the entire Bible through from cover to cover. One method is to read one chapter every day, which is a pace that all of us can handle. There are other “reading guides” that are not as demanding, and yet are still helpful in developing a pattern of Bible reading. Often it is more meaningful to read the Bible more slowly and very thoroughly, jotting down notes as you read. The daily quiet-time is not to be a mere mechanical reading of the Bible; not some duty or obligation.  It is concentrating on meaning and seeking to absorb spiritual truth. It is a relational time spent with God.

If you can get them, it is very helpful to have a few good Bible study tools—a Bible dictionary, a concordance or a commentary, or a Bible handbook. These are available in Christian bookstores and are sometimes available online. We can send you a simple but quite complete digital commentary in .pdf if you would like…just let the office know. There are many online plans available…some even will email you devotions every day!

Remember: The quiet time also includes simple quiet meditation. The word “meditation” comes from a Latin word which means “to ponder” and “to weigh.” Meditation requires reflection, thoughtfulness and study.  To meditate means “to give careful thought to” a particular issue. Meditation has always been considered a central part of Christian devotion and worship. Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, thinking things over, and “dwelling on” focused concepts.

To meditate effectively, quiet is very important. And quiet in this noisy world is more and more difficult to find! Road traffic, animals, children, construction…they are all noisy. Have you ever tried to have a phone conversation in a place where it is very loud? Many of us try to have our conversations with God in the same manner. We need to get someplace quiet to hear His voice…Many people seem to always have some kind of noise—a radio or a television playing just about all the time—but those things are not helpful when one is trying to concentrate and focus of communicating with God.

Meditation is continuous reflection on the goodness of God. Meditation, in a sense, is like a hen sitting on eggs to keep them warm until they hatch. Meditation is focusing on thinking about God’s love…about his saving us…about His guidance in our lives and His care over us. It is easy to go to church and hear preaching, to participate in Bible study groups, to attend teaching seminars…and then promptly forget about what we have studied. We can go to church and listen to the pastor speak and then rush off to something else and immediately forget what we were taught. We say we love Jesus, but no human relationship of love would survive if we treated it as we treat our relationship with Jesus! Whether we like it or not—it takes time to be holy; it takes time to digest the Word of God.

(PART 2 NEXT TIME!)

August 14, 2021 Believers Church Duluth

Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have happened among us this year, just as those who from January were eyewitnesses and ministers of God delivered to us, it seemed good to me also, having had an imperfect understanding of all things from the beginning of the month, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Reader, that you may know the certainty of those things that have transpired in the last month at JFB.

There was in the days of Biden, the President of the United States, a certain Pastor named Justin, of the division of Thomson. He preached the scriptures from the book of Romans to the church.  We learned the quality & depth of the soil a tree grows in can be the decisive factor between life & death. So too with a Christian. Many would claim to have faith, yet if their faith isn’t rooted in the grace of God, it’s a matter of time till they wither and die. All trees have roots, but they don’t all run deep.

Now it came to be afternoon, after they had all broken bread and burgers, the community group departed into the regions of Leif Ericson Park and Park Point (in the city of Duluth), and a multitude came to them, some thirsty and some spoke with them. Now they had passed out information for the church to the multitude, but some in the multitude passed by.

Now there was, in the same region, a city called Superior. In it was a house where the students of the church often gathered with the group called Street level. Jesse arose in the evening, along with his wife and the students of Street Level and surveyed the walls of the driveway which were broken down. They began and continued to work on preparing the house for the upcoming semester as well as the church. And indeed after 2 days had passed, on the following Wednesday the church met at the house. The men opened and discussed the book of “Disciplines of a Godly Man” and the women broke off and discussed the book “Disciplines of a Godly Woman”, and the spirit was upon us to teach us and grow us more in the likeness of Christ as our learning changes our lives and character.

Several days had passed when Justin, along with his wife, son Ira and Daughter Nora, arose and travelled to the city of Menomonie. Several of the married couples from Duluth joined them as well as the Church that is in Menomonie, and together went on a bike ride around the lake, and a meal of ice cream was then had back on the church grounds. They ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.

Meanwhile some of those in Street Level travelled by car across country to Missouri to meet with some of the believers there to discuss cancel culture and to meet together with the brothers and sisters from various other ministries.

Sunday came to pass where Pastor Justin remained in Menomonie, and the word of God was again preached by Jesse, who was also Pastor of the Church that is in Duluth. We went through 2 Timothy 2:1-7 and were exhorted to endure hardship as a good soldier.

And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of the Garage Sale, further fellowship, bike trips, bonfires, national night out, about the disciples and the brothers and sisters, who through faith broke down strongholds of the devil, worked righteousness, obtained promises, weakness was turned to strength, sin was overcome, prayers were answered, the gates of hell were beaten down and souls were brought closer to Jesus. Others flew across the country to serve the Lord with other brethren in the south. Others went to local businesses to help distribute Word on the Street to the local community in addition to the campus’ which is indeed bearing fruit.

Please continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which we are also in chains, that we may make it manifest, as we ought to speak.

The salutation of Jason with my own hand, which is a sign in every blog, so I write.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

August 10, 2021 Pastor Jesse Moss

On November 16th, 1992 Peter Whatling lost his hammer while working in a field. There was nothing exceptionally noteworthy about said hammer, however having always liked that particular tool he called his friend and amateur metal detectorist Eric Lawes to come and give him a hand. In the search for the hammer, Peter and Eric discovered a treasure trove from over 1,500 years previous. Treasure troves are treasures hidden to be recovered at a later date. As a reward for finding that treasure they received an equivalent of five million dollars from the British Historical Society and the treasure found its new home in the British Museum. Unfortunately, there was a catch, Peter’s hammer was also recovered and became part of the exhibit and the British Museum. There is no indication that Peter or Eric had any hesitations in trading in the once valued tool for the fortune that they received.    

A Treasure More Valuable

One of Jesus’s shortest parables and yet also one of His most powerful contains a similar story. In the Parable of the Hidden Treasure in Matthew 13:44 Jesus tells a story of another treasure trove that Christ likens to the Kingdom of Heaven. A man is out in a field when he stumbles upon an unexpected and very valuable treasure. In great joy, he covers it up, returns home where searches high and low for every last possible possession he owns. He sets up his folding tables and sells all he has ever owned and worked for in order to purchase the field with the once hidden treasure.

Christ tells this story to teach us the value of the kingdom of heaven. And just what is that value? It is more precious than we can begin to fathom because it is worth more than everything else that there is or has been. Whatling gave up a rusty old hammer and got millions, seems like a good deal. Receiving the Kingdom of Heaven even at an exorbitant cost would be an even better one.

What Treasure?

The treasure is what made all the difference. Letting go of everything would be ridiculous if the return was not of greater value than the investment put in. Rest assured there is no need for concern here. We are talking about salvation, eternal life, about Christ’s rule and reign, about the literal perfect heaven that is to be enjoyed for eternity beyond this life.  

Philippians 3:8 “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ”

What is this treasure? Jesus himself. The Kingdom of heaven is far less about a place and more about a person. Paul said that everything else in the world should be counted as a loss because of the far greater worth of knowing Jesus. All treasures under heaven fail to measure up to Him.  

Remember Why You Sold Everything

For the man in the parable, there was a cost to obtain the treasure. Viewed one way the treasure seemed costly. It took him everything he had. But viewed another way, the trade would seem like the best deal ever. The value of everything in the world could never equate to this prize, let alone his meager belongings. Only a fool would not do whatever necessary to purchase that field.  

You will have dark days where you question the worth of this new found treasure. Pain, hardships, frustrations, and disappointments will abound. You will find yourself wondering if instead of receiving an amazing deal you may have just been ripped off. Your mind will be full of thoughts such as this isn’t what I signed up for, this is too hard, this just isn’t worth it. They aren’t true. Remind yourself of that as often as is necessary. Don’t allow yourself to be tempted to abandon your fortune to return to your old rusty hammer.

Because we do not currently get to experience the fullness of what the Kingdom of God will one day entail, there are times we forget that it is worth the cost. There are times that we doubt it, but the truth remains. This is a treasure worth it all because this treasure is no earthly fortune, but instead a person. It’s a person who paid it all. If anyone got the short end of the bargain, it was Him.

Let go of your rusty hammer. You’ll be glad you did.