Category: Pastor’s Notes

Article updates from the Pastors of Believers City Church, Menomonie, WI.

June 1, 2021 Pastor Jason Gilbert | Menomonie

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…

April 1, 2021 Pastor Jason Gilbert | Menomonie

I have a vivid memory of being a young boy, riding in the back seat of my parent’s car, traveling through one of the Dakota states, on our way to somewhere… for vacation. My walkman was the only thing I had to pass the time, other than looking out the window. Someone (likely my older sister) had given me a cassette tape of Amy Grant. I think Amy Grant was one of a half dozen Christian artists at that time… Christian music really wasn’t a thing yet… for anybody… but I had nothing better to do.

Looking back, I don’t remember that vacation… But I do remember listening to the lyrics of Amy Grant on the way to it. One song really caught my attention. It was titled “Thy Word”…

The Lyrics

I played that track over and over. I think I began to sing it out loud… until I realized my parents were in the car too, and that wasn’t cool. But the lyrics went like this…

Our Questions

Often we argue that God’s word doesn’t give specific direction to our life’s questions. Where should I live? Should I stay at my current job or not? Is this hobby ok? Should I buy this? Am I supposed to pursue this relationship? How should I deal with my family? Who should I confide in? Where should I go to church? How much should I be a part of it?

And God’s word doesn’t answer those questions… if we are only looking to it for specific names and places (i.e., Jane in Menomonie). At this point, many of us neglect God’s word, assuming it doesn’t have all the answers we need (2 Peter 1:3). We decide on a way that seems to be right for us, only to discover its bitter end later on (Proverbs 14:12).

His Answers

But if we pay close attention, God’s words warn us of a path we are not to take… and reveal a direction we are to take…

Consider any of your life’s questions in the light of His words below. In what way do these words lead you?

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1 John 2:15

You shall have no other gods before me.
Deuteronomy 5:7

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
Mark 12:30

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away… And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away…
Matthew 5:29-30

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.
Mark 8:35

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33

These words don’t give us any specific names or places… But they guide us in the path we are to walk.,. and what ways to avoid. And if we follow the right path, we will eventually discover the specific names and places we were looking for (Psalm 16:11).

The Impact

I have no idea of the cumulative impact those words in the car that day had upon my life, but they certainly weren’t lost on me. They would take me somewhere… I just didn’t know where.

Would those words prompt me to seek a Christian campus organization? Did they help me find Believers Church? Would they lead me to step into ministry? Did they bring me to a godly spouse, to my life’s soul-mate? Would they guide me into my life’s calling? Will they end in the fulfillment of my life’s purpose? I believe they have… and they will…

What about you? What path are you on? Where is it taking you?

We cannot overestimate the impact of God’s Word upon our life’s direction. May we carefully examine it before taking our next step. May it provide the light we need for our path ahead. And may it lead us into all that God has destined for our life here and forever after.

March 1, 2021 Pastor Tim Dodson | Menomonie

We’ve recently received these encouraging words in the mail from those viewing our Sunday Service and Living as Free TV broadcasts.

Dear Pastor Tim,

… I am currently incarcerated in New Lisbon, Wisconsin. I’m actually from Menomonie, though. In 2008, I actually visited Jesus Fellowship of Believers a couple of times… I’d called myself a Christian for years, but really wasn’t living it. I liked the idea of Jesus but was clinging tightly to my secret sins. I was very convicted by your preaching, but I wasn’t ready to give up myself for the truth. I found a church that delivered a feel-good message and I continued to live my life trying to be a Christian and chase after strange flesh and indulge in an addiction to pornography. Your words on the days I visited JFB stuck with me for years. You said, “Going to church makes you as much a Christian as going to McDonald’s makes you a hamburger.” I was really good at going to church, but I was a terrible Christian if one at all…

…Recently, our institution upgraded our TV antennae and I found your service on the CW on Sunday morning. I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing you preach again, be “fed” by the JFB service, and get a little taste of home. I just wanted to give you my brief testimony and thank you for making the service available on TV. It’s a joy to be a part of the JFB congregation, even if it’s just through the TV. If Menomonie winds up being my home again after my release, I intend to make JFB my permanent church home. Until then, I’ll continue to enjoy the service on TV; at least for the next 3 years while I’m still in Wisconsin.

Thanks again and God bless! New Lisbon Correctional Institution

My little Bible study group and I watch your service every Sunday morning at 10:00 A.M. on “the CW”—we love it!

Thanks and God bless! Stanley Correctional Inst.

I was intrigued by your sermons while I was battling a horrendous addiction to drugs back in 2009 or so. I am intrigued by them 8 years into a prison sentence. Strange thing is, I’m not a Christian. Maybe it’s your killer style, or beard, or amazing skullet. Maybe it’s ‘cause your commercial says you don’t care who I was yesterday, only who I am today.

Sincerely, Prairie du Chien Correctional

To Whom it May Concern,

 I am a man on a mission to change my life for the better….Most of my troubles in life stem from a 25-year addiction to drugs. While I was in Dunn County waiting for court I happened to come across Issue 73 Feb-April 2018 of Word on the Street. The stories and art inside helped me a lot as reading and art are a big part of my life.

I am going through a difficult time in life but I know that with diligence and strength thru prayer and my personal relationship with the Lord I will achieve the goals I have set for myself.

Thanks…Chippewa County Jail

Dear Pastor Tim,

… I am an inmate of Prairie du Chien Correctional Institution. This morning I watched your TV service JF Believers on channel 19.2 the CW. Normally I do not watch “church on TV.” I have been a sorry excuse for a believer for most of my life. I watched your sermon and it resonated with me. You talked about escaping the traps of spiritual childhood. And I was convicted when you stated that many people accept the free gift of salvation but they didn’t want to accept the work and responsibility of their sanctification, their growth as a Christian. I have been that person. I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that he died and rose again to atone for my sin but I’ve never gone much beyond that, and because of that my life has been kind of a train wreck. I’m tired of that. Recently I have been taking a more active role in my relationship with God. Setting aside time for prayer and time to read my Bible. I believe I am seeing more depth and more of a sense of God’s presence. I’m trying to be more obedient, to be a “doer of the word not just a hearer”…

…I don’t know what the point of this letter was but I wanted to say thank you for encouraging me to be more than a “Peter-Pan” Christian and to take an active role in my sanctification as a grateful loving response to God’s gift of salvation. I would ask that you pray for me and I think that I will continue to watch your Sunday program. Thank you again for your program. I wanted you to know it impacted me. Thank you for your time and prayers.

Yours In Christ, Prairie du Chien Correctional

Pastor Tim and JF Believers Church,

…I am an inmate and have been incarcerated for, well, it will be five years February 18th and I happened across your service one Sunday morning and the services have become a bright spot in this dark place. And to my surprise, I am not the only one who looks forward to your services. The unapologetic way you preach the word is so refreshing. The hard-hitting truths of the Bible are what I need in my life and what all followers of Christ need. For far too long I have been lulled to a place of complacency. Well really I have been lulled to sleep and have been sleepwalking for 36 years of my life and it wasn’t till October 4th, 2020 which beautifully is my mother’s birthday she is a woman who loves God with all her heart and has been praying for me my whole life. But that Sunday morning you were preaching about Peter being called out of the boat and onto the water and you said, “Sadly, Christian, this is where most Christians will bow out” and those words cut me deep and I said to God, “Please don’t ever let that be me” and to give me the courage to step out of the safety of my boat and onto the raging waves. And I can’t explain what happened next and I know I don’t need to but shook me to my core and I knew what I had to do. …And just so you know, the light of Christ you are shining is reaching into this dark place and is reaching the dark and cold hearts of this prison so thank you for your obedience to our father and I pray God blesses you, your family, and your church.

With love, Stanley Correctional Institution.

Dear Living as Free Chaplaincy,

I’ve been watching your ministry on television for a few months now (it’s moved me spiritually I must say). I’m not sure what the minister’s name is (light brown hair and beard and slightly bald) but his message is so good and powerful. I just want to thank him and Chaplain Ryan’s message to explain further. Awesome. I’m from Minnesota, 59 years old. In my twenties, I tried to be a good Christian. Circumstances were bad. …Sunday’s message February 8, 2021, moved me enough to write you. Because I am not only for myself in Christ-like you say it’s we go and give of ourselves…I just want you to know I’ve been watching church on T.V. a lot since the pandemic. And for many, many years. And your message is the most powerful and able for young to learn as old that I’ve ever known. Thank you, thank you…

 I love your ministry. Utica, Minnesota

February 1, 2021 Pastor Jason Gilbert | Menomonie

Every year we are encouraged both secularly and spiritually to look back, to reflect, to consider the past, and to ponder the future. In this past year, many of our worldly distractions have been stripped away. Yet despite this, many of us still find it nearly impossible to stop, to reflect, to consider God, and to remember what He’s done.

This Hebrew word selah is found 71 times in the book of Psalms, as well as a smattering of other places elsewhere in the bible. Nobody knows exactly what this word means, so most translators leave it in the original language. Though Scholars debate as to its exact meaning, most conclude that selah could be interpreted to stop, to pause, to weigh in the balances, to value, to praise, to lift up.

Our Duty

Nearly everyone would agree that the concept of selah is a good idea. Even the secular world promotes stopping, thinking, reflecting, and meditating as healthy habits. Yet in the bible, the concept of selah is more than a good idea, it’s our duty.

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
Psalm 46:10 (ESV)

In fact, Jesus reprimanded his disciples for not stopping and reflecting. He said,

“Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?”
Matthew 16:9-10 (ESV)

John Flavel, a puritan author from the 1600s, tells us, “meditating on the providence of God is our duty because God has expressly commanded it, and called His people to make the most serious reflections upon His works, whether of mercy or judgment.”

Our Present

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 (ESV)

The word know in this verse means to see, to perceive, to behold. Yet are we doing that? Are we stopping to see, to perceive, to behold… all things (i.e., our job, our upbringing, our relationships, our family, the age in which we live, where we live, nature, the seasons, our friends, our church, the authorities in our lives, our challenges, our victories, our weaknesses, our strengths)? Even if we love God and are called according to His purpose, we will miss the consolation of this verse if we fail to stop and to recognize God’s handiwork.

As John Flavel put it, “Praise and thanksgiving for mercies depend upon this act of observation… and cannot be performed without it.”

Our Future

The practice of selah isn’t just about our present state of mind. But will have a profound effect upon our future.

Before David faced Goliath, he considered how God had rescued him in the past…

And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
1 Samuel 17:37 (ESV)

When faced with hardship, Paul confidently hoped in the future, recalling God’s previous deliverance…

“He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”
2 Corinthians 1:10 (ESV)

Quoting John Flavel, “O that we were but acquainted with this heavenly spiritual exercise, how sweet it would make our lives, how light it would make our burdens! Ah, sirs, you live estranged from the pleasure of the Christian life, while you live in the ignorance or neglect of this duty.”

Our Choice

Here’s the crux. We all agree that the concept of selah is good for our soul. But let’s be honest… It’s just not that important to us. We are too busy, have too many responsibilities, are needed elsewhere, have other commitments, other desires, and just frankly don’t have time for this…

Yet in all our chaos… God pleads with us that we might stop… Take some time to acknowledge Him… and meditate upon His care for us…

As Isaiah put it,

“Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master’s care— but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognize my care for them.”
Isaiah 1:3 (NLT2)

Does that describe us? Let’s be honest.

It’s our choice. What will we do with selah?

January 1, 2021 Pastor Tim Dodson | Menomonie

2 Ch 15:15 “… they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around.”

Many of us…yes even those who claim the mantle of faith, are “restless” today. We are unsettled and jittery. We have the attitude, “If I could do this, then I would find rest. If I could get this, then I’d have rest. If I could just manage this level, then I’ll be rested.” Yet we never get there, and we never know what it really means to be at rest in Christ.

Hebrews 4:7 says, “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice’…” It doesn’t say “If you will do this thing or that thing.” It’s clear that He actually wants us to hear His voice! Israel saw the hand of God for 40 years in that wilderness, but they never came to a point where they actually knew God. They just kept looking …kept wandering. They “always went astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways. So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’”Ironically, that peace was, for 40 years, literally within their reach, and yet they never laid hold of it. It was right before them the whole time and yet they died out there, just as so many of us will.

Coming out of Egypt’s slavery, the people moved forward just far enough to come right up to the Promised Land, that place of promise. God said, “I’ve got this land of milk and honey. I’ve got this land of wealth, this land of rest, this land of safety, and I want to give it to you.” The people got right up to the river’s edge…they could literally see it from where they stood, but because of fear, because they didn’t really believe God despite all He had already done, they respond with, “Oh, I don’t think so….there is giants and battles over there. I think I will stay here where it’s ‘safe.’”  They were so close, but still missed it by a mile…

And so God answered, “Ok, …alright… fine. No rest then. Wander.” Yet even after His people rejected His invitation into the rest…after they choose rather to wander around the desert year after year, God, on some level, still blessed them. The scriptures say that He led them through the wilderness by a cloud during the day to shade them and by His fire at night to show them the way.  He provided food to eat every day and gave them shoes that never wore out.

But year after year, the offer remained: “Come to my house. Know that peace that I created you for.” And yet, as they wandered—by the hand of their own doing, remember—they actually had the incredible audacity to start complaining! They grew bitter and angry, and pretty soon, they were all up in Moses’ face and each other’s too. Sound familiar? It ought to. It’s happened here in front of you enough times that this should be a familiar story. And what happened to them? What happened to those that we have witnessed on that road? The same thing that happened to the Israelites. They died out there. They lived their lives and died out there in the wilderness.

Oh yes…God loved them! But they never really knew Him! They ate that same bland manna every day and grumbled about it, even though God didn’t want them eating manna any more than they wanted to eat it. But that was the result of the decisions they had made and were still making! He wanted them to have big chocolate chip cookies and pudding at His house, but no, they wanted to wander around in the wilderness instead and then grumble about it! 

“Today, if you hear His voice…” Do you? Are you even in a place to hear Him today? He’s trying to talk to you, but where are you? Angry? Bitter? Harboring ill feelings toward Him? How many of us are in the wilderness and yet still want to insinuate that it is somehow His fault or the fault of other believers that we are there. Yet those individuals made it a second career to try to wave you off and coax you over to God’s house for pie and coffee, or in this case, “milk and honey,” but you wouldn’t go. CS Lewis once commented “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

God is still calling you, even if you are like so many out there in the wilderness today. You can turn around and come home. Turn around and find that peace, that rest for your soul that God wants to give you. Go back to that place where you told God “no” and ask for another chance. Step across the river and find rest for your soul. Ps 116:7-9 “Let my soul be at rest again, for the Lord has been good to me… He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. And so I walk in the Lord’s presence as I live here on earth!”

December 1, 2020 Pastor Jason Gilbert | Menomonie

“The life of a Christian consists very much in our love to Christ. Without love to Christ, we are as much without spiritual life as a carcass when the soul is fled from it is without natural life.” – Thomas Vincent (1634-1678)

Thomas Vincent ministered at the time of the London Plague, the last major outbreak of the Bubonic plague in England. Seven from his household died as a result of the plague. This article is based on excerpts from his final work, “The True Christian’s Love to the Unseen Christ”. It is intended as an encouragement to keep our eyes on what matters, despite present circumstances.

Conviction of Sin

While surrounded by sickness, Vincent declared the greatest illness to be sin, preventing us from loving Christ. He said, “If you would attain true love unto Jesus Christ, you must get conviction of sin… The prevailing love and liking of sin is inconsistent with true love unto Jesus Christ… While your hearts go after your covetousness, or your voluptuousness, or are set upon any other wickedness, your hearts cannot be set upon Christ. Before you can love Christ, your hearts must be taken off from sin.”

He continued, “Look upon sin as the most mischievous thing in the world. If there be any evil in any temporal calamities; if there be any evil in future miseries, in the extremity and eternity of hell’s plagues and punishments, be persuaded that there is far more evil in sin, which is the cause of all.”

What is the most mischievous thing to us? Do we find fault in the present circumstances… or in other persons? Or is the greatest mischief within our own hearts, keeping us from loving Christ?

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
John 14:15

Christ’s True Love

The greatest need in Vincent’s time was not for medicine, but for love… He said, “Christ loves you with the truest love. There is little true love in the world; you have many that truly hate you, and there is much dissimulation in the pretend love and affection of some; all that flatter you do not truly love you… But love in deed and truth… where there is the greatest need, that is rarely to be found.“

He continued, “None do or can love you with such a true love as Jesus Christ. There is no flattery or dissimulation in His love. His love is not the least counterfeit. It is not the least selfish and for His own ends. He does not love you to receive good from you, but that He might do good unto you.”

Where do we look to have our greatest needs met? To the world? To other Christians? Or to Christ’s love?

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”
John 15:9

Our Duty to Love

Despite personal tragedy, Vincent reasoned, “It is your duty to love Christ. If it be your duty to have natural affection unto parents and children, it is much more your duty to have spiritual affections unto Christ. If it be your duty to have conjugal affection unto your earthly husband and wife… if it be your duty to love brethren, sisters, and kindred that love you, it is a greater duty to love Christ, who loves you above all relations… who is your best friend.”

He continued, “Christ has the most right to your love, and will you not give to Christ His due? If you are bound to give men their due, are you not much more bound to give unto Christ His due?”

In times of difficulty, who has the right to our love? Does the world? Does another person? Or does Christ?

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.”
Matthew 22:37-38

The Christian Life

Perhaps our Christian life consists of regular church participation, faithful Christian service, healthy Christian fellowship, daily bible reading, prayer, and moral uprightness…

But is there any true love unto Christ? Is our greatest conviction our own sin? Is our greatest need Christ’s love? And is our greatest duty found in loving Christ?

Vincent said, “Faith without love to Christ is a dead faith, and a Christian without love to Christ is a dead Christian.”

Let it not be said of us. May we be known, above all else, by our love to Christ.

The True Christians Love to the Unseen ChristDownload