January 19th, 2024
“I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith”. Philippians 3:7-9 NLT
Fasting strengthens our faith because it reminds us that nothing else can compare to the infinite and eternal value of Jesus and Him alone. The time we have spent in prayer this week also leads us to understand that more important than anything we can see, touch, or feel, the most real thing is the supernatural and what is happening around us that we cannot begin to comprehend. But where are our treasures stored? Are they in earthly performance, and preserving this life? Or are we preparing for our new home: Heaven?
Everything in this world tells us what is here is reality, and to not concern ourselves with things we cannot see. But the Word says faith is just the opposite. Faith “shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see”. (Hebrews 11:1 NLT) Because we live in these earthly vessels, we so often ask Jesus to come to us, to meet us here in our circumstance or situation (and He does and will)… but we must remember and live for the truth that one day, we will go to Him. The Word says that He has set eternity in our hearts because we are citizens of Heaven.
So perhaps when things aren’t as we suppose they should be it’s because we’re only foreigners here and we have a deep, insatiable hunger for something we haven’t yet experienced but have faith for—our new home with Him. Hebrews 11 tells story after story of our great Bible heroes, all who had great faith and big dreams for God to do miraculous things on this earth. But 11:13-16 (NLT) sums something up well that maybe we should consider today: “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
Anytime we have been somewhere beautiful or experienced something truly wonderful, we can’t help but want to share it with others. We tell stories, post photos, we tell people: “you should go there, you should see this!”. A few years ago, we took our kids on an adventure out west to see the Grand Canyon. The trip was marked by “oohs” and “ahhhs” as we saw wonders of God’s creation all along the way. We kept trying to take pictures, to show friends and family how breathtaking and awe-inspiring the views were. But nothing compared to seeing it with our very own eyes. Finally, we concluded that in order to understand, “you just had to be there”.
The invitation from the Lord is always to experience His goodness, His love, and His mercy for yourself— not just through someone else’s stories or encounters. He wants to show YOU things you’ve never seen in Him. He’s inviting you to peek into eternity, where you’ll feel more at home than you ever have—in His presence. How can we not want that for ourselves and everyone we know? Heaven is our new home, and we want to spend eternity together!
“Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here…” Revelation 4:1
The invitation is clear and there is just nothing more precious than Jesus. Nothing else holds any weight to His glory!
Will you read Hebrews 11 with us today?
Again, we couldn’t just choose one song: Hymn of Heaven and Homecoming (click to listen)
As we conclude this week’s emails, may we reflect on this: ”The fact that our hearts yearn for something Earth can't supply is proof that Heaven must be our home." C.S. Lewis
The church will be open this morning at 7am and we cannot wait to worship with you tonight at 7pm. You don’t want to miss this time—we feel the Lord moving in a new way. We’re coming expecting things that have never been—we are so hungry for Him, and our spirits are renewed knowing that His mercy is for us! It’s out with the old and time for NEW THINGS!
We love you, church!
Pastors Josh + Tori
Fasting strengthens our faith because it reminds us that nothing else can compare to the infinite and eternal value of Jesus and Him alone. The time we have spent in prayer this week also leads us to understand that more important than anything we can see, touch, or feel, the most real thing is the supernatural and what is happening around us that we cannot begin to comprehend. But where are our treasures stored? Are they in earthly performance, and preserving this life? Or are we preparing for our new home: Heaven?
Everything in this world tells us what is here is reality, and to not concern ourselves with things we cannot see. But the Word says faith is just the opposite. Faith “shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see”. (Hebrews 11:1 NLT) Because we live in these earthly vessels, we so often ask Jesus to come to us, to meet us here in our circumstance or situation (and He does and will)… but we must remember and live for the truth that one day, we will go to Him. The Word says that He has set eternity in our hearts because we are citizens of Heaven.
So perhaps when things aren’t as we suppose they should be it’s because we’re only foreigners here and we have a deep, insatiable hunger for something we haven’t yet experienced but have faith for—our new home with Him. Hebrews 11 tells story after story of our great Bible heroes, all who had great faith and big dreams for God to do miraculous things on this earth. But 11:13-16 (NLT) sums something up well that maybe we should consider today: “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
Anytime we have been somewhere beautiful or experienced something truly wonderful, we can’t help but want to share it with others. We tell stories, post photos, we tell people: “you should go there, you should see this!”. A few years ago, we took our kids on an adventure out west to see the Grand Canyon. The trip was marked by “oohs” and “ahhhs” as we saw wonders of God’s creation all along the way. We kept trying to take pictures, to show friends and family how breathtaking and awe-inspiring the views were. But nothing compared to seeing it with our very own eyes. Finally, we concluded that in order to understand, “you just had to be there”.
The invitation from the Lord is always to experience His goodness, His love, and His mercy for yourself— not just through someone else’s stories or encounters. He wants to show YOU things you’ve never seen in Him. He’s inviting you to peek into eternity, where you’ll feel more at home than you ever have—in His presence. How can we not want that for ourselves and everyone we know? Heaven is our new home, and we want to spend eternity together!
“Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here…” Revelation 4:1
The invitation is clear and there is just nothing more precious than Jesus. Nothing else holds any weight to His glory!
Will you read Hebrews 11 with us today?
Again, we couldn’t just choose one song: Hymn of Heaven and Homecoming (click to listen)
As we conclude this week’s emails, may we reflect on this: ”The fact that our hearts yearn for something Earth can't supply is proof that Heaven must be our home." C.S. Lewis
The church will be open this morning at 7am and we cannot wait to worship with you tonight at 7pm. You don’t want to miss this time—we feel the Lord moving in a new way. We’re coming expecting things that have never been—we are so hungry for Him, and our spirits are renewed knowing that His mercy is for us! It’s out with the old and time for NEW THINGS!
We love you, church!
Pastors Josh + Tori
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