None Forgotten
Victoria Walsh (Montana, USA)
A Samaritan, who was on a journey, came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. - Luke 10:33 (CEB)
It has often intrigued me that Jesus commended a social outcast in his parable about the good Samaritan. But until recently, I hadn’t paid attention to the fact that of the ten lepers Jesus healed, the only one to return and thank Jesus for healing him was also a Samaritan (see Luke 17:11-19). And the woman at the well to whom Jesus revealed himself as the Messiah was a Samaritan too. (See John 4:3-42).
At one time I acutely felt on the outside of society, labeled and misunderstood. I saw no way to become more connected to other people. But Jesus Christ reached out and healed me. His living water quenched my thirst of body, mind, and soul. And he brought people into my life to whom I could be of service, which restored my dignity and allowed me to feel needed. Jesus always sees our true worth and lifts us up to that level.
Jesus not only accepts those the world ignores; he often gives them special recognition and attention. No matter our status or circumstance, none of us is forgotten by Jesus.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Dear Lord, thank you for helping us when we feel forgotten by others. Help us to see our true worth. Amen.
TODAY'S READING
Luke 10:25-37
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
No one is an outcast in Jesus’ eyes.
PRAYER FOCUS
Those who feel excluded
You Are Never Alone
By Pastor Ray
6/14/2020
God wants you to know you you were never alone and you're not alone now...
I know many people going through a very difficult time right now. Our nation is in a struggle. Everyone is struggling in some way. Whatever struggle you’re going through right now, I can assure you, you’re not alone. You have God in your corner.
But have you ever felt like God is a million miles away? Have you ever wondered where God was during your struggle? On the very first Easter morning, right after Jesus’ Crucifixion, the disciples wondered the same thing. In Luke 24, we learn about one pair of these disciples who were walking down the road to Emmaus, talking about all that had transpired over the past few days — Jesus’ arrest, beating, crucifixion. They were trying to make sense of it all. They thought Jesus was the Messiah! Their dream was crushed! But they heard reports that Jesus’ grave was empty, and they were very confused.
Suddenly Jesus himself came alongside of these disciples and joined them in their journey. Yet they were in so much grief, they didn’t notice him. Jesus asked about what they were discussing, and so the disciples let him in on the discussion. Jesus went on to share Old Testament passages that explained the events that had taken place. That night, as they ate dinner with Jesus, the Bible says that “Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!” (Luke 24:31 NLT)
Imagine what that experience was like for these disciples. The guy they thought was God was crucified and dead. Then they hear he’s been resurrected, but they don’t believe it. Then a stranger walks along the road with them, eats with them, and suddenly they realize that it’s Jesus himself! And then he disappears.
The point is this: these disciples couldn’t see Jesus in their grief. They didn’t recognize that God was walking with them in their grief. They needed God to show himself to them. And you need the same.
Whatever you’re going through right now. Some of you have some major losses recently. You may have lost loved one, your health, a job, or a relationship. When you have a major loss like that, you may have missed the fact that God has walked through the entire experience. You were never, ever alone during that time and you’re not alone now.
You couldn’t see him then, but he was there. And maybe you are not aware He is with you now, but He is. No matter what you go through in life; He is always there with you because He cares for you more than you’ll ever know. He is with you right now.
Whatever you’re going through today, pray, “Lord reveal yourself to me. Help me to understand that no matter what I’m going through today, I’m not going through it alone, You are with me and you’ve promise to never leave me, never forsake me.” He wants you to see him. He wants you to know you were never alone and you’re not alone now.
I love you and look forward to seeing you soon!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
How to Live in a Fractured World
By Pastor Ray
6/11/2020
Dear Friends,
This has been a difficult year in many ways. Our nation has plummeted into one crisis after another. First, we were attacked by a silent killer, the coronavirus. Followed by shelter in place orders which adversely affected so many in so many ways, financially, socially, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally. Now we are facing a civil unrest crisis with injustices, angry protests, assaults on innocent people including our police and the constant stream of partisan pundits in the media shouting at each other 24/7. On the nightly news we witness horrific violence in our streets. Our nation is severely polarized and splintered into groups that demonize each other.
How do we as followers of Jesus respond to all the anger we see erupting today? How can we be Peacemakers, rather than Troublemakers? How can we lead the way and become examples to follow to those around us? Here are five important ways from the Bible:
Affirm the dignity of every person
God has created every person with dignity. You cannot give dignity to someone; they already have it. It comes from God. You can only affirm or deny it in others. Love affirms the dignity of every person. Ps. 8:5
Celebrate diversity
Every person is unique. You are not one in a million, you are one in nearly 8 billion! If you have a problem with people different from you then you have a problem with God. Racism and prejudice are like telling God he made a mistake because He did not create everybody like you. God wants us to be colored blessed, not color blind. He wants us to celebrate diversity. If you are not into diversity, you will not like heaven very much!
Strive for unity and community
God never intended for us to go through life alone, lonely, and without the support of other people. God wanted a family, but he wanted it to reflect diversity. The church should reflect that. "Jesus, who makes people holy, and those who are made holy are from the same family" (Hebrews 2:11 NCV).
Remember Life's Purpose
The Great Commandment is learning to love God more and learning to love people more. If you do not do that; you have missed your main purpose on this planet. But how can I love people that I disagree with? You can be an agent of love with someone different from you when you learn to look at them (pay attention), listen to them, and learn from them. We can all do that.
Work for reconciliation
Followers of Jesus are called to be facilitators for reconciliation. Matthew 5:9. We are to be peacemakers, not troublemakers.
Society is quickly headed towards a dead-end. We will either end up with a social breakdown or a spiritual breakthrough. Pray with me daily, for a spiritual breakthrough, a spiritual awakening in our nation. Affirming dignity, celebrating diversity, striving for unity, remembering your purpose, and working towards reconciliation.
It will be so good to see you again! I love you and I'm praying for you,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
You Don't Have to Be Afraid to Die
By Pastor Ray
6/4/2020
Dear Friends,
As I laid on the operating table, the surgeon asked, "How do you feel?" I said, "I have peace." It was just before a four-way coronary bypass surgery. I had perfect peace because I knew where I was going should something go wrong. I can say with absolute confidence and humility, I have no fear of death. Why? Because I've settled the issue, I know where I'm going. I have God's promise of eternal life.
It's the promise that when you die you can go to heaven if you trust in Jesus.
John 3:16,
"For God so loved the world
(That includes me. That includes you. God so loved you...)
that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him
(Notice it doesn't say believe and be perfect, believe and never sin.0
(He just says believe.)
Whoever believes in him...
(That's the one condition)
shall not perish but have eternal life."
This is the greatest promise in the Bible!
Jesus Christ came to earth (that's what Christmas is about) and then died for your sins (that's what Easter is about) so you don't have to pay for your sins. He was hung on the cross so you can quit hanging yourself on a cross and feeling regret, resentment and rejection and shame and guilt and stuff like that.
But Jesus didn't come to earth to just forgive your sins. That's part of it. He didn't just come to earth to get you into heaven if you trust in him. He also came to eliminate your fear of death. I meet people and hear of people all the time who are afraid to die. When I hear that my heart breaks. I feel deeply sorry for people who are afraid to die, because I know they don't have to be afraid, if they would simply invite Jesus into their lives. It's one of the reasons Jesus came to earth. To remove your fear of death. Hebrews 2:15 says,
"Jesus came to die for us so he could free us from living all our lives as slaves to the fear of death."
People don't like to talk about death. It's the last taboo. If you don't believe me, invite some people over for a barbeque and then say, "Hey, let's talk about death!" Watch what happens. People don't like to talk about death because they're unsure. They're unsure what's going to happen when they get to the other side. But we're all going to die someday. So, isn't it foolish to go all through life unprepared for what you know is inevitable? Of course! That's called denial. The truth is, you're not ready to live until you're ready to die.
But the most important message of the Bible is that death isn't the end of you. Invite Jesus into your heart and life. Get to know him in a personal relationship. Not a religion. God wants a relationship with you. Ask Jesus into your heart, ask him to forgive you of your sins, do your best to live for God each and every day and he will give you a peace in your heart, an assurance of heaven, and will remove the fear of death from your heart and mind.
I love you and look forward to seeing you soon!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
"How to Lower Your Stress"
by Pastor Ray
5/31/2020
Dear Friends,
Life has a way of wearing us down. Unexpected things happen; uncontrollable things and we get stressed. How do we reduce the pressure in our life when we feel overwhelmed? The secret to reducing the pressure in your life is found in a single statement by Jesus in Matthew 11; He says, "Come to Me all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you...you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy..." Jesus says, to find rest we do three things...
Turn to Jesus. Not a pill. Not a drink. Not a laxative. Not food or TV or any other form of escape. Jesus says if you want to lower your stress you must, "Come to Me." How do you do that? You get alone together with God. You find a quiet place without interruptions, read the Bible (I recommend Psalms), you pray about those things stressing you, listen to calming worship music, and all of a sudden your focus begins to shift from your problems to His power, from your circumstances to His control, from your situation to His sovereignty.
Give up Control. Next He says, "Take My yoke upon you." A yoke is a wooden frame that joins two farm animals together. The purpose of the yoke is to make your load lighter, because the load is shared in a partnership. A partner comes by your side and helps you carry your load. Jesus says, "I want to be your partner in life, I want to help you carry your burdens." The reason we get stressed-out is we try to carry things on our own. Yet God didn't wire us that way. He didn't wire us to handle the stresses of life by ourselves. That's why we have so many physical problems when we're stressed.
Jesus says, "My yoke is easy". Question - Are things easy in your life? If you are feeling overloaded right now it means one thing. You're not properly yoked to Jesus. Oh sure, you may be on your way to heaven but you're going there stressed out! Any time you get under stress it means this - you are not properly yoked. You're carrying the load by yourself. You must give up control.
Learn to trust. Jesus said, "you will find rest". Rest happens when you trust. You stop trying and you start trusting. Trust that He knows what's best for you. Trust that He's for you and that He has your best interests at heart. Trust that He knows what's happening in your life and He knows how to bring good things out of bad.
Turn to Jesus, Give Up Control and Learn to Trust.
Turn to Jesus, Give Up Control and Learn to Trust.
Turn to Jesus, Give Up Control and Learn to Trust.
If you have to say that 50 times a day to get that in your spirit, do it! Because that is the secret to reducing the stress in your life.
I love you and look forward to seeing you soon!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Stand Your Ground
By Pastor Ray
5/29/2020
Dear Friends,
God uses people who are persistent. People who do not know how to quit. Jesus said in Luke 9,"Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God." The secret to success is to keep on keeping on.
Do you know what a Majestic Oak tree is? Just a little nut that refuse to give its ground. You stay planted. You stay the course. You continue going to church. You continue serving God. You continue believing God and eventually God makes you into a Majestic Oak, a person of beauty and strength.
As you stand your ground, others will criticize you and the devil will temp you, count on it! Successful people always get criticized. The secret of success is to outlast your critics. You cannot allow others to discourage you. The Bible says resist the discouragement. "...keep on doing what is right for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't get discouraged and give up." Gal. 6:9 Don't give in without a fight.
Anything worthwhile in life takes effort, energy, and endurance. Nothing worthwhile is easy in life. You've just got to keep on keeping on. Great people are just ordinary people with an extraordinary amount of determination. It's always too soon to quit. Quitters never win and Winners never quit. Don't get tempted sit on the sidelines in your Christian race. The devil wants nothing more for you to quit. Resist temptation and discouragement.
Life is tough, there is no denying it. This is not heaven. Things are not perfect here on earth. And as you go through life, you get tired and you get discouraged. You begin to doubt yourself and you begin to doubt God and you start thinking things like, "Maybe this serving God isn't what it's all cracked up to be!" You start having doubts. "Maybe if I let off the pedal a little bit and became a lukewarm Christian - I know I'm going to heaven, but I don't really try to live for God - maybe it would be easier." Big mistake! What do you do when your mind is filled with doubt and discouragement, when you are tempted, when you feel you're at the quitting point and you want to give up? What do you do?
You resist it. You tell the devil, "No way! I'm not going to fall for that trap!" and then you pray as David prayed, "Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer." Ps. 94:19. The renewed hope and cheer comes from spending time with God, meditating God's word. In "His presence" is fullness of joy! "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Ps. 16:11 Stand your ground, hang in there and God will restore your joy!
I love you and look forward to seeing you soon!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
What Really Satisfies
By Pastor Ray
5/24/2020
Dear Friends,
King Solomon wrote about it. The Rolling Stones sang about it. People everywhere are seeking it but can't get no satisfaction. What's the secret to happiness? That question was asked to thousands of Americans in a national poll, "What would it take to make you happy?" Their answer was, money, sex, things, friendships, being in love, getting married, having kids, finding a better job, retiring, graduating, success, power and recognition. Is there anything wrong with any of those things? No. The problem is they don't ultimately satisfy you.
We all know people that have power, pleasure, possessions, prestige, popularity, but are they ultimately satisfied? No. By popular opinion, happiness is based on having the right circumstances. It's what I call "when & then" thinking. When I make more money... When I get out of debt... When I get the new job, or new house, or new car... When I get married, when I get unmarried, when I have kids, when my kids leave home! This is circumstantial happiness. It's no wonder there are so many stress-out, over-worked and dissatisfied people. God says, "You're looking for happiness in all the wrong places."
In the Bible God says, "Why spend your money on something that is not real food? Why work for something that doesn't really satisfy you? Listen closely to me, and you will eat what is good; your soul will enjoy the rich food that satisfies." Isa. 55:2 The first step is to realize what you're really hungry for. Most people don't understand what's missing. That void inside, that emptiness, that boredom, what's missing is God. God made you to love you and for you love Him back and nothing will ever take the place of that, nothing.
When you were born God created you with a physical appetite to keep you alive. If you didn't have an appetite you would just waste away, because you'd never know your need for food. Also, when you were born, God gave you a spiritual appetite, so you would get to know Him. And nothing else will ever satisfy that hunger. No situation, no person, no circumstance, no event, nothing else will satisfy that spiritual hunger. Money can't, fame can't, prestige can't, possessions can't, power can't, drugs or alcohol can't. None of those things will ultimately satisfy you. They can't, because what's missing is spiritual.
You have a spiritual appetite that can only be filled spiritually through a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Not religion, but a relationship. God made you to live in relationship with Him. Only a relationship with God through Jesus Christ can ultimately fill that void because that's why you were created in the first place. That's why Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again." Jn. 6:35a (NLT) Deepen your relationship with God through daily Bible reading, prayer and developing friendships with other followers of Jesus.
I love you and look forward to seeing you soon!
Pastor Ray
Remember What Will Never Change
By Pastor Ray
5/19/2020
Dear Friends,
Life is constantly changing. It changes all the time. And of course, a crisis like COVID-19 changes things faster. One day you have a job, the next day you don't. One day there's someone there that you love and the next minute they're not there anymore. Life constantly changes, especially in a crisis.
But there are some things in your life that never do change. You need to anchor yourself to those certainties or you're just going to be blown around by the circumstances of life. No matter what happens in life, there are some things that never change. Remind yourself of these things:
Remember that God is still in control. He's still on His throne, He's still calling the shots, in spite of the crisis. The reason why so many people live in fear is because their lives are beyond their control. All the major things in your life you don't control. You didn't control who your parents were, when you were born, where you were born, what natural gifts you were given. You don't know how you're going to die or when. You don't control the economy, you don't control the weather, you don't control the past, you can't control the future. You can't even control what's going to happen to you tomorrow. The one thing you can control is your attitude and your response and that's a big issue. The truth is I can't handle everything that's going to come into my life. But I don't have to. God will. The secret of crisis control is Christ control. I let Him handle it. Lam. 5:17-19.
Remember that God loves YOU and will NEVER stop loving you. Other people may stop loving me, but God never will. Jeremiah says this, "... But there's one other thing I remember and remembering it (God's love) I keep a grip on hope. God's loyal love couldn't have run out. His merciful love couldn't have dried up. They're created new every morning. How great is Your faithfulness." Lam. 2:19-23 He never stops loving you. Virus' are not punishment. Accidents are not punishment. A lot of people think when something bad happens, "God's getting even with me!" He is not! You don't understand God at all if you think that's happening. Bad things happen, this is not heaven, they're not punishment from God. God will never stop loving you.
Remember that God is all you need. You're never going to know that, until God is all you've got. There will be probably a time in your life when all you've got is God. But if you've got God then you've got everything else you need, because He will supply everything else. Jeremiah says "Deep in my heart I say, The Lord is all I need. I can still depend on Him." Lam. 3:24 (CEV). You don't have to know all the answers if you know God does.
I love you and look forward to seeing you soon!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
3 Things to Do in a Crisis
By Pastor Ray
5/16/2020
Dear Friends,
Some counties in our state are beginning to open back up for business. But the affects, the physical affects, spiritual affects, relational, emotional, and financial affects, will last a long, long time. So how do you recover from a crisis? How to you move on? You do 3 things. Three things to do in every crisis:
Accept what cannot be changed. There are a lot of things in your life you can't control. In fact, most of the things in your life you can't control. The only way to overcome them is through acceptance. Acceptance is the key to peace. Acceptance is the key to serenity. Acceptance is the key to getting on with your life. You may have already lost a loved one. I'm sorry, but no matter how much you wish it were different, it's not going to change. Acceptance is the key to peace.
That's also, by the way, faith. Faith is not pretending that things are great when they're not. Faith is accepting the facts of life, accepting reality but not being discouraged by it. That's real faith. Accepting reality but not being discouraged by it. You say, "I believe God's still with me and He's going to help me out."
Focus on what's left, not what's lost. Make a list of the things you can be thankful for. "I'm still alive. God still loves me. Others still love me." You can make a long list. Gratitude destroys depression. Remember that, memorize it. Gratitude destroys depression. It is impossible to be grateful and depressed at the same time. When you're depressed, make a list of things you can thank God for, and you will find those dark clouds rolling away as you build the attitude of gratitude in your life. Jonah 2:7, "When I lost all hope (he was depressed) I once again turned my thoughts to the Lord." You need to do that.
Believe God will restore you. Trust Him to. Believe God will help you recover from the tragedy you've just gone through. You have to believe, you have to expect, you have to anticipate that God's going to restore you. David prayed this in Psalm 27 "I would have despaired unless I believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." He said, "I wouldn't have recovered unless I had believed God, unless I had expected that God would help me."
I don't know what you've been through in life, all the pain. And I don't know all the pain you're experiencing right now. But I do know that God loves you and you can make it through any situation if you will trust Him. If you learn to accept what you cannot change, replace depression with gratitude and believe God will restore you. I do know that no matter what you're going through, God can heal you.
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Three Antidotes to Fear
By Pastor Ray
5/15/2020
Dear Friends,
In a crisis such as COVID-19, we feel all kinds of emotions. We feel grief, we feel confusion, we feel anger, we feel frustration, we feel anxiety. You have to deal with all those emotions and more. But there's one emotion that is more deadly, more damaging than all the others and that is fear.
Frustration does not paralyze you. Anger does not paralyze you. But fear does. If you're going to get on with your life after a crisis, you're going to have to deal with the root of fears and anxieties. Jeremiah prayed this in Lamentations 3L55-57 (Mes) "From the bottom of the pit I cried out to You, O Lord. And when I begged You to listen to my cry You heard me. And You answered me and told me not to be afraid." The Bible tells us how to do that. It gives us the antidotes to fear. Truth, love and faith.
Truth is an antidote to fear. Jesus said, "The truth will set you free." How is that an antidote to fear? Because most fears are based on ignorance or false information. You have to replace the fear with truth in your life. The more you fill your life with God's word - God's truth - the more truth you have in your mind the less room there is for fear. You put in the truth and the truth will set you free.
The second way you get rid of fear is by filling your life with Love. The Bible says, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear." It pushes it out. So, the more of God's love you have in your life the more you're going to be confident and the less you're going to be afraid. If you have a lot of fears in your life it means one thing: you don't understand God's love. Love is always greater than fear. Read all the verses in the Bible about God's love for you; that will drive out fear. The more you understand God's love, the less fear you will have.
The third thing that reduces fear in your life is Faith. Faith doesn't eliminate the feelings of fear. It gives you the courage to do what you need to do in spite of how you feel. That's what faith does. Faith is moving against your fear despite how you feel. It's a shield against fear.
Where do you get Faith and Love and Truth? What is the source of those three antidotes to fear? A relationship with God. The more you get to know God the more you're going to have His truth, His love, His faith in your life. What I'm saying is this: all those fears you've got in your life; the antidote is not a formula. The antidote is a person. His name is Jesus Christ. The better you get to know Him, the less fear you're going to have. "I prayed to the Lord and He answered me, freeing me from all my fears." Ps. 34:4 Notice it says "He answered me..." The antidote to your fears is not a formula it's a person. It's Jesus Christ.
God let you read this so He could say this to you: "Don't be afraid. Don't worry. Don't fret. Don't get anxious. Don't forget that I can help you. You don't have to be afraid. You don't have to live with fear."
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Finding the Strength to Go On
By Pastor Ray
05/14/2020
Dear Friends,
This week some Americans are trying to re-open businesses, trying to get back to as normal as possible after being shut down for weeks. Of course, many are still shut-in, and business still shut down. There was a national poll taken this week that says most Americans are plagued with worry and stress. The majority have clearly been devastated by the virus crisis and subsequent shut down of the economy. Many don't know how to get on with their lives and they don't know what to do next. What do you do after facing a major blow to your normal way of life? Where do you find the strength you need in a crisis?
The strength you need begins with focusing your attention on God. You must make time to be quiet. Get alone with God, just be with Him and listen to Him. Lamentations 3:28-29 (Mes) "When life is heavy and hard to take go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions. Wait for hope to appear."
Did you know that God wants to talk to you? I've met a lot of people who are "open minded" but they don't think at all that God would ever talk to them. The reason He doesn't is they don't take time to listen. The number one reason why we don't hear God talk to us is we're too busy. You know on Mother's Day when you try to call your mom and it says, "All circuits are busy." Does God ever get a busy signal from you? When was the last time you just sat down and were quiet for 10-15 minutes? You didn't read anything. You just sat there in quietness and asked "God, is there anything You want to say to me right now?" And you just sat and listened.
I want to challenge you this week to set aside a time every day, a quiet time - 10 minutes. Maybe 15 or more, but just start with ten - where you go out in your back yard or you sit at a table in your favorite chair, get a cup of coffee, a cup of tea, a coke or something and you sit down and read God's word (start in Psalms) because God wants to speak to you through His word, the Bible. Or you just listen to His word. And then you just be quiet. And you say, "God, is there anything You want to say to me?" If you'll do that for ten minutes a day this next week you will be amazed at the spiritual strength you have, at the new energy, at the new direction that you have if you'll just connect with God on a daily basis.
Tragedies have a way of refocusing our attention and they tend to focus us on the things that really matter in life, that really count. The most important priorities in life. Have you noticed in a tragedy that everything slows down? That's not necessarily a bad thing friends. Because sometimes we're so busy we can't hear God. We need to slow down. I want to share with you this poem about slowing down:
Slow me down, Lord.
Slow me down, Lord.
Ease the pounding of my heart through the quieting of my mind.
Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me in the midst of confusion of my days the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tension of my nerves with the soothing music of the singing streams that live within my memory.
Help me to know the restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art of taking minute vacations slowing down
to look at a flower,
to pat a stray dog,
to chat with an old friend or to make a new one,
to smile at a child
or to read a few lines from Your word.
Remind me each day that the race is not always to the swift, that there is more to life than just increasing its speed.
Let me look upward into the branches of the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well.
And help me to focus on You, not my loss, nor my worries, nor my stress."
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
My Prayer for all Moms
By Pastor Ray
5/10/2020
Father, I thank you for the mom reading this and I honor her. We honor all the many different kinds of mothers today. Today is the first time in history that Mother’s Day as we’ve known it is very different due to COVID-19, but I pray all mothers will feel our love and honor today.
You asked us to “weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice” so that’s what we do today.
We pray for all moms today…
We ask you to comfort those with heartaches today. Forthose who’ve lost their mothers, moms who’ve lost a child through miscarriage or death, for step moms who struggle with blending a family, those with foster children, for moms who have a broken relationship with a child, for those who’ve been hurt by a child, those who’ve wanted to be mothers but it hasn’t happened, those who’ve struggled with infertility…
We also celebrate with the moms in our church… those who gave birth this year to a new baby, those who have adopted or welcomed foster kids, those who welcomed grand-babies this year, those who serve as spiritual moms to many, those who are carrying precious babies inside of them right now…
We thank you for our moms in every stage of life; the mothers of preschoolers whose work is never finished, moms of grade schoolers who have been at home these many weeks due to the coronavirus, moms who feel both the pride and ache of an empty nest, grandmothers who pray for both their families and our church family-
On this Mother’s Day, we commit ourselves to honoring, loving, and protecting the mothers in our lives and our church family, and we thank you for the gift of mothers.
In Jesus name… Amen.
My Tribute to all Mothers
By Erma Bombeck
“When God Created Mothers”
When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was into His sixth day of “overtime” when the angel appeared and said. “You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.”
And God said, “Have you read the specs on this order?” She has to be completely washable, but not plastic. Have 180 moveable parts…all replaceable. Run on black coffee and leftovers. Have a lap that disappears when she stands up. A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair. And six pairs of hands.”
The angel shook her head slowly and said. “Six pairs of hands…. no way.”
It’s not the hands that are causing me problems,” God remarked, “it’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have.”
That’s on the standard model?” asked the angel. God nodded.
One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, ‘What are you kids doing in there?’ when she already knows. Another here in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn’t but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say. ‘I understand and I love you’ without so much as uttering a word.”
God,” said the angel touching his sleeve gently, “Get some rest tomorrow….”
I can’t,” said God, “I’m so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick…can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger …and can get a nine year old to stand under a shower.”
The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. “It’s too soft,” she sighed. But tough!” said God excitedly. “You can imagine what this mother can do or endure.”
Can it think?” Not only can it think, but it can reason and compromise,” said the Creator.
Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek. There’s a leak,” she pronounced. “I told You that You were trying to put too much into this model.”
It’s not a leak,” said the Lord, “It’s a tear.”
What’s it for?”
It’s for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness, and pride.”
You are a genius, ” said the angel.
Somberly, God said, “I didn’t put it there.”
Happy Mother’s Day to all moms! I love you and I’m praying for you specifically today!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
How to Maintain Your Joy
By Pastor Ray
5/7/2020
Dear Friends,
If there is one thing, we need during COVID-19 and the continuing shut down of our state, it’s joy. How can we maintain our joy? Joy doesn’t come through external circumstances, but rather through internal choices, you choose the right attitudes.
But how do you maintain those right attitudes? As you study the life of Jesus, you notice that He lived under difficult circumstances. He was constantly under pressure. He was constantly under great demand. Crowds were always pressing up against Him, always asking for things. Also, He was constantly misunderstood and criticized, and yet He never lost His joy. There are many things you can learn from the life of Jesus that will help you maintain your joy:
Know who you are. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” Jn. 8:12. He said, “I am the Good Shepherd.” Jn. 10:11. Eighteen times in the Bible Jesus said, “I am”. The first step towards maintaining your joy is to know who you are. Why is this important? Because if you don’t know who you are, other people will tell you who you are! And you probably won’t like that. Until you know who you are, you’re going to be constantly pressured and stressed to be what other people want you to be. If you don’t know who you are, you’re going to be insecure and you’re going to succumb to the pressure to prove yourself.
Know who you’re trying to please. Not only did Jesus know who He was, but He knew who He was trying to please. Jesus said things like, “Your approval or disapproval means nothing to me…” Jn 5:41 (LB) How did Jesus maintain His joy? He knew who He was and who He was trying to please. At some point in your life, you must settle this issue. “Who am I going to please? Will I live for the approval of others, or God?” Because you can’t do both. Until you settle this issue you will tend to fear others, because you’re living for their approval rather than God’s. You’ll be stressed to cave into the pressures and manipulations of others.
Know where you’re going. John 8:14 (NIV) Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going…” This is the third key. God has a plan for your life. There’s a reason why you’re here. You’re not an accident or mistake, God has a special purpose for your life. Knowing that purpose helps you maintain your joy and happiness. The deeper your relationship with the Lord, the more you will understand His purpose for your life. His will is found in a relationship with Him. May God bless you with His joy this week!
I look forward to seeing you all soon! I’m praying for you,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
You Are Not Alone In Your Valley
By Pastor Ray
5/5/2020
God is God, not just of your mountaintop experiences, he’s the God of the valleys too. God says, “I am the God of the valleys. I’m not just a God of the good times in your life. I’m not just a God of the happy times in your life. I’m not just a God when everything’s going smooth. I’m the God of the valleys too.”
Life is a mixture of good times and bad times, ups and downs, highs and lows, mountains, and valleys. Today, I want to remind you of God’s Goodness, even in your valleys. Even in your darkest days God says, “I’m there and I’m there with you.” “The Lord is my Shepherd; I have everything I need. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the right paths for his name’s sake. Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me!” Psalm 23:1-4
The Valley of the Shadow of Death is an actual valley in Israel. But valley’s in scripture are also a metaphor for difficult times. Valleys are a symbol of difficult times in your life. God says, “I’m not just the God of the mountaintops, the peak experiences in your life. I am the God of the valleys, in the times of darkness, the times of despair, the times of defeat, the times of discouragement.” Because the truth is, most of your life and my life, are not lived on the mountaintops.
Valleys are inevitable. You can’t avoid them. They’re going to happen. Don’t be shocked, don’t be surprised, you’re going to go through valleys in your lifetime, you’re not always on the mountaintop. 1 Peter 4:12 says this, “Don’t be surprised when you are tested by troubles or painful suffering, as if something unusual is happening to you.” Don’t be surprised. They are a part of life. He says it’s going to happen. You don’t say, “Why me?” You say, “Why not me? I’m alive.” You have problems in your life not because you’re a bad human being. You have problems in your life because you are a human being.
I don’t know what kind of valley you’re going through right now. It may be a financial valley, it may be relational, you’re going through a real tough time. Maybe you’re in a valley of sorrow or grief. Maybe you’re going through a physical illness in a valley of disease or sickness. I don’t know what kind of valley you’re in, but I do know the antidote, Psalm 73:28, “As for me, God’s presence is all I need! I’ve made the Sovereign Lord my shelter.”If God is the Sovereign Lord of your life, he is your shelter. I don’t need anything else; as for me, God’s presence is all I need. Remember, you not alone in your valley.
I love you and I’m praying for you,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
This Too Shall Pass
By Pastor Ray
5/3/2020
Dear Friends,
It’s May already, we’re behind curve in the virus crisis, but the state shut down continues and most everyone is restless. The truth is, we’re in more than one crisis. There’s the physical crisis COVID-19, but there’s also the emotional, spiritual pandemic and for many a financial pandemic. Doctors and scientists are addressing the physical pandemic, my goal is to help you with the emotional and spiritual side affects that have turned our lives upside down.
I heard a story one time of the devil. He was in hell and he called all his demons together and said, “We’ve got to think up a way to stop Christians. How can we neutralize them, so they don’t spread the message?” One general of the devil’s army said, “I know what we’ll do, we’ll tell Christians that the Bible is full of lies.” Satan said, “No, that’s not going to work, we’ve tried that for 2000 years and that doesn’t work.” Somebody else said, “We’ll tell Christians that God does not answer prayers.” Satan said, “No, that won’t work either, they have too many examples.” A third guy said, “We’ll just discourage them.” And Satan said, “That’s it!” When Satan wants to stop you in your tracks, he does it through discouragement.
What’s got you discouraged today? If the social side effects of COVID-19 have you down, that is completely normal and understandable. Maybe your discouraged over your finances, or a relationship. Whatever it is, don’t give into discouragement without a fight. Resist it. A person’s greatness is not determined by their talent or wealth or income or education. Your greatness is determined by, what does it take to discourage you?
One of my favorite beaches is Asilomar Beach, Monterey. I like to go down to the ocean and sit and think and pray. I’ve noticed that when the tide goes out, the beach is strewn with all kinds of debris, dead plant life, sea life, but one of the things I’ve learned about life is that the tide always come back in. You may feel like it’s low tide in your life right now. Things don’t look good, things aren’t going your way, you’re not happy with the situation you’re in right now. You’re at a low period in your life now. Many of you don’t know what to do. Hang on! The tide always comes back in! You’re going to get through this pandemic! Regardless what the some say, things will get back to normal! If there are lasting changes, they will be good changes that should have been implemented long ago.
Robert Schuller wrote a book Tough Times Never Last But Tough People Do. That’s true. Tough times never last. You may think, “I’m never going to get out of this.” But this too shall pass. Like the fellow who was asked, “What’s your favorite verse?” He said, “It came to pass.” Luke 5:1 and about a dozen other places! When problems come, you know they didn’t come to stay but they came to pass.
Hang in there, the crisis will pass, and the state shut down will pass. I look forward to seeing you all soon! I’m praying for you,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Jesus Feels and He Heals
By Pastor Ray
5/1/2020
Dear Friends,
The Bible teaches the real you is a spirit (that’s the part of you that will live forever), you have a soul (your mind, intellect and emotions) and you live in a body. My soul is the part of me that thinks, that chooses, and that feels. It’s your mind, it’s your will, and your emotions and these really determine who you are. The problem is, it’s very easy to get these three damaged. Can your mind be damaged? Of course it can, by what you put in it, by experiences, by trauma, chemistry, all kinds of things. How about your emotions? Yes. Can your will be damaged? Yes, we don’t always do what we want to do. Our minds are broken. Our emotions are broken. Our wills are broken.
The good news, God says, “I want to restore your soul. I want to restore you to wholeness. I want to restore your mind and will and emotions to health.” That’s one of the things the Good Shepherd does for His sheep. “The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures… he restores my soul.” Ps. 23:1-2. How does he do that? How can he restore my soul?
Jesus can restore your soul because he understands you. He understands your grief, he understands your hurts, so he knows how to heal your heart. He’s been there. He’s experienced it too. He understands. He came to earth and became one of us so he’s experienced all of the loneliness that people experience, all of the betrayal that people experience, all of the hurt, all of the rejection that people experience and he came to feel your grief and heal your heart. That is the goodness of God. The Lord is your shepherd.
Isaiah 53:3-4 says, “He was despised and rejected by others.” Maybe you were despised at school. Maybe you were despised because of a handicap or the color of your skin or because you’re female or male or whatever. If you’ve been despised, Jesus understands. He was despised. He was rejected. Jesus understands that hurt. There’s no hurt you can experience that he doesn’t understand. No grief. Why can Jesus understand my grief? He has experienced it all.
He understands, but he just doesn’t understand. He doesn’t just feel, he heals. Ps. 147:3, “He heals the brokenhearted and he binds up their wounds.” I don’t know what’s broken your heart. Some of you, your heart’s breaking right now. I’m sorry. The fact of life is Jesus says, “I feel, and I can heal what you’re going through.” What are you doing with your grief? Maybe a loved one has passed. Maybe you just got fired at work. Maybe you just go, “Does anybody want me? Does anybody care? Does anybody notice me?” There’s that ache in your heart. What do you do with that ache? You take it to Jesus because he feels, and he heals and he wants to restore your soul.
I love you and I’m praying for you!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Remember Your Value
By Pastor Ray
4/30/2020
Dear Friends,
If you’re following the Good Shepherd, Christ, he’s not going to lead you in the pathway of the rat race. He’s going to lead you to lay down in green pastures and he’s going to lead you beside still waters. Signs of tranquility and peace.
How does he do that? One way is reminding you of your value. This is the exact opposite of what culture says that your identity is based on your work. This is so counter-culture because when you meet someone for the first time, one of the first things they ask you is “What do you do?” as if what you do is your identity. It is not. Your identity comes from God.
The heavenly Father created you and God doesn’t create anything without value and purpose. The fact that God created you and Jesus died for you means you are priceless, and you are a masterpiece. And you are unique. Nobody is ever made like you. God doesn’t make clones or copies. That shows your value. Jesus didn’t die for junk. The Holy Spirit lives in you. God put His spirit inside you when you trusted in him. All three of these shows, how incredibly valuable you are.
It’s not what I do that gives me worth, but who I belong to. For some of you this requires a major change in your thinking because you grew up feeling, “I’m a nobody. I’m not priceless. I’m not a masterpiece. I’m not unique. I’m not valuable.” Yes, you are. Growing up, somebody told you, maybe a teacher or maybe a peer or maybe even a parent, said, “You’re nothing, you’re a nobody. You’re worthless. You’re never going to amount to anything.” In the back of your mind, you filed that tape and ever since then, you’ve been thinking, “I’ll show them. I’ll show my mom. I’ll show my dad.” And that is driving you to work, work, work. There’s a little voice that says, “You’ve got to prove you matter.” No, you don’t.
You don’t have to prove your worth. You’re already extremely valuable. God created you. Jesus died for you. The Spirit lives in you. You’re unique. You don’t have to prove anything to anybody. You don’t need their approval to be happy. You don’t need their approval to be worthwhile. God says you’re worthwhile. Jesus’ death says you’re worthwhile. The Spirit living in you says you’re worthwhile. Why would you be concerned about what anyone else says?
James 1:18, this is what God says about you. “God decided to give us life, through the word of truth, so that we might be,” here it is, “the most important of everything God has created.“ Do you realize you’re more important than the moon, than the Milky Way? Did you know that in God’s book, you’re more important than all of the rare flowers, trees, animals and all of the beauty of all of the other creation? You matter more than the rest of creation. Why does it matter what somebody else says about you? If God likes you, they’ve got a problem. You can relax in God’s goodness.
I love you and I’m praying for you!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Relax and Give God Your Worries in Prayer
By Pastor Ray
4/28/2020
Dear Friends,
God wants you to relax. He wants you to give him your worries in prayer. You say, “Jesus, just take these things I’m worried about,” and you just hand them over to him. You’ve heard me say, “Make a list of your blessings.” But sometimes, you need to make a list of worries too. Sometimes you have this sense of, “I don’t know what it is, but I just feel anxious. I feel a little uptight, a little nervous.” And you really know what’s causing it. When that happens, you can go, “God, I give you my worries in general,” but it’s even better to go, “What’s really causing me to worry?” Then write them all down and then one by one you give them to God. You say, “Here’s the list Lord. Here’s some stuff that’s on my mind. I’m not going to worry about them anymore. Now they are Your worries.” 1 Peter 5:7 “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you.” You say, “God, here’s my list of worries.”
Jesus said in Matthew 6, “For the people who don’t know God, they run after all these things.” They think, “Do I look good? Do I have the goods? Do I have the clothes? Do I have the food? Do I have the appearance? Do I have the right jewelry? The people who don’t know God run after all these things. That phrase “run after” literally means, “they’re frantically seeking…” It’s scurrying here and there. When I think of this verse, “they run after these things”, I think of shopping crowds at Costco or the supermarket, during this crisis we’re in. They’re scurrying, “I’ve got to stock up! I’ve got to make sure I get enough! There’s a limited number of items so I’ve got to get there, and I’ve got to elbow and push my way through the crowds!” Jesus said, people who don’t know God act this way. They’re frantic, running, grabbing. They’re hurrying and scurrying all the time. Remember this: Hurry creates worry. Hurry creates worry. The faster you go in life, the more likely you are to worry. You need to slow down. You need to relax.
Psalm 23 says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…” When the Lord is your shepherd, you don’t have to worry, because He will provide for you. Every day say, “Lord, you are my shepherd, I don’t have to want, I don’t have to worry.” Every time you start to worry, just say, “Lord, I give this worry to you.” Don’t hold on to it, don’t think about it later. Just say, “God, take that one. I don’t have time to think about that. Take that worry.” And you just keep loading them on Him. He can handle it. He wants you to relax and give your worries to Him in prayer.
God is good all the time! I love you and I’m praying for you!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
God's Goodness Gives You Hope
By Pastor Ray
4/26/2020
Dear Friends,
Is God good all the time in your life? What about the times when you're in pain? Is God good when you're in pain? What about the times you're out of work? Is God good when you're out of work? What about the times when you're depressed? When you're stressed out? When you're worried? When you're locked-down and can't go anywhere due to COVID-19? Is God really good all the time? How do I know that goodness when I don't feel it?
We're going to look at God's goodness for the next few days and specifically, we're going to look at the most famous chapter in the entire Bible, Psalm 23. More people know this Psalm than any other chapter in the Bible because it's all about the goodness of God.
It's important to remember how good God really is, because when you forget how good God really is, you become pessimistic about the future. You lose your hope. If God isn't good, there is no hope.
David tells us this in Psalm 27, the connection between hope and the goodness of God. In Psalm27:13-14 he says this,
"I would have despaired... unless I had believed that I'd see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." He goes, "Man, there would be no hope if God was not a good God. We would be up a creek without a paddle. I would have been in despair." But he says,
"Instead, I thought, 'wait for the Lord!... (I don't see the answer right now; I'm going to wait for the Lord.)
Be strong, let your heart take courage! Yes, wait for the Lord!'"
The point is, hang-in there and you'll see the goodness of God in your life.
If you are fighting depression these days, if you are fighting discouragement these days, if you're fighting doubt these days, if you're fighting despair, do two things. Number one, stay focused on God's goodness. Start focusing on all the ways that God has been good to you. Get your eyes off the problems and get your eyes on all the things God has done for you. Make a list. Count your blessings. Second, stay tuned to the daily encouragement that I'm sending out this week, they're going to be dispensers of hope.
Hope is anticipating God's goodness. The only reason you have hope is because God's a good God. The foundation of all hope is the goodness of God. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you." God has plans for your life. "I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good." Why? Because he's a good God. God only has good plans for your life. He does not have bad plans for your life. The more you understand God's goodness, the more hopeful you're going to be in life.
I love you and I'm praying for you!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Praise is Your Weapon
By Pastor Ray
4/24/2020
It was a very unconventional battle strategy. Israel’s on one side of the valley, three enemy nations are on the other side of the valley, its 3-1 odds. So, Jehoshaphat says, “Okay guys, here’s the battle strategy. Those of you who can play a musical instrument, you guys who are good at music and singing, I want you to get out in front of the army. And as you march out against the enemy, you’re just going to start singing, ‘Thank You God! Thank You God! I’m praising You God! You’re a great God! And all the guys with weapons will be behind you.” What’s going on? Patton would have had a heart attack. This is not a traditional battle strategy – to put choir in front of the army.
And as they’re marching out to meet the enemy, the army guys are thinking, “What’s going on?” And the enemy on the other side is thinking, “What is going on?” And the choir is certainly thinking, “Yeah! What is going on? We’re walking out here on a battlefield with no weapons!” What they didn’t realize was, praise was their weapon.
Putting the choir before the army, singing, and thanking God was a symbolic gesture. It is an object lesson. It is thanking God in advance for deliverance. Thanking God in advance for solving your problems. Thanking God in advance for answered prayer. If you wait to thank God until after your prayer is answered, is that faith? No, that’s gratitude. But if you thank God in advance, for the answer to your prayer, that’s faith. You say, “Lord, I thank You in advance for the answer to this prayer, even before I see the answer.” That is faith and God says, I honor faith. Praise is verbalized faith, that’s why it’s so important that you make praise a daily part of your life.
They sang, “Give thanks to the Lord for His love endures forever.” There is power in praise. When you start praising God in your situation, during the problem, thanking God that He’s going to take care of it, you’re going to see some incredible things take place. Thanking God in advance. There’s power in thanking and praising and expecting.
The question I have for you is, when are you going to start thanking God in your situation? You say, “When He answers, then I’ll thank Him.” Wrong. Anybody can thank God after the fact. Faith is thanking God in advance, praising God in advance, that the odds will be overcome, that the solution will arrive, the miracle will take place.
Notice the result of their praising God in advance.“As they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah and they were defeated.” vs. 22. What happened? While they were praising God, somehow these 3 armies got confused and started fighting each other and knocking themselves off, ambushing each other. The Israelites were down there just watching their enemies defeat themselves. God gave them a great miracle.
Do you need a miracle? Some of you really do. Everything seems to be ganging up on you. The odds are against you and you’re in need of a miracle. What do you do? You tune in to God, you seek Him, and you stay focused on Him and not your problem. Then you relax in faith, knowing that He loves you, knowing that the battle is not yours but His. Finally, you praise Him. You thank Him in advance for victory because the battle is the Lord’s!
I love you all and can’t wait to see you. Stay safe everyone,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
God Wants to Fight for You
By Pastor Ray
4/23/2020
When you try to control the uncontrollable, you're going to get tired. The problem is, we assume God's role and we think it is up to us to make everything work in life. That we've got to solve it all and we've got to control it all and we've got to micro-manage it all. Instead of saying, "I'm going to trust You, Lord to do this." We've all been fighting this Coronavirus battle. Maybe you've been fighting some personal battles, a financial battle, a relational battle, an emotional battle or spiritual battle. And you feel worn-out and you think, "I can't take anymore! I'm going to throw in the towel!" God says, "Finally! Now I can get to work. Now I can fight for you!"
In 2 Chronicles, chapter 20, three enemy nations are ganging up on Israel. God says in verse 17, "You won't even have to fight. Just take your positions and watch the Lord rescue you from your enemy. Don't be afraid. Just do as you're told. And as you march out tomorrow, the Lord will be there with you."
King Jehoshaphat said, "...We don't know what to do, but our eyes are upon you." Vs. 12b Notice the phrase, "...our eyes are upon you." The problem so many people have is they focus on their circumstances and that gets them down. I'm not saying you deny your problems exist. What I'm saying is, what you focus on makes a difference. Isaiah 26:3 says, "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." Do you want perfect peace? The key is what you're focused on. When you're focused on all the bad things happening, all the negatives, all the problems, of course you're going to get depressed! Who wouldn't? But Jehoshaphat said, "Our eyes are fixed upon you God."
What happens when you do that? Notice God's response in verse 15, "The Lord says, 'Don't be afraid! Don't be paralyzed by this mighty army! For the battle is not yours, but God's!'" What God said to Israel 3000 years ago, God wants to say to you today, "Don't be afraid, the battle is mine." Has God ever lost a battle? No, God never loses battles. And when you commit your life to Jesus, that include your problems too. Your problems become His problems.
One of the most relaxing days of my life was when I resigned as the General Manager of the Universe. You relax when you stop trying to control the uncontrollable. When you stop trying to control what only God can control. When you stop trying to win a battle that only God can win. When you get your eyes off your difficulties and on to you Deliver. What I'm saying is, let God fight for you. Let Him help you with that problem. He has a 100% success rate of winning battles.
I love you; I'm praying for you and I can't wait to see you again soon!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Confess Your Inadequacy
to See God’s Power
By Pastor Ray
4/22/2020
I believe God allows hardships in our lives to teach us things about ourselves and to teach us things about Himself. Every trial is a teacher. There is almost a sense in which any kind of a difficulty is really a question, that God is asking you. And have you found that when God asks you a question, it is not because He is looking for information? He just wants you to know, what He already knows. So, if you are facing a difficult situation, like the Coronavirus crisis, like the statewide shutdown, like being out of work, God is saying, “Do you trust Me?” If you are facing something beyond your own ability to control, God is saying, “Are you relying upon Me?”
We have been looking at 2 Chronicles chapter 20. There are 3 enemy nations coming against Israel. First, King Jehoshaphat, prayed and asked for God’s help. Second, he reminded himself of who God is and what God had done in the past. Then in verse 12, he admits his inadequacy and his need to trust God, to rely upon God. He says, “We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We don’t know what to do.” This can be a hard thing to do, confessing your inadequacy because it is humbling yourself. But we have to humble ourselves, because if you do not humble yourself now, God is going to give you a lot more opportunities in the future.
I was thinking the other day about all the problems I have ever had. All the challenges I have ever faced. Every crisis, every conflict, every relational problem. Every financial problem I have ever faced. And I realized they all have one thing in common – me. They all have me. So, I might just be the root cause of some of these things. I have to confess my inadequacy. That takes humility.
If I want God’s power in my life, I just have to confess my inadequacy. I have to say, “Lord, I cannot do this apart from You. I’m looking to You, I don’t know what to do in this situation.” God’s never going to force Himself on you. If you think you can go through your problem on your own, if you think you can face your challenge without God, then God will say “Fine, good luck. Have at it.” But you will not have God’s help and power. He is not going to force Himself in your situation. But He will respond to your invitation. If you say, “Lord, I can’t do this without you. I am powerless without you. I need Your help.” He will do in your life, what He did in Jehoshaphat’s life, He will fight your battle for you! More about that tomorrow, but confess your inadequacy today. Say “Lord, I need your help in this way…” You fill in the blank.
I love you, I’m praying for you and I can’t wait to see you again soon!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
How to Pray for a Miracle
By Pastor Ray
4/20/2020
In what way do you need a miracle? Our country needs a miracle for healing from COVID-19, to open back up again. You may need a miracle with your finances, with getting back to work, with getting new job, in one of your relationships. We all need God's help in some way. How do you pray when you need a miracle? You pray the same way Jehoshaphat did in 2 Chronicles chapter 20. First you...
Remember who God is. That's the first thing you do in prayer. You focus on His strength and His character and how big God is. God is all-powerful. There's nothing too difficult for Him. He can handle anything, including the problem your facing right now. The Bible tells us that with God all things are possible. So, Jehoshaphat says, "I'm just going to remind myself of who God is. That I serve a big God. He's much bigger than my problems." In verse 6 he prays, "Are You not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nation and power and might are in Your hands. No one can withstand You." Already he's feeling a little bit better.
Remind yourself of what God has already done. He says "God, didn't You do this before? Didn't You help other people with their battles? Didn't You drive out the enemy before? I need You to do it again."
When you're in need of a miracle, one of the ways you build your faith is to remember all the great things God has already done for you, remind yourself. The fact is, God has already done a lot for you. Some of it you don't even realize. Remember the story of David vs. Goliath? David said, "The Lord who delivered me from the lion and the bear shall deliver me from this unclean Philistine as well!" David remember what God had already done for him and it gave David the faith to take down Goliath.
Rely upon God's love and protection. InVs 12, Jehoshaphat says,"Our God, won't you stop them? We have no way to protect ourselves against this mighty army." Are you in need of a miracle? Ask God for it. And when you ask, rely upon God's love and grace. "Oh God, My Lord, step in; work a miracle for me - you can do it! Get me out of here - Your love is so great!" Ps. 109:21 (LB). God works in your life, because He loves you. Not because you deserve it. Everything God does in your life, the miracles, the answered prayer, everything, is because of His love. All the miracles in the Bible, nobody deserved them, they were all because of His love.
Remember who God is. Remind yourself of what He's already done in your life. Ask Him to do it again because He loves you. And watch Him do a miracle in your life!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Fear Can Motivate You in the
Right Direction
By Pastor Ray
4/17/2020
Dear Friends,
Have you ever had one of those kinds of days when you think everything, and everyone is ganging up on you? This is the way Jehoshaphat feels in 1 Chronicles chapter 20. Three enemy nations gang-up on him. He was overwhelmed. Have you ever had a day like that? Just a little bit overwhelmed? When you feel overwhelmed, when you’re stressed out, when you’re at the end of the rope, you’ve got one of two alternatives. You can panic or pray.
Philippians 4 “Don’t worry about anything. Instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.” The Bible says you’ve got two alternatives – panic or pray. You can decide what you’re going to do this next week. You’re going to have problems this next week – I guarantee you. You’re going to have problems. You’re going to either panic or pray.
What battle are you’re facing today? Can’t think of a battle? Let me say it like this “What’s got you worried?” It may be the Coronavirus, “When am I going back to work? How will I pay next month’s bills? Or maybe you think, “Am I ever going to have a baby? … Am I ever going to get married? … Am I ever going to get the job I want? …” What do you do when you’re worried and overwhelmed? Jehoshaphat did six things that reduced his worry and increased his peace; we’re going look at these over the next few days. The first is…
Pray and ask God for help. Before you do anything else you go directly to God. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Go directly to God. Verse 3 says this: “Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he decided to ask the Lord what to do.” Too often when we pray, we treat prayer like it’s the last resort. Like it’s the last thing you do instead of the first choice, the first thing you do. Sometimes someone will say, “All we can do now is pray.” Then somebody will go, “Has it come to that?” Like now that it’s hopeless let’s start praying. It should have been your first choice, not your last resort. There’s no problem too big to pray about and there’s no problem in your life too small to pray about. You just pray.
Notice Jehoshaphat’s first reaction was fear. Considering the odds fear was reasonable. Fear is a normal reaction in life. In fact, in some situations if you’re not afraid there’s something wrong with you. The Coronavirus along with the national shutdown may have increased your fear. But fear is not your problem. Your problem is what you do with it. Don’t let it you intimidate you; let it motivate you. Let it motivate you to pray more. Let it motivate you to trust more. It’s not fear that’s the problem. It’s what you do with it. Fear is a good thing if it causes you to pray. If it causes you to get closer to God, to ask God for help. Let it motivate you to get move closer to God, get God’s perspective, to seek God’s help.
I love you and I’m praying for you!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Move Forward in Faith
By Pastor Ray
4/16/2020
Dear Friends,
The key to living by faith, the key to overcoming your fears that keep you bound up, is to move against your fear. You do the thing you fear the most. That’s what it means to live by faith. You feel the fear and you move through it. In Exodus, 14, when the Israelites were at the Red Sea, God didn’t take them around the Red Sea, He didn’t build a bridge over the Red Sea, He took them through it.
They could have stood beside the Red Sea, saying, “We believe God’s going to save us.” But it wasn’t until they stepped into the water that the miracle started happening. Moses held up his rod and he says, “Move in. Get going.” You move against your fear. You do the thing you fear the most. That’s courage. Now look at this verse, Exodus 14:15 (LB) “Then the Lord said to Moses, `Quit praying and get the people moving! Forward march!'” I like that. “…get the people moving.” Don’t think about it. Don’t talk about it. Just move forward.
Question: in what way do you need to move forward? What is your personal Red Sea? What is it that scares you to death, that frightens you? The loss of a loved one? Poor health? The possibility of losing your job? Getting back out into the public after the Coronavirus? What is it that’s got you worried? That looks unpredictable? That seems overwhelming? That’s your Red Sea. And you’ve got one. And what would God say to you today? He’d say, “Move forward. Move against your fear. Do the thing you fear the most.” God told Moses, “Quit praying and get the people moving!” What is it you need to stop praying about and start doing?
Sometimes prayer’s the wrong thing. Sometimes prayer can be an excuse for procrastinating. God says, “When are you going to do this?” “Oh, I’m praying about it, Lord. I’m praying about it.” God says, “Quit praying about it and act on it. Do what you know to do.” That’s the problem with most of us sometimes. We already know what to do, we just don’t do it. Why? We don’t move against the fear. Now what is it that you need to quit praying about and you just need to start doing? Something you already know is God’s will. “Well, I’m going to work on this relationship. I’m going to go try a reconciliation. I’m going to put God first in my finances and trust Him there.”
It’s very easy for “one of these days” is none of these days. You say, “One of these days, I’m really going to get serious for God. I’ll, I’ll…” Don’t wait. Move against your fears today.
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Prayer and Planning go Together
By Pastor Ray
4/15/2020
Dear Friends,
Anything that requires faith is going to have some element of risk in it, but God says, “There’s a right way and there’s a wrong way.” God doesn’t want you making foolish risks, that’s not faith. There are principles God tells us in His word. The first principle is gathering the facts and step two is:
Evaluate, or count the cost. In Luke 14:28 Jesus says, “Don’t begin until you count the cost. Who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates…?” What he’s saying here is that every decision has a price tag and you’d better know what the price is before you take the risk. You see, God does not want you to take stupid risks. In fact, there are two questions you ought to write down. You need to ask, “Is this necessary?” and second, “Is it worth it?” The loss compared to the gain. By the way, never make a major decision when you’re depressed. Just don’t. Because inevitably, it’ll be the wrong one. Because depression colors everything else. If you’re a little down or depressed over the Coronavirus shut down, don’t make any major decisions right now. Wait until we get over it. Wait until you have all the facts and wait until you know all the costs. Next you:
Prepare. Plan your steps. Prov. 14:15, “A prudent man gives thought to his steps.” Faith is expecting the best. But there’s a flip side to that, we should not only expect the best, but plan for the worst too. That can also be done in faith. God says, “The fool does not know where he’s going.” Eccl. 10:15. He does not look ahead. He doesn’t think it through. He doesn’t consider his ways, but he blindly stumbles into one problem and another. It says, the wise man thinks through, anticipates, what possible problems might there be.
Proverbs 16:9, “We should make our plans, counting on God to direct us.” Notice there are two parts to this verse. We should make our plans, that’s our part. Counting on God to direct us. That’s God’s part. And they both go together. God has a part and you have a part in your life. As you plan, you pray. And you ask God to direct you.
What am I saying? I’m saying that prayer and preparation go together. When you prepare without prayer, you’re going to have problems. When you have prayer without preparing, you’re going to have problems. One without the other is insufficient. You need them both. The Bible says to plan out your life, to think where you’re going, to be intelligent in the direction of your life.
Get the facts, count the cost, plan your steps. Don’t just go out and take risks without thinking it through. The wise person takes calculated risks. Tomorrow we’ll look at another important principle in taking risks in faith. I love you and I’m praying for you!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Walking by Faith and Facts
By Pastor Ray
4/14/2020
Dear Friends,
Life is composed of a series of risks. God has put us in a world of risks because he wants us to learn to live by faith. He wants us to learn to trust him. There are many negative affects of not trusting God, of living in fear. Fear makes us skeptical; fear makes us selfish (we’ve seen that during this pandemic), and fear makes us stubborn.
How do I learn to move against my fears? How can we as Americans know when it’s time to move against our fear and re-open the country?
Anything that requires faith is going to have some element of risk in it, but God says, “There’s a right way and there’s a wrong way.” God doesn’t want you making foolish risks, that’s not faith. There are principles God tells us in His word. The first principle is:
The principle of information: Get the facts. Proverbs 23:23 says, “Get the facts at any price.” But you must be selective. Don’t believe everything you hear. Prov. 14:15 says, “The gullible believe anything they’re told; the prudent sift and weigh every word.” (Mess).
We’re all watching a little more TV these days and you’re getting a lot of information from a lot of different sources. But it’s important more than ever to remember that not everything you hear is true. Not everybody on the internet, social media, TV or the radio knows what they’re talking about. Also be aware that some people take advantage of a crisis and have their own agenda. There will be some people that try to use a crisis for their own political advantage. You need to be selective in who and what you listen to.
God has given us everything we need to be wise and prudent. Test everything hear or read against the word of God as it will always steer you in the way of wisdom. As a follower of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit who lives inside you, will give you discernment. And God has given you common sense. Learn to rely upon both.
As believers we are not only people of faith, we are people of facts. The Bible says in Prov. 14:8, “The wise man looks ahead. The fool attempts to fool himself and won’t face the facts.” The Bible tells us repeatedly and especially in a crisis, we should always base our decisions and base our actions on facts, not faulty statistics, fads, fears or feelings.
The first principle is, get the facts. Second, we need to count the cost and we’ll talk about that tomorrow. Until then, have a great day, I love you and I’m praying for you,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Moving Against Your Fears
By Pastor Ray
4/13/2020
Dear Friends,
For years one of the most ridiculous trends in America has been putting warning labels on everything. Have you noticed this? It started with cigarettes, that was a good idea, but now there’s warnings on everything. I mean, you pick up a box of Cheerios and it says, “Consult your doctor first.” Everything and anything, they’re all afraid of being taken into court, so they’re warning you about everything. The real estate industry recently came out with a Coronavirus Addendum to contracts, warning people about the virus, like we don’t already know! It comes from this desire to have a risk-free society. America has been the land of opportunity. Now becoming the land of safety first. Where we want to remove all the risks out of society. Never has this been truer than now, during the COVID-19 crisis.
On a personal level, the fact is you can’t remove all the risks out of life. Life is composed of a series of risks. Choosing a college to go to is a risk. Choosing a career is a risk. Eating a burrito is a risk. Driving on the freeway is a definite risk. The re-opening of America is a risk. Restarting your life and getting back on the road to normalcy is a risk. You can’t live without risk.
Why has God put us in this kind of world? Because He wants us to learn to live by faith. He wants us to learn to trust Him. All through the scripture, God asked people to trust Him. And He asked them to take risks. We have a great example in the Bible book of Exodus, the story of Israel stepping out of bondage towards the Promised Land. In chapter 14, the children of Israel are going to pass through the Red Sea. But when they had an opportunity to step forward in faith, they responded in fear.
This week, I want to take you on a journey of faith. We’re going to look at facing our fears with faith. First, we’re going to look at what fear does to us, the negative effects of fear. Then we’re going to learn how to move against our fears in faith. Quickly here’s a list of the negative effects of fear.
Fear makes us skeptical. When we are afraid, we begin to doubt. We doubt ourselves, we doubt God, we doubt national leaders, we become skeptical. Studies have shown that cynics, at the root, have basically a problem with fear, with being afraid.
Fear makes us selfish. Just look at the grocery store shelves. Try to find toilet paper. When I’m afraid, the only thing I can think of is myself.
Fear makes us stubborn. We resist change when we’re afraid. Fear keeps people from growing, from stepping out, from re-starting their lives, from re-opening the country.
So how do I move against my fear? How can I move against fear in my own personal life and how can America move against its fear and re-open the country? There are 5 lessons we can learn from Exodus 14.
1. The principle of information: Get the facts.
2. The principle of evaluation: Count the cost.
3. The principle of preparation: Plan your steps.
4. The principle of declaration: Announce your goals.
5. The principle of initiation: Let go and launch out.
We’ll talk more about these tomorrow. I love you and continue to pray for you,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Why It’s Called Good Friday – Part 2
By Pastor Ray
4/11/2020
When I was a kid, I didn’t understand the phrase Good Friday. Because it was the day Jesus was crucified on the cross. I mean, what’s so good about that?
The problem was I didn’t understand all the benefits, what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. I didn’t understand that when Jesus died on the cross. First, you get total forgiveness of everything you’ve ever done wrong, Col. 2:14. We looked at that yesterday. The second benefit from Good Friday is…
You get healing. 1 Peter 2:24 says you are healed by His wounds. We all need healing in different areas of our lives. Let’s just get really personal. Where do you need healing? Maybe you need emotional healing, relational healing, or a mental healing. Some of you need physical healing. Your body’s broken. It’s not working right. Most of all, every one of us needs spiritual healing. That is healing between our relationship with us and God. Look to Jesus for each one of these needs. It’s a benefit God offers you. Jesus healed many people when he walked on earth and Jesus is still in the healing business today. You simply ask Him for it.
You get power to break free from controlling forces. The truth is, we don’t realize how much we let ourselves be controlled by other things and other people. We do it all the time. We let all kinds of things control us. We let our moods control us and so you do things because you feel like doing it. You even let the moods of other people control you; affect your mood. We let the media control us. Here’s a big one. We let the approval of other people control us. You do that all the time, the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you act, the way you think, and everything else.
Romans 6:6 says this, “Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life. We’re no longer at sin’s every beck and call.” That’s saying, I’ve got a new power now, to resist bad habits. In other words, I’m not fighting the battles on my own anymore. But because of Good Friday, you have God’s power on your side.
All these benefits are why we call it Good Friday. I get forgiveness, I get healing and I get power! It doesn’t get any better than that!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Why It’s Called Good Friday
By Pastor Ray
4/10/2020
I have to admit that when I was a kid, I really didn’t understand the phrase Good Friday. I mean, what’s so good about it? That was the day that Jesus died. They beat him, scourged Him, crucified Him, I don’t think that was very good.
I problem was, I didn’t understand all the benefits, all the things Jesus did for me when He went through all of that. The things He did for you. Good Friday wasn’t good for Jesus, it was good for you and me. The Bible says this in Hebrews 12:2, “We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross because he knew that later on, he would be glad that he did.”
If you don’t know the benefits of why Jesus died on Good Friday, you’re going to miss all the benefits that God intended for you in this life. Today I’m going to mention a couple of them and then I’ll finish up tomorrow.
First, you get total forgiveness of everything you’ve ever done wrong. God doesn’t want you going around feeling guilty. He doesn’t want you walking around feeling resentment or remorse or regret or shame. One of the things Jesus Christ came to do is give total forgiveness of everything we’ve ever done wrong. Colossians 2:14, “God wiped out the charges and cancelled the record of all the times we’ve disobeyed God’s commandments.” (for some of us, that’s a pretty long list.) “Jesus took our guilt on his own body and nailed it to the cross.” Think about it this way, what if you had committed a crime so bad, that they put you in prison for life with no possibility of parole? You think “I’m never getting out.” But what if the day before you were to go into prison, somebody walked up and says, “You know, I’m going to take your place, I’m going to serve your sentence for you.” This is what Jesus did for you. And this is why it’s called Good Friday. Jesus paid the debt, so you wouldn’t have to. Ephesians 1:7, “In Christ, we are set free by the blood of his death. And so, we have forgiveness of sins because of God’s rich grace.”
Second, you get healing. 1 Peter 2:24 says you are healed by His wounds. The truth is, we all need healing in different areas of our lives. I’m not just talking about physical healing because the deepest wounds of your life are not physical. The deepest wounds in your life nobody can see. The deepest wounds in your life are hidden. Nobody can see them, but God can see them. And God sent Jesus to not only forgive your sins, but to heal your deepest wounds.
I’ll talk more about this tomorrow, as conclude Why Good Friday is So Good.
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
The Most Positive Word in History
By Pastor Ray
4/9/2020
Dear Friends,
We’re living in dark and devastating days. We need a healing in our nation, in the world, in our schools, our businesses, our government, communities, families and in our personal lives. We’ve been looking at the greatest promise on healing in 2 Chronicles 7:14. After the steps of humility, prayer and seeking God earnestly, this verse gives us the fourth step towards healing and restoration. It says…
Turn from their wicked ways. I need to explain this because most people have a misunderstanding of what this means. First, I’ll start with “wicked ways”. What do you think of when you read the word “wicked”? What most people think of is really bad and evil things, like assassinations, rape, murder, abuse, genocide, torture and all kinds of really bad things.
What does the Bible say wickedness is? The Bible starts at the root of it all. Wickedness is forgetting God. Any time I forget God, that’s wicked. Because you were made to be in fellowship with God. When a person forgets God, all these other evil things are possible. When society forgets God, society does all kinds of wicked stuff, but it’s really about forgetting God.
What does it mean to “turn”? That word there in Hebrew, the Old Testament, literally means “return.” It means “bring back.” It’s the word for “repent.” You don’t just turn away from the bad stuff; you turn to the good stuff.
Now, when most people think of the word “repentance,” they think of a negative word. When you think of repentance, you think of a guy on the sidewalk and he’s got long scraggly hair and a beard and he’s got a sign that says, “Turn or burn. You’re gonna die and fry while we go to the sky.” No, no. That’s not repentance. Repentance is not a negative term.
Repentance is the most positive word in history! When I repented, I turned from guilt to forgiveness. That was a good deal. When I repented, I turned from darkness to light. I turned from no purpose to purpose. I turned from despair to hope. I turned from bitterness to love. It was the most positive change in my life. If I had known how positive it is to repent, I would have done it years earlier!
I wish I had known it and understood it sooner, to turn from darkness to light, from meaninglessness to meaningfulness, from a life that is shallow to a life of significance. That’s repentance. It’s the most positive change you can make, to turn away from hell, to heaven, from Satan to God, from no love, to the love of the Father that will never, ever end.
So, when God says, “Turn from your wicked ways,” He says, “I want you to turn away from that and turn over here, from what hurts, to what heals. Change your attention to God.
I love you, stay safe, I’m praying for you,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Seek God, not the Miracle
By Pastor Ray
4/7/2020
Dear Friends,
We’re living in dark and devastating days. We need a healing in our nation, in the world, in our schools, our businesses, our government, communities, families and in our personal lives. God gave us the greatest promise on healing in 2 Chronicles 7:14. “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sins, and I will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). The first step towards healing is humility. Then we’re to pray. Next, that verse says… “If my people …will seek my face…” That means, seek God and not the miracle.
You say, “Lord, whether I get the answer I want or not, I want to know you. Whether I get the healing I want or not, whether I get the restoration, whether I get the answer I want or not, I am seeking you. Out of this whole ordeal, this virus crisis, coming out of my pain in the loss of a friend or loved one or my income, coming out of being laid off or whatever, I’m seeking you. Not the miracle. I’m seeking you. I want to know you God.”
Notice these promises, God says, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.” Proverbs 8:17 And Hebrews 11:6, “God rewards those who earnestly seek him.” It says, “…earnestly…” This is not some casual pastime. This is not like, “I’m going to seek God in my spare moments. After three TV shows, I’ll seek you. After I do my social media, I’ll seek you.” No, this is a serious pursuit. Who earnestly seek Him! It’s the primary focus of my life. “God, I’ve got to know you, because you made me to know you and I’ll always be empty inside when I don’t know you.”
People ask me, “Do you play golf?” And I say, “I played at it.” Big difference. Why don’t I play golf? Because I’ve never been willing to invest time. It’s simple. To be a pro at anything requires intensity. You want to be a pro at prayer? You’ve got to invest the time. You want to be a pro at knowing God? You’ve got to invest the time. You’ve got to earnestly seek Him.
God goes overboard for people who seek Him. There’s almost nothing God won’t do for the person who is genuinely seeking Him first. Almost nothing. You say, “How do I do that?” Make it a daily habit to read your Bible and pray. Read the book of Psalms during this crisis. You read a little, you pray a little and as you seek Him, you will begin to hear His voice. Read the Bible to hear the Bible. Speak to your heart to hear God.
I love you, stay safe, I’m praying for you,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Ask God for Healing
By Pastor Ray
4/5/2020
Dear Friends,
We need a healing in our nation, in the world, in our schools, our businesses, our government, communities, families and in our personal lives. We have the greatest promise on healing in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray… I will heal their land”. Humility is the first step towards healing. We’ve looked at that. The next step that God gives us towards healing and restoration is…
Pray and ask God for healing. If you need something in your life restored, if you need something in your life healed, first admit I humble myself, and second, I ask God for help. Over 20 times in the New Testament, you are commanded by God to ask in prayer. He says it over. Jesus says, “…my Father will give you anything you ask for in my name… Ask and you’ll receive, so that your joy will be the fullest possible joy.”John 16:23-24 (NCV) Let me give you a few tips when you pray…
Remember Jesus wants you to ask! That gives you confidence, knowing that Jesus wants you to ask. It’s his idea. And if He wants you to ask, that means He wants to answer! Sometimes, we’re not sure if we should ask for something or not. But he wants you to ask. Why? Because that’s the only way you’re going to learn how to trust Him. Because when you ask Him, He’s going to answer and you’re going to see answers to prayer! If you’re not asking God for anything, you’re not learning how to trust him. If you’re not asking Him, you’re not trusting Him.
Further, Jesus says you can ask for anything. God doesn’t say “I’ll give you everything.” Big difference between anything and everything. Does that make sense? Jesus says, “I don’t want you worrying about whether you should ask or not, like, is this okay to pray for or not?” He says, “You can pray for anything; then I’ll figure out whether it’s a good idea or not.”
Here’s another tip of how to pray for healing; get other people to pray with you. During this virus crisis, you don’t have to be together with them physically. You can call someone. They can pray with you over the phone. Jesus said, “I tell you, if just two of you on earth agree together about anything you ask for, it will be done for you…” (Matthew 18:19). He says, “You only need two.” You, plus one.
Pray, then expect an answer! God wouldn’t tell you to pray unless He wanted to answer you. In James 5, it says, “The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well.” That includes you. That includes our nation and world.
Will you pray with me every day, until this crisis is over? That God will heal and restore our land, our nation, and world. In Jesus name we pray,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
What God Promises When I’m Humble
By Pastor Ray
4/3/2020
Dear Friends,
We need a healing in our nation, in the world, in our schools, our businesses, our government, communities, families and in our personal lives. We have the greatest promise on healing in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sins, and I will heal their land”.
“If my people will humble themselves.” Humility is the first step towards healing. Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less. Why would anybody do that? Because of what God promises when you live that way. He promises that He will begin to heal our land and there are four other promises:
He will guide you. In the middle of this virus crisis, you may think, “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what step I should take. I don’t know what’s going to happen.” When you don’t know which way to turn and you’re confused, humble yourself. God’s will isn’t given to prideful, arrogant, self-sufficient people. The humbler you are, the more God will guide you, and the fewer mistakes you’ll make in life.
He will bless you. Isaiah 66:2, “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts.” God doesn’t bless prideful people. God doesn’t bless people who secretly think they’re better than everybody else. No, God says, “I’ll bless those who have humble and contrite hearts.”
He will give you power to change. Grace is the power to change. You need grace to make changes in your life. There’s stuff in your life you’d like to change but you can’t; you’ve tried. You won’t. The only way you’ll ever get changed is with the grace of God. How do you get the grace of God in your life? James 4:6, “God opposes the proud, but God gives grace to the humble.”
He will reduce your stress. When I am humble, my stress goes down. When I’m prideful, my stress goes up. It’s true. Jesus says in Matthew 11:29, “Take the yoke that I give you… and learn from me. For I am gentle and I’m humble.” And he says, “I will restore deep rest for your soul.” Rest for your soul. Wouldn’t you like that? How do you find rest for your soul? Only one place. You learn it from Jesus. You turn to Jesus; you give up control and you learn to trust Him and that takes humility.
God promises all these things when we’re humble. And humility is the first step towards healing. Our nation needs healing, our world needs healing, our communities, family and our very lives need healing. Take the first step, humble yourself and ask God to heal our land. Ask God to help us find a cure to COVID-19.
Stay safe, I love you and I’m praying for you,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
The First Step Towards Healing
By Pastor Ray
4/2/2020
Dear Friends,
We're living in dark and devastating days. News reports keep getting worse. We need a healing in our nation, in the world, in our schools, our businesses, our government, communities, families and in our personal lives. God gave us the greatest promise on healing in 2 Chronicles 7:14,
"If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sins, and I will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).
If we want God's healing in any area, what's the first thing we should do?
Admit I'm not in control. That's called humility. The first condition for healing and restoration, "If my people will humble themselves." Humility is the first step to healing. By the way, did you know that in Scripture, you are never commanded to pray for humility? You are never to pray, "God, humble me." Why? Because humility is a choice. Humility is something you do to yourself. God doesn't do it to you; you do it to yourself. Humility is a choice.
So, what is humility? What does it look like? How do I develop it? I'm glad you asked, because I made a little list. This is going to surprise you:
1. Confess your sin to God the moment you realize it.
2. Forgive quickly. If you carry grudges, that's prideful. Humility forgives.
3. When you're treated unfairly, be quiet, patient and don't retaliate.
4. Look for ways to serve others, instead of expecting to be served.
5. Accept criticism and correction graciously.
6. Don't fight to get the best seat or the best table or the best
parking spot.
7. Befriending people who are overlooked by society.
8. Be respectful to the authorities in your life, even the bad ones.
9. Admit your weakness, faults and sins to a few safe people.
10.Always speak well of others, never use put-downs or gossip.
Humility is not easy, is it? This is not an easy list! That's a hard way to live. Why would anybody do that? Because of what God does when you live that way. God says, "If you humble yourself," there are many, many, promises. Let me just say it this way; humility is a big deal to God! It's a lot bigger deal than you realize.
Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it's thinking of yourself less. Humility is you're so busy focused on God and helping other people, you don't even think about yourself. If I go into a party and I walk in and I start thinking, "How do I look to everybody?" Who am I focused on? Me. That's pride. When I walk into a party and think, "Who needs encouragement?" That's humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself - "I'm bad. I'm no good. I'm nothing. I'm zero. I'm zip." No, that's false humility. Humility is focusing on others.
Next, we'll look at God's promises, if you're humble..
Stay safe, I love you and I'm praying for you,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
God’s Promise for Healing & Restoration
By Pastor Ray
4/1/2020
Dear Friends,
We’re living in dark and devasting days. I heard someone say, “I’d rather be in the future somewhere, reading a history book about these days, than going through them.” These are obviously horribly historic days. The stock market keeps plunging and most recent models indicate COVID deaths could top 200,000 in America alone. The news is not good. America needs a national healing.
We do need healing in our nation, and we need healing in the world, but we need more than that. We need healing in our schools, we need healing in our businesses, we need healing in our government, we need healing in our neighborhoods and in our communities. We need healing in our families. We need healing in our lives, in our minds, in our hearts, in our bodies.
I feel led by the Lord to look at this topic for the next few days, how do you pray for healing and restoration? I’m talking about physical healing, a cure to the virus, but I’m talking about more than that. A healing of minds, healing of relationships, healing of finances, and so many different areas where there needs to be a restoration, there needs to be a healing. How do we pray for healing? This is something we need to know.
About 3,000 years ago God made a promise to King Solomon, and that promise still stands today because it’s a promise made to God’s people. The promise is 2 Chronicles 7:14, one of the very most important and well-known promises in the entire Bible.
“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sins, and I will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
We’re going to look at this promise for the next several days. But today, I want to point out three things before we get into more details later. The first thing I want to point out is this is not a promise to everybody. God says, “If my people (my people).” This is a promise for the people of God. Who are the people of God? You are, if you’ve put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Second, notice “If my people, who are called by my name.” I wonder if you’re ever been embarrassed to identify yourself as a disciple of Jesus. I wonder if you’re ever embarrassed to say, “I’m a follower of Jesus.” Everybody else is bold about their beliefs today, but a lot of Christians, they don’t say a word at the office. Nobody knows.
Third, notice He gives four conditions. He says, “If you humble yourself and you pray and you seek my face and turn from your wicked ways, then I’ll hear from heaven, then I’ll forgive your sins, and then I’ll heal your land.” He says, “If you do these things, then I’ll do this, I will hear, I will forgive, and I will heal.
I don’t know what you need restored in your life. Maybe you need a relationship restored, a dream, maybe you need your health restored, or your finances restored. I don’t know what needs healing in your life, but the principles in this passage apply to every area of healing and restoration. So, stay tuned as we look at the principles for healing and restoration over the next few days. We need these principles in our lives now, more than ever before.
Stay safe and follow the health protocols. I love you and I’m praying for you,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
How to Be Patient in a Crisis
By Pastor Ray
3/30/2020
Dear Friends,
Our President has extended the social distancing guideline to April 30th. Many states have almost completely shut down, with shelter in place orders and it appears it will go on for weeks longer. During this difficult time, its easy for our patience to get stretched to the limit. It can be stressful to be stuck inside with antsy children with no place to go. Maybe you're bored yourself and you can't wait for this crisis to be over.
How you deal with the irritations of life is a great test of your Christianity. The Bible says in Proverbs 16:32 (GN) "It is better to be patient than powerful. It is better to win control over yourself than over whole cities." What is the secret to patience in a crisis? How do you develop more patience?
Discover the bigger perspective. Proverbs 19:11 "A man's wisdom gives him patience. It is his glory to overlook an offense." Patience starts with wisdom. Wisdom is seeing life from God's point of view. If you want to be patient you've got to get a bigger perspective. This crisis is not going to last. Life is not going to end because of the inconvenience of a shelter in place order. A person of patience looks for greater perspective.
Deepen your love. 1 Corinthians 13:4 "Love is patient." When everyone is stuck inside together, it's easy to get impatient with each other. When I'm impatient, I'm usually being unloving. When you're filled with love, almost nothing will irritate you. When you're filled with anger, almost anything will. It's what's inside of you. Impatience says more about you than it does about the other person. You need to say, "Lord, fill me with your love today."
Depend on God's power. Colossians 1:11 (NEB) "May He strengthen you in His glorious might with ample power to meet whatever comes with fortitude, patience and joy." You can pray this prayer: "Lord, strengthen me today with your power, that I can handle whatever comes my way today with patience." Patience is not merely a matter of human will -- "I'm going to be patient if it kills me!" No, you need God's power, God's help to be more patient.
Patience reveals your faith. The Bible is full of examples of people who had to wait. Noah waited 120 years before the boat to float. Abraham waited 90 years before his promised son was born. Moses waited 40 years in the wilderness. All of God's great saints had to go through the school of waiting. You will too.
Why is patience so important? Here's why: the acid test of your faith is how you handle the irritations, inconveniences, interruptions, and inactivity of life. Your attitude reveals who's in control of your life. Patience is a mark of maturity. Babies have no patience at all; "I want it now!" But a mark of a mature person is, how long can you wait?
I love you and can't wait to see you soon,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Spread Hope with Your Words
by Pastor Ray
3/28/2020
Dear Friends,
I read a story this week about a group of twelve frogs that were traveling together through a forest when two of them fell into a very deep, dark pit. The other ten frogs gathered around the pit and when they realized how deep it was, they were certain this was the end of the road for their two friends.
The two frogs who'd fallen into the pit started jumping with all their might to get out. But from the perspective of safety, the other 10 frogs began to urge the trapped frogs to stop trying and to just accept their fate. They kept yelling, "You're in too deep! There's no way you'll get out of this! It's impossible! Save your strength and die peacefully!"
But the two frogs at the bottom ignored the comments and kept trying to jump out. Still, the safe frogs kept yelling, "It's no use! It's hopeless! Save your energy!"
Finally, one of the frogs in the pit got so discouraged by all the negative news, that he gave up and died. But the other frog kept jumping harder and harder. And with every jump, he seemed to get stronger and stronger! It was an amazing effort to watch. Finally, he made it out to safety!
The other frogs looked at him in astonishment and asked, "Why did you keep trying so hard when we were all urging you to give up?"Interpreting what they said from their gestures, the frog explained, "Well, actually I'm deaf - so I couldn't HEAR a word you were saying. But I could SEE you were all shouting vigorously at me and I assumed it meant you believed I could make it out and were encouraging me to not give up. So, I was determined to keep trying as long as you believed in me!"
Question, who do you know that needs hope today? Hope that they can make it out of whatever pit they are in? During this virus crisis, are you spreading hope? Are your words harming or helping the people around you? Are you spreading hope or fear? Are your words encouraging or discouraging? Your words have a powerful effect on those around you - especially your family. The Bible says, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." Prov. 15:11
We've all said things we wish we could take back. Every word we speak has power. The Bible tells us that life and death are in the power of the tongue. There's no neutral ground. We are either sowing seeds of life and productivity with our words, or we are sowing seeds of ruin and destruction with our words. Today, during this crisis we're in a good day to take inventory of your words and make the decision to spread hope to those around you. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you to consider every word before you say it.
I love you and can't wait to see you soon,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Why Can I Give Thanks?
Pastor Ray
3/26/2020
Dear Friends,
Someone asked me the other day, “What is God’s will in the middle of this virus crisis?” I don’t know God’s will for this specific circumstance, but I do know God’s will in all circumstances. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
You say, “But wait a minute! How in the world can I give thanks for what’s happening in this crisis?” I didn’t say that. Notice the Bible does not say, give thanks FOR all circumstances. It says give thank IN all circumstances. Not FOR, but IN. Big difference. If I have a loved one or friend who gets sick, I don’t have to be thankful for that. That’s a gross misinterpretation of this verse. If I lose my job, I don’t have to be thankful for that. That’s dumb. We’re not thankful for the bad circumstances in life, we’re thankful IN the circumstance. It says, “In all circumstances give thanks.”
So, what am I supposed to give thanks for in the circumstance? There are over several thousand reasons to give thanks IN the circumstance. They are called God’s promises. I’ve been walking with the Lord now for over 40 years, and over these 40 years I’ve tried to become a promise person. I build my life on the promises of God. Not the way things seem, but the way God says they are or will be. When you build your life on God’s promises you can stand enormous levels of stress. Because you’re not looking at circumstances, you’re looking at the Word of God.
One of the great promises of the Bible is Philippians 4:4-7. “And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Vs 7. The peace that passes all understanding. How would you like to have that kind of peace? I want that kind of peace in my life, no matter what the circumstances. Would you like that kind of peace in your life?
Here’s how you get it. You turn your cares into prayers, and you trust God. You trust God in the situations that you don’t understand. When you trust God in the situations you don’t understand you get the peace that transcends understanding. When you say to God, “God, I don’t get this. I don’t like it. I don’t understand it. Life stinks right now. I don’t like what’s going on right now, but I’m going to trust you.” That’s when you get the peace that transcends understanding. Because instead of looking at the situation, you’re looking to God. That’s when you get the peace of God.
Is God’s peace a reason to give thanks in all circumstances? I think so! There are another 7000 reasons why we can give thanks to God in any circumstance. Not for the circumstance, but in it. You find these promises by reading God’s Word, the Bible.
I love you and can’t wait to see you soon,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Coping with Change in a Crisis
By Pastor Ray
3/25/2020
Dear Friends,
We’re in the middle of this virus crisis, a statewide shelter in place and it appears the crisis is going to last a few more weeks. Many, many people are out of work, kids are home from school, so many businesses that we rely on are shut down. Your routine has probably changed since this crisis started.
I care about what you’re going through. Many of you are struggling with the changes the crisis has brought. About the only thing you can predict accurately about the future is this: it’s going to change. Tomorrow will be different from today. We don’t know what it’s going to be, but we do know for certain that change is an inevitable part of life. So how do we cope with all the changes? Especially the ones we cannot control.
Look for God in the change. Mother Teresa, was once asked, why she helped the poorest of the poor? She said, “Because I see the face of Jesus in the poor and I want to help him.” She was right, but I’ve discovered you can find the face of Jesus anywhere if you look close enough. Even in the worst situations. God says in Jeremiah 29:13, “If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me.” Our problem is, when a crisis hits, we look for everything else except the Lord. We look for the quick fix, the easy solution, the way out. But if we look towards the Lord, He will answer prayers and provide the things we need.
Seek God’s wisdom. When you’re going through a change that you didn’t plan, that you don’t like, you say, “Lord, what do you want me to do? My plans aren’t working out. Things are going my way. So, what do you want me to do? How do you want to redirect me? How do you want to perfect me?” A new problem requires a new perspective. You’ve got to think in new ways. So, you say, “Lord, how do you want me to think? What new perspective should I have?” James 1:5 says “If you need wisdom, if you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him and he’ll gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.”
Listen for God’s whisper. God speaks to us all the time. Our problem is we’re too busy or noisy to hear Him. You’ve got to be quiet because he’s not going to shout to you. God speaks, but you must take the time to listen. A good example of this is in 1 Kings 19, I encourage you to read it. God spoke to Elijah in a whisper. God speaks to you in a still small voice. So, what you need to do when you’re going through change is you need to slow down your mind. Go out and sit in your backyard and be quiet and say, Lord, is there anything you want to say to me? You sit and you just listen. You be quiet and you let your mind slow down. You read the Word of God and you talk to him in prayer. You stop and you just be quiet.
As we go through this virus crisis, look for God even in the bad that’s happening. Seek God’s wisdom, ask Him for the new way of thinking, His way of thinking. And most of all listen for His voice, He will surely speak to your heart if you listen.Stay safe, continue to practice safe distancing and use common sense. We will get through this time, it will not last, we will. Continue to pray for our President, national leaders, doctors and nurses. Pray for a cure.
I love you and can’t wait to see you soon,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Focus on What Will Never Change
By Pastor Ray Dare
3/23/2020
Dear Friends,
The virus crisis didn’t come to stay, it came to pass, it’s not going to last. We’re going to get through this. We need to do the things that the doctors tell us to do. Do the commonsense things but realize the crisis will not last. Every virus has a bell curve, and they’re trying to knock that bell down through isolation, and quarantining, and things like that. The Bible says it like this in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18,“For our temporary and momentary troubles will not last, but they are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we focus not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Paul says, I focus on what is unseen, what is eternal, what does not change.
We’ve been through an incredible amount of change over the last few days. Maybe your schedule has changed, maybe your income has changed, your social life has changed, your job may have changed, and we know there are going to be other changes in the days ahead. The key to stability is to focus on what will never change. Focus on what never changes in the days ahead, that’ll give you stability. Don’t focus on what’s ever changing, because that will only produce insecurity, worry and even depression.
So, what are the unchangeable truths that I should focus on? The Bible is full of them, but here’s a small list: First, God sees everything you’re going through. That will never change. Second, God cares about everything you’re going through. That’s unchangeable. God sees and He cares. Third, God has the power to answer your prayers. That’s unchangeable. Fourth, God always acts out of His goodness towards you. That’s never going to change. Fifth, no matter what happens, God is always in control. You don’t have to be in control when I know He is. That will never change. Sixth, God’s plan is always better than our plan. I may not see it, but it’s better because He’s a good God. Seventh, God will never stop loving you. That’s what the Bible says. These are things you need to focus on, the things that never change.
Let me give you another one. Remember that no matter what you go through, God will go through it with you. Every stage, every phase, every crisis, no matter what you go through, you will never ever be alone. God is with you. It doesn’t mean you feel Him all the time, but God is with you. He’s with you right now. God has never been closer to you than He is right now.
That’s what you want to focus on. Maybe a little less reading the news, the Internet, and a little bit more reading Gods’ Word in the days ahead. That will give you the confidence, peace and faith that you need during this crisis
I love you and can’t wait to see you soon,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
Stronger through your Struggle
3/21/2020
Dear Friends,
Someone asked me, “What’s going on? Why is God allowing this terrible virus?” Frankly I don’t know; there are some things on earth we’ll never understand until we get to heaven. But I do know this, God will use this hardship in your life if you will allow Him to. God will use what you go through in life, to bring you out stronger. Many times, it’s the struggle that gives you greater strength.
In Psalms 4:1, David said, “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness, you have enlarged me when I was in distress.” I want to call your attention to that phrase: “you have enlarged me when I was in distress.” It’s in the distress, it’s in the crisis of life where God enlarges you. It’s in your tough times, when circumstances are confusing; it’s during the difficult times that you need to understand how God want to enlarge your faith, your confidence and your character.
But understand this; God enlarges you in a crisis when you enlarge Him. David also said in Psalm 34:3 (KJV) “O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.” Do you know what magnify means? To magnify means “to enlarge in perspective.” When you magnify something, you don’t change its reality; you change your perception of its reality. So, if you magnify your problems, you’re not changing how big they are, you’re changing your perception of how big they are. When you magnify God, you’re not changing how big God is; you’re changing how you perceive Him. When you magnify God, your problems begin to shrink in comparison. It’s so important during times of crisis, you magnify God and don’t magnify your problem(s).
This virus is changing things so fast. We don’t know what’s going to happen later today, much less tomorrow. We don’t know all the answers to this crisis, but I do know this, you can use this crisis to grow stronger in your faith. Magnify the Lord in your life, by reading your Bible, praying, memorizing and meditating Scripture. And as you do, He will enlarge your faith, your strength, your character and your peace.
Continue to pray for a cure to this crisis. Pray for our President, national leaders, all the doctors, nurses, hospital staff that God would protect them and give them wisdom. Pray for peace and protection for each other. Pray that God uses this crisis to bring many, many people closer to Him.
I love you and can’t wait to see you soon,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
What You can Count on In a Crisis
3/20/2020
Dear Friends,
In the middle of a global pandemic, when the entire state goes on lock-down, when you're afraid, worrying too much, maybe you begin to get a little depressed; you can over-come all of that by focusing on God's time tested promises.
Here's a promise in Isaiah 41 "Do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." God isn't surprised by our fear. If you're feeling a little anxious or worried, you're not catching him off guard. There are 366 fear nots in the Bible. One for each day including leap year! Place your hope in those promises.
"My finances. What is going on? Will I have a job? Will I have enough income? I don't know if I'm going to make it!" Matthew 6:33 "He will give you all you need (not all you want) from day to day if you live for him and make the kingdom of God your primary concern." That's a promise that you can count on.
"I'm feeling depressed, does he care? Does God care about what I'm going through?" 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Give all your worries and cares to God for he cares about what happens to you." That is a promise of God that you can count on. I don't know if you can count on the economy. I don't know about your job security. I don't know when your stocks and your retirement account are bouncing back. But I can tell you that you can count on God's promises. He has a track record of thousands of years in fulfilling His promises.
Every day you put your trust in something, in someone. Why not trust in somebody who's not going to let you down? Somebody who will never disappoint you. You can depend on Jesus to never let you down, to always keep his word. Jesus offers you promises you can depend on. 2 Corinthians 1 says "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are all Yes in Christ."
In a practical sense, how do you depend on God's promises? You depend on the promises by focusing on them. What if you took these promises (and others) and you put them on a little 3x5 card and you kept that in your pocket or your purse, the dashboard of your car, next to the toilet paper rack - wherever. And you focused on those promises instead of your circumstances or situation. You focus on the promise instead of the problem(s). Do you think that would help? I think so! In fact, I know so. Focus on God's promises today. Claim them as His personal promise to YOU, because they are. And share them with a friend. Forward this article to a friend, co-worker or family member that you think could use encouragement today.
Let's continue to pray together daily for a cure to this horrible virus. Pray for the health of our nation and neighbors. Pray for those who have lost loved ones. I love you and look forward to seeing you soon!
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church
3/19/2020
Dear Friends,
You know as well as I do, what we're going through is unprecedented in our lifetime. We've never had a crisis of this magnitude. And this last week, media reports added fuel to the fire and fanned the flames of fear until it became a global wildfire. Today, we're seeing examples of panic everywhere, including panic buying at grocery stores as people fear that this might last a long time.
I want you to know that, as your Pastor, I understand all the reasons that you feel anxious. I have been praying for you literally every day this week. I am here for you, here to pray with you, to encourage you, to lead you calmly through this crisis and to help in any practical way possible. I love you so much and long to be with you, yet for now we will communicate through daily email as this form of communication is the most widely used. I would love it if you had time to respond to this email to let me know how you are, and how I may pray for you more specially.
Now, in this first and brief introductory message, I want to simply remind you of some things that can calm your worries, reduce your anxiety and relieve your stress. So many have told me stories of long lines of frantic people stocking up from grocery stores, afraid that they won't have enough. Do we really need to worry as God's children? We do need to prepare; the Bible talks a lot about how the prudent person prepares. However, there's a big difference between preparing and panicking. As I walked I noticed the birds singing in the trees and immediately thought of the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:25-26, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns - and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? It's a rhetorical question; the answer is of course "YES!" You are more valuable to God! He will take care of you.
I know many of you may be out of work, or your hours have been reduced. You're uncertain how you're going to make it in the weeks and months to come. You have this promise from Jesus to hold on to. Someway, somehow God will take care of you. The Bible is full of examples of how God takes care of his people and you are one of those people! When the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God fed them with bread every morning, then he added quail to the menu! When Elijah was hiding out in the wilderness, God commanded ravens to bring Elijah food every day! When Jeremiah was in need, an angel made him dinner! The point is, somehow, someway, God always takes care of his children, God will take care of you!
Home Churches
Groups of 10 or less are meeting in various homes/places. I know you may not be comfortable opening your home or going to someone else's, I certainly understand that. However, you can have a home church with your own family. In fact, I encourage you to do so. Or have a home church with a couple friends, or neighbors; even when just one or two gathered He is in the midst.
You could meet once a day or once a week, and you could share the verses and thoughts that I share with you daily. You could share and discuss those same thoughts with your own family and/or friends. It doesn't have to be a long, drawn-out type of thing; but just for 5 or 10 minutes, share a few verses and thoughts and then pray with them. If you want to go more in-depth, let me know and I will send you a study guide, with group questions that you can use in your own group or with your family. Pray about how the Lord wants to use you during this time of crises.
We may not be able to meet on Sunday for a while, but Lord willing, I will do my best to communicate with you daily. We will communicate with you either by email, phone or by text, we're not going to let you feel isolated from your Church Family!
Please share this email with others if you think they may not be receiving it. If you're reading this and I don't have your contact information, then I need to get it from you; please respond and let me know.
You're not going to go through this alone. I promise that I will keep you spiritually encouraged during this crisis even though we can't meet on Sunday morning.
This virus will not last forever, you will! The title of Pastor Swindoll's book has been popping into my mind these last few days, Tough Times Don't Last, Tough People Do. You are one of those tough people.
I love you, and look forward to seeing you soon! God bless you,
Pastor Ray
New Beginnings Church