Category: Pastor’s Notes

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

June 1, 2019 Pastor Jason Gilbert | Menomonie

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.

May 2, 2019 Believers Church

Foundation

Some time ago I watched a piece online about the foundation and structure that was designed to support the Target Center in Minneapolis. I have to tell you, the amount of planning that went into creating the subterranean structure was beyond my comprehension and quite awe-inspiring. Most home foundations today are a fairly simple design. Once the engineering is figured out and they establish the requirements for a worthy base, a crew will dig down and develop a level place in the ground. Then they will lay down a gravel bed underneath and construct forms to pour a concrete footing; one which the entire weight and structure of the house will rest upon. It wasn’t simple for the arena when they built it. If you know anything about the Minneapolis sub-terrain, you know that there is an unseen cliff which passes under the city and right under the Target Center. It is hidden beneath all the relatively level ground where we walk or drive.

In addition to that, there are both natural and man-made tunnels that meander under the city. Because of these underground issues, much research went into how to create a stable structure to support the large facility. To raise a solid stable structure above; one that would last, the architects had to thoroughly know and understand every aspect of what lay beneath the ground. One of the chief designers said that the foundational under-structure of the event facility is a work of art and a feat of engineering; one that would sadly never again be seen by anyone. While unseen, it’s still down there, doing its job. The truth is, the only visible proof of the quality and durability of the foundation is the obvious and visible stability of the structure built on top.

We all want stability

People long for stability today. Beyond architecture, they look for it in family, business plans, purchases, love interests, government, and finances, to name a few. There is something within all of us that sees stability as a good and desirable trait.  Few people enter into anything without at least considering its stability. We recently acquired a used car. Days of test-driving one after another passed when we settled on the most stable option for the price. Believe me, we test-drove some that outwardly looked like an amazing deal, but driving proved unnerving. One particular car, the engine ran roughly and many parts would rattle. It looked good outside but something was wrong. Needless to say, we walked quickly away from that one. Similarly, caring parents desire stability for their sons and daughters as they begin to leave the nest; good friends-circle, good spouses, good jobs, healthy lives, etc. But true and lasting stability is only possible when it is established upon a sure foundation. Before you can build a stable structure, you need a good foundation. It takes time and effort to make the base solid enough to build something lasting on top. Laying the right foundation assures the potential for strength, and knowing your foundation informs your possibilities and outlines your limitations.

Solid Rock

I am sure you are aware that the Bible makes reference to this concept when it comes to our own righteous stability. The Apostle Paul said to the Corinthians, “For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1Cor 3:11) If you are one of God’s redeemed, you have a firm and sure foundation beneath you to build your life upon. Jesus is the unseen foundation beneath us. There is something comforting about that, isn’t there? For the Christian, we’re guaranteed heaven, we are safe from hell. We have a unique but universal purpose, acceptance, all things that pertain to life and godliness, and the spirit of God to empower us to walk in His will. Our God is perfect and His word infallible. He is our Foundation; He in us and us in Him… firmly connected. This is also something equally daunting as well. Consider this for a moment, is the stability of what is visible in your life reflective of your unseen foundation? It should be, shouldn’t it? The fact that perhaps it isn’t says something about your understanding of your foundation, or it says you lack the true foundation.

Religion or Relationship

In our day, it is easy to take an intellectual approach to Christianity instead of a relational (intellectual = no foundation, relational = with foundation). Another way to say it is, do you find yourself attempting to live in accordance with the philosophy of Christianity or in a loving relationship with Jesus? One is man’s religion and the other is the way of the Savior; one is false and one true. Which one are you?

What Jesus says…

Jesus spoke about two builders in Luke chapter 6. One chose to build his house on the sandy topsoil while the other dug down to find a solid rock to build upon. On a nice sunny day, I’m certain that both of those houses would have looked equally livable and capable. But when the wind and the rain rose up against them, the first house “immediately collapsed and the ruin of it was great”, Jesus said. Only one stood through the storm unshaken; the one built on the rock. For Jesus, this was a metaphor of two different people’s lives; two different attitudes.

In the parable, Jesus describes the “on-sand-builder” as one who did indeed called Jesus “Lord”, but he never did what Jesus told him to do. –no foundation, religious, intellectual. Jesus actually says to him, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I tell you?” The other one, the “on-rock-builder”, also called Jesus Lord but he obeyed his Lord’s voice as well. –with foundation, relational.

If Christianity, to you, is just metaphorical and philosophical, you are without a foundation. Therefore, it’s likely you don’t pray much, you find yourself in transgression often, feel obligated when you do anything for God and are more concerned about “acting” good. On the other hand, if Christianity, to you, is practical and relational, you are standing on the good foundation. This means you talk to God often, repent a lot, seek the Lord’s will daily, and desire His presence with you in most all things. In other words, doing what He says…

So, what can be seen of your life is evidence of what is unseen. What does your house look like? More on this subject to come…

Pastor Tom

April 1, 2019 Pastor Tim Dodson | Menomonie

On Television

Well over a year ago, JFB began an ambitious project that involved broadcasting our services on the CW network out of both Eau Claire and LaCrosse Wisconsin at 10:00 am each Sunday morning. When we made that decision, we did so with a missional albeit realistic heart of knowing, or at least understanding, that the likelihood of increasing our attendance was a longshot at best. But for us, that was never the point. We wanted to increase the kingdom attendance. So we stepped out into the crazy world of TV and multiple volunteers have worked diligently each week to make this project a reality. On a fairly regular basis we have heard from those who are out there watching which is wonderful and certainly reinforcing, and then…

Suddenly we started hearing from the dark. Perhaps you are unaware of this unique place we live, one aspect of which is the multiple state correctional facilities within a couple of hours drive time from Menomonie. This caveat may have no specific bearing upon your life, but apparently, it did upon our Tv broadcast. For we have already heard from inmates in 6 of those prisons, and they are watching…take the example below:

One of several recent letters

2 / 21 / 19 – Dear Pastor Tim,

My name is ……………. and I am currently incarcerated at New Lisbon Correctional Institution in New Lisbon, Wisconsin. I’m actually from Menomonie, though. In 2008, I actually visited Jesus Fellowship of Believers a couple times. I had just come home after serving 4 years in the Army and had lived on 9th next to Our Savior’s. I’d call myself a Christian for years, 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 McDonalds makes you a hamburger.” I was really good at going to church, but I was a terrible Christian, if one at all.

So, why am I writing you? I’ve been in prison for 3½ years and will continue to be until 2031, and will have to serve part of that in Minnesota prison. I finally gave my whole heart to Christ and made Him Lord of my life in 2015 with my knees hard-pressed on a cold concrete floor in a jail cell. I’d hit rock bottom after I turned myself in. I lost my wife, my kids, my home, and my career because I believed the lies of the enemy and molested my step daughter. I’ve spent the past 3½ years growing closer to God and studying Scripture. I even enrolled in Bible college through correspondence courses. We are blessed here with a chaplain who is on fire for prison ministry but, I still often find myself needing to be fed spiritually. I’ve moved past the milk and desire more meat. Understandably, the message preached at the services here are usually along the lines of a “milk” message.

Recently, our institute 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!

For His Glory, 2 Timothy 2:21

Correctional Ministry

Now we might be wonderfully pleased by the letters we are receiving, but since when has “wonderfully pleased” been enough for us? So with 25 years of correctional ministry under our belts, we have lit upon a unique and, we hope, a creative pursuit to answer what we see as a golden opportunity. We are currently praying and moving forward on expanding our TV ministry into the very next 30 minute slot after our current Sunday service. In that ½ hour we are looking to develop a ministry TV broadcast engineered to specifically meet the needs of the believer that is incarcerated in those state facilities. This broadcast would have some footage from our regular Sunday services, and then application commentary from others, mostly our chaplain Ryan O’Gara, and lastly other media material directed toward discipleship and maturation of those who have turned to Christ despite being incarcerated. As far as we know, no one as attempted such an outreach endeavor in this manner. One reason of course, is few have the plethora of “captive” audience that we have within our reach via broadcast TV and at a cost that is affordable. The potential is unlimited, but of course so are the unknowable battles we may come up against. Please pray for this endeavor and wisdom on the part of your community leaders. And of course, if you feel so inclined, more volunteers for this ministry would be welcomed! Thank you for being a part of it…financially, prayerfully, and in unity!

PASTOR TIM

March 1, 2019 Pastor Jason Gilbert | Menomonie

As of late, the subject of spiritual growth has come up at various times in conversation around the church.  Visitors have asked how they can take the next step in their spiritual growth through what is available at the church.  Those in discipleship class were surveyed and asked what areas they would be interested in learning more about.  Their answers boiled down to holiness, sanctification, and spiritual growth.  In conversations with my wife, we too have discussed our need for spiritual growth.  I think we all know what a Christian is.  But the rub is in actually being a Christian.  We know who Jesus is.  We just aren’t living, serving, thinking, acting, or loving like Him… at least not as much as we’d like to be.

Addressing the Need

So how do we address this need for Spiritual Growth in our lives?  I see some of us looking for a short cut to our Christian maturity.  We think that if we just understood the right truths or had a certain spiritual experience, we would then be a mature Christian.  That is the formula for becoming a Christian, as we come to know who Christ is, who we are as sinners, surrender of our lives to God, and experience the supernatural comfort of the Holy Spirit.  That is the process of becoming a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).  But it’s the beginning of spiritual maturity, not the end.  The question many of us have is, “Where do we go from here”?

Sanctification and Holiness

The Bible addresses spiritual growth using terms like sanctification and holiness.  Though both terms can be applied to a Christian’s new standing with God immediately upon salvation (Acts 26:18, Heb 10:10), they are also used to describe the life-long progression of each Christian toward spiritual maturity (1 Thes 4:3, Heb 12:14, 1 Peter 1:15-16).  As a child grows into physical maturity, so we as Christians are called to grow in spiritual maturity (Heb 5:12-13, 1 Cor 13:11).  The difference being that our physical maturity peaks at age twenty, whereas our spiritual growth continues to the day of our death (2 Cor 4:16, Phil 3:12-16, 2 Tim 4:7).  Note that according to this metaphor, our spiritual maturity takes longer than our physical maturity.  We should therefore not look for short cuts to sanctification. 

There is no secret knowledge to being holy.  There is no one-time experience that will make us a mature Christian.  Those seeking such will experience at best oscillating spiritual maturity, and at worst discouragement, frustration, and loss of faith.  We cannot become spiritually mature if we only drink spiritual milk… We must move on to the meat.

Progressing in Spiritual Maturity

How do we progress toward spiritual maturity?  I recently got into a couple of conversations on this very subject.  One visitor to our church said he had been reading the bible, listening to solid preaching, but realized he was not growing spiritually.  He then confessed that what was missing was other people, the Christian community, the church.  He had neglected the church and for that reason, had stunted his spiritual growth.  Another person recently returned to church who had been away for some time.  I asked him why he was back.  He said he came back because had only experienced spiritual growth while he was here, and hadn’t grown since he left.  I could relate.  I read my bible for years without being any more than a church attender…  But it wasn’t until I surrendered my life not only to God but to a particular community of believers, that things began to change. 

God Given Tools

God has given us several tools to grow up.  I think everyone would agree that He has given us His word to build us up (Acts 20:32). And that He has given us His Spirit to transform us (2 Cor 3:18).  But where are we practicing obedience to His word?  And where are we exercising the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit?  It certainly doesn’t happen at home in our favorite chair nestled under an afghan.  God has given us other people, the Christian community for the purpose of sharpening our understanding of God’s word.  God has given us the church as a place to employ the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit…

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,  until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,  so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” –Ephesians 4:11-16 (ESV)

Taking Full Advantage

Perhaps you too are seeking spiritual growth.  If it seems like it is taking forever, I want to encourage you.  It is a life-long process.  No one has arrived.  The real question is in how you address your need for spiritual growth…  Do you look for short cuts? Are you seeking some special knowledge?  Do you chase after spiritual experience?  Or will you make use of the tried and true methods of practicing God’s word and exercising God’s Spirit with and through God’s community, the church?  May we take full advantage of all the tools God has given us to grow in spiritual maturity… And not become short sited in our pursuit of the goal… That one day we may be found holy, unblemished, and perfect in His sight.

February 2, 2019 Believers Church

Repeat

It’s hard to see, but we are often creatures of routine. Unkept calendars and schedules often become a redundant prison that keeps us contained until death, and to top it off, the older you get the faster time goes by. We often hear the Christian life is an adventure. Christian literature paints pictures of lives that appear so foreign to our own yet we rarely stop to ask ourselves why. When we read the Bible, we can look past the lives of the historical figures on the page to mine for meaning beyond the words; nuggets of knowledge that will allow us to feel good about ourselves for the time being. The alarm goes off; it’s morning. Time to wake up and do it all over again.

Disconnected

Do you have a routine? For me, the routine starts when my phone begins beeping. I get up and let the dog out to do her business. Then it begins… a series of choices. Repeat or renew? Before we get into this, I need to warn you. A life that is moving forward with God has to indeed be “with God”. Honestly, I think this is the key issue when it comes to truly living. But for most of us our schedules do more of the driving than God. It’s not His fault but ours.

Many Christians attempt to live disconnected from God and instead go by what they know or believe or think. They believe they already know what God would want, they just need to do it. It’s like our lives are a Rubik’s Cube puzzle that we just need to solve and so we start twisting it until we make all the colors match. Oh, don’t get me wrong, there’s prayer but its superficial, generalized, and riddled with requests for God to bless things; things we already know we want or have already set in motion. It’s more like speaking wishful words into the air than having a real conversation. I hear the words of Paul echoing, “…having begun in the spirit, are you now being made perfect in the flesh?”

Alas, living like this keeps us imprisoned. We’re not moving forward. You’re not living your life, your life is living you. And what makes it worse is that people can’t see there is something missing in the equation. So, they look deeper into the Bible to make sense of who they are while missing the point.

John 5:39 says, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me…” Listen, Jesus said this to the Pharisees. Are you a Pharisee? Doing rather than being makes us unintentional Pharisees. Living lives trying to do a level best to stay on track for heaven. Nothing more. The alarm goes off; it’s morning. Time to wake up and do it all over again.

Reset

Have you ever been working on a computer, things seem to move along well when all of a sudden everything locks up? If you forgot to save your work it’s a real pill. Thankfully, hours of IT Crowd has taught us that we need to try turning it off and on again; hit the reset button. When we do, things seem to go much better. How do we reset as Christians? It’s simple math. First of all, we need to come to terms with the fact that 6 + 0 does not equal 7. Well of course, right? Yet it seems this is the equation we are trying to make work every day with our lives. We count our fingers and use calculators to try to make 6 + 0 equal 7… it never does. The alarm goes off… you get the idea.

Our spiritual lives are incomplete without the missing integer. You + Nothing does not equal “moving forward”. It only equals “incomplete”, “perpetual motion”, “repeat”. What am I saying? You and I can only “move forward with God”… with God. Oh, how we try to do so without him, don’t we? The only way to break the repeat cycle is by including God. If your life has been on repeat, start with repentance. Imagine how the Christian life would be so different for us if we learned to repent to God (with words) instead of trying to manage or control our sins!

From there, talk to God more about your life. Are you angry or bitter at someone? Talk to God about it. Do you have plans for your family? Talk to God about it. Are you wondering how to handle a person you work with? Talk to God about it. Don’t just operate like you know what He would have you do… remember, God is the one who told Joshua to march around Jericho playing music for 7 days. That’s not exactly the most sensible battle plan. God chose David, a weak little boy among strong brothers, to defeat Goliath. He does amazing things, indeed, but both Joshua and David were people who talked to God. They moved forward because they included him in the equation.

Renew

For 2019 and beyond, I encourage you to stop living your life on repeat. It’s time we make changes in our day to actually converse with God… connect with him about what’s actually happening in our lives… include him and commune with him regularly. Maybe we drop the superficial prayer altogether and get away on Saturday mornings once in a while just to hear him better, and seek to put him first conversationally when we make plans for our future and our days. Perhaps we pause more often to listen for his voice. You + God = Moving Forward. When you do that, your life will begin to look more like Peter James and John and less like a redundant prison. The Pharisees had no functioning relationship with the one they referred to as “Father”. That was their error. Don’t make the same mistake. Get alone with God and be renewed day by day.

January 1, 2019 Pastor Tim Dodson | Menomonie

Well, that was fast! 2018 was here and gone overnight it seemed. The church, and its pastor, is another year older and a year closer to home. I don’t know that I have gained any wisdom like that of Solomon, but I have garnered some of the same attitudes and cynicism.  Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:9 that “History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.” Yes old king…there really is “nothing new under the sun!”

After nearly 30 years a part of this fellowship, I have noticed that time so often has a way of repeating itself. I often remark from the pulpit that life is so very fast and fleeting…that we all get but “one pass” through it…and we need to make our time count, with zeal and thankfulness. What I usually get back is “blank stares” of seeming “blank understanding.” You know that body pain you felt this year that you never felt before? That’s what I’m talking about.  Ahhh, “tick-tock, tick-tock….”

As Paul sat chained in a Roman prison, waiting for his imminent execution, he wrote to Timothy saying “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:6–8)

Paul was confident as he neared the end of his life that he had finished well. Sadly, however, just a few sentences later he had to write concerning one of his coworkers saying “Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica” (2 Timothy 4:10).

So two men who had ministered together — Paul and Demas — mentor and mentoree, both finishing very different than the other.  One endured and finished the race and looked forward to the crown of righteousness. The other man peeled off, deserted his mentor, and was never heard from again. Demas was apparently a promising young man with a promising future, yet as far as we know he did not make it to the end. May we note that the stumbling point was that Demas “was in love with this present world.” Yes…that’s the killer punch…that’s the toxic poison that gets us every time.

I do not pretend to have some magic answer on this issue. But I do know that our walk in Christ cannot ever be static… cannot ever be “level.” Unless we are growing, maturing and advancing today in our discipleship and faithfulness, we are most assuredly slipping backward! We are fighting or we are retreating. We must be more and more in love with Jesus, or we will fall more and more in love with this world.

And so very many folks have ignored those warnings until it was too late and are now essentially wandering around Menomonie like spiritual derelicts… no place to go, no place to call home, and nothing to do accept clutch white-knuckled to their pride. It’s a sad thing to watch as their lives melt away and all that is left is a memory of what used to be! But I do not speak of such with any kind of elitist attitude or an incredulous spirit, but rather with a personal “fear and trembling,” as I know I too must continue to “work out my own salvation.” (Philippians 2:12)

What will 2019 hold for you personally? Will you broaden your world? Reaching out beyond your comfort zone and take on new challenges and therefore new blessings? Pastor John Piper says that he has come to the conclusion that there are four fundamental actions that a person can take to help them finish well. They are:

  1. daily time of focused personal communion with God
  2. daily appropriation of the gospel
  3. daily commitment to God as a living sacrifice
  4. daily firm belief in the sovereignty and love of God

Note that the key word here is “daily.” That’s appropriate, because whenever we speak of time, there is no tomorrow, just “today.” 

My desire for JFB as well as all the souls who make up its community is that we boldly step into the next year… excited and zealous to live large for Christ, and always packed and ready to catch that final flight home…

Php 3:13  “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead…”

Pastor Tim