General Archives - New Life Family Worship Center

Don’t Settle For the Counterfeit

Posted on Apr 18, 2020 in Devotions, General |

As we find ourselves in a place we’ve never found ourselves in before, we should be examining our hearts like never before. This whole quarantine thing really isn’t fun. As I’ve contemplated all that is going on, I’ve had a chance to really look in my own heart. My cry has been, “God, don’t let me settle for the counterfeit and miss out on knowing you.” The enemy has set up so many traps in the church world, trying to keep The Church distracted with a counterfeit that passes for real.

Are you settling for counterfeits? Is your worship counterfeit? When you worship, does it depend on a song ? Do you only worship when it feels good? Search your heart, find out if your worship is for God or to satisfy your flesh?

Is your relationship with God counterfeit? Do you base the strength of your relationship by your regular attendance to church (how’s that working out for you now?)? If you feel a little doo-dad go up your spine, or feel a shout come on… do you stop there and feel satisfied with your relationship? Is your relationship about Him or you?

There are more areas we can search. My point here is, have you allowed the enemy to distract you with your church attendance or the good works you do, yet you are powerless? Have you been perfected in love or does fear control your decisions? If you operate in fear, perhaps there is a counterfeit love working in you.

Take time, evaluate where you stand with God, and allow Him to point out what you need to remove and how you need to change to be more like Him. Ask for a greater desire for His Word. Seek Him with all that is in you. He said if we seek Him, we will find Him! Don’t let this quarantine go to waste, bulk up in God and become equipped to be light in the darkness… don’t cower in fear, step out in faith and follow God’s leading!

FALL for Jesus

Posted on Oct 17, 2017 in Devotions, General |

It’s Fall… the time of year when we smell the crisp air and crunch dead leave under our feet. We sip hot apple cider and enjoy all the beautiful colors. When I look out at the falling leaves, I am sometimes reminded that I need to fall deeper in love with Jesus.

When we hear the term “falling for”, what does that mean? It kind of depends on the connotation. Falling for a joke isn’t necessarily a good thing. When we hear that someone has fallen for someone, it can be good or bad… depending on who they fell for… I want to talk with you about falling for Jesus. Making Him your number 1! The first step in falling for Jesus is we have to find Him.

Maybe you were like me when you were a teenager, and tried to picture your perfect spouse? What kind of expectations did you have? What were you looking for? I had a list, I wanted a man devoted to Jesus, a man who would lead me closer to Jesus, I had other things in there, like a nice tan, and a poetic soul… that poetic soul thing, I am glad now I do not have, I couldn’t stand to be married to the male version of me… Finding a spouse is great but, the one we really need to find is Jesus! He is the only one who can meet our every need. Just how do we find Him?

When I became interested in my husband, I made sure he saw me. I started to show up at the snack bar when he was working, stopped to talk to him when he was in the student lounge or the cafeteria…. Started spending time with his friends… I wanted to find out everything I could about him, to see if he was all I thought he was. I wanted to get to know him.

We wont find Jesus if we don’t actively pursue Him. We need to get in the Word and read what was said about Him… we need to stay in the house of God and hang out with His friends… we need to go where He is and avoid where He isn’t. What does the Bible say about finding Jesus?

Jeremiah 29:13 – You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Proverbs 8:17 – I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.
He who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord.
1 Chronicles 16:11 – Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually.

Have you ever played hide and seek when you were a kid? Think about a time when you were the one seeking, and the anticipation you had on your search… and then remember the excitement you experienced when you found who you were looking for! Now think of a time when you were hiding, sure you wanted to have the best hiding spot, but do you remember a time when your spot was so good that you would drop hints to your pursuer so that they would be able to find you… you were so happy to be found… I see God like that, He hides himself so we will pursue more of Him, and when we are having difficulty finding Him, He is dropping hints of his location… He is waiting for us to want Him so bad that we drop everything else we are doing just to be where He is and get to know His heart. When we find Him, He will overtake us!

Once we find Him we will find that He is an anchor.

Hebrews 6:19 – which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which endures into that within the veil.

Our hope, secured through the price Christ paid is our anchor. Hebrews 9:18 talks about how God confirms his oath with two unchangeable things: It is impossible for God to lie and the hope that is set before us. When we find God, we will begin to find His promises to be true. We can anchor into what He has said that He will do. We are not in this race in vain, there is a hope! We have an eternity to look forward to when Jesus is our Lord!

Jesus Christ, our hope, is our anchor… latch on to Him and know His promises are true.. they will not fade. If he said He will do it, He will do it.

How do we cling to Him? Find out what He is saying. Study the Word of God…. we will never keep our thoughts pure and our focus in the right place if we do not consume His word. If you find your mindset is not one that glorifies God, if you find yourself worrying or depressed, it’s time to re-position yourself, get the Word in your heart so you can cling to your anchor, your hope! (Philippians 4:8)

The more you really know someone the more completely you can love them. Which brings me to my 3^rd point in how we fall for Jesus…. 1^st, we need to know who we are looking for so we can find Him… search Him out, second we need to anchor Into our anchor so when storms blow we won’t veer off course. And thirdly, we need to love! In finding Him and knowing who He is we find out how much He loves us. When we receive His love we need to give it back to Him.

We need to love God.

Mark 12:30 – And you shall love the Lord Your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

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

John 14:21 – Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.

1 John 2:4-6 – Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him; whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.

One we surrender to the love of God, his love will begin to be perfected in us, so we can love Him… and love our brother in Christ.

We need to love our brother.

Mark 12:31 – the second is, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

1 Corinthians 13 is the love chapter. Read it, it will challenge the way you love.

1 John 4:7-8 – Beloved let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love

Romans 12 talks about how we need not think we are better than anyone else, how we need to accordingly use the gifts God has given us to build up the body of Christ, how (V9) our love needs to be without hypocrisy, and we need to hate evil and cling to what is good. We need to love each other and bless our enemies. Rejoice when someone rejoices and weep with those who mourn. It is time to leave our security bubbles and love like Jesus.

The finally way I want to talk about falling for Jesus is by learning to lean on Him. It’s so much easier to trust someone that we love, isn’t it? When we really know and love someone, it becomes natural for us to trust them. We can let down our guard and lean on them, knowing they aren’t going to drop us. Unlike man, our God never fails… occasionally someone we love, who also loves us, will mess up and drop us, but Jesus never will, we can always trust Him!

Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight.

Psalm 37:4-5 – Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.

Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Matthew 6:25 – Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more that clothing?

Psalm 9:10 – And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Joshua 1:9 – Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Isaiah 26:3 – You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Psalm 112:7 – He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

When things are exploding around you, don’t run away from God, lean on Him. Trust that He will do what He says He will do, He will take care of you and secure you under His wing.

In conclusion, FALLing for Jesus is the best thing for us! He loves us! He provides for us! He goes before us and clears the path. Hard times will come, and difficulties will be face but when we find God, when we anchor in the hope He has given us, when we love Him (showing it with our surrender), and when we fully trust Him, we will not be disappointed. God is on our side. He is fighting for us. We never need to worry or be depressed, we need only to live daily in the presence of our God…. make it your goal to FALL for JESUS each and every day!

Running Doesn’t Change A Thing…

Posted on Mar 9, 2016 in Devotions, General |

Maybe the title of this blog post made you start thinking… ‘what is that supposed to mean?’…. Just read through to the end, and you’ll find out!

As I was going about doing my household chores the other day, I was thinking a lot about my lost family. I was thinking and talking with God about the choices they have made. The condition of the backsliders heart is so sad. I can’t imagine how it would feel to know you knowingly walked away from the Creator of the Universe, the One who gave His life so you could be free. What deception the enemy has caused. I hate the devil so much for his deception. He is a liar, and the father of all lies (John 8:44). The way that he has made members of my family think God doesn’t love them makes me want to punch him. He will get what’s coming to him, but in the mean time I’m purposing to be his worst nightmare.

How? By praying. I won’t stop praying until I see my family, and loved ones, saved. Even when I don’t see results. See, in the past I have stopped praying. I have turned my eyes and let my heart become cold to the lost because I wasn’t seeing results. I felt like God just couldn’t do it. But see, that’s where that deceptive devil steps in and does his job. He wants you to give up on the backslider, just like he tricked the backslider into giving up on God.

Now, back to my title. “Running Doesn’t Change A Thing…” It doesn’t matter who is doing the running… a preacher can run from his calling, but that doesn’t change his calling. Likewise, a backslider can run from God, but it doesn’t change the way God loves him. God still loves the backslider. Look at the picture in Hosea, God told him to marry a prostitute. He wanted to show Israel how even though she was prostituting herself out to other lovers (gods), she was still God’s wife. God is still married to the backslider. And just as He sent Hosea to buy his wife back, He is pursing the backslider. Why? Because, God loves the backslider and does not want them to perish.

Perhaps you have been running from God. Perhaps you feel you have been running too long and have ran too far. I have good news for you, if you will stop and turn around…. you will run smack dab into Goodness & Mercy? Why because God sent Goodness and Mercy to follow you all the days of your life when you first gave your life to Him. It’s time to stop running from God and to start running toward him.. the farther you run from Him and into despair and dejection, into sickness and rejection, into desperation and hopelessness, the harder and faster God sends His Goodness and Mercy after you…. and if you turn around, they will overtake you!

Come back to your first love. Let His love wash over you and make you new… It’s never too late.

Me…….. Move?

Posted on Oct 24, 2015 in Devotions, General |

While in prayer and devotion time the other day, the Lord dropped a small nugget of truth into my heart. Sometimes we are so concerned with our comfort that we often neglect our necessity. We like things the way we like them. Take for instance, the obese, if you are overweight, in most cases, your situation can be remedied with diet and exercise, and a made up mind. Too often, those of us in this situation are more comfortable eating the tasty foods we enjoy and sitting around relaxing. Its easy to sit still…. but too much sitting makes one ill. Heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, these are just a few things that could creep up on you, take hold of you, and possibly kill you while you are happy in your comfort zone of tasty fattening treats and comfy sofas. You may not feel like exercising and eating right, but if you don’t your family may not have you in their lives for very long….. Another example is the anorexic. For whatever reason, the anorexic makes a choice to slowly commit suicide. At first, they like the way they look, and then it becomes a need… even though they are dying, there is something that drives them to continue this path because the don’t like the way gaining weight makes them feel. So, they don’t feel like eating, even though, eating is what sustains their life.

Many members of the Church are in one of these places spiritually… we have the spiritually obese content with sitting on the side lines, filling themselves up with the Word of God but never putting to action what they have received. They don’t reach out, they don’t want to change. They like their comfy position, and if anyone dare challenge them to move….. well, let’s hope they don’t. We hear the excuses, “I don’t have time for……..”, “I don’t worship the way you think I should”, “I don’t know what to say to people”, and many more. Look, if you Holy Spirit hasn’t been calling you to go deeper, to spread His word farther, or to love more…. you are most likely not positioned close enough to hear Him. And this “righteousness” you possess is merely a form of Godliness denying the power thereof. The second type of church goer… the spiritually anorexic. The spiritual anorexic likes to be fed at church, but their idea of feeding is just smelling the feast that has been spread out, they don’t digest and they don’t understand. They think just being in church is what is going to secure their home in Heaven. Sorry…. WRONG ANSWER! If you do not eat from the Bread of Life, Read, understand and digest the Word of God, spend time in His presence, Worship and Praise the Lord — God chooses to live in the praises His people give Him — and if you do not drink of the new wine, be filled with the Holy Spirit of God, you’re gonna die spiritually. We need to read our Bibles. We need to commune with our AWESOME, ALL POWERFUL, LOVING, FORGIVING and FAITHFUL GOD! We need to continually be being filled with the Sweet and All Consuming Fire of the Holy Spirit!

In order to be close to God, we need to get up and make a conscious decision to change. You know, God can’t do it all for you. He gave you a will. He gave you a choice. It doesn’t matter if you know you need God, or if you know you need to get closer to Him. You have to get up from your complacent state, and play in the game. Get off the side lines. Stop expecting to be spoon fed, and stop hoarding the blessing of God for yourself. We have been blessed to be a blessing. If you stop up the well, your water will be stagnant. If you don’t spend time with God your fire will soon become strange. If you don’t lay your flesh on the altar, sacrificing your desires, your infatuations, your hopes and dreams, your lusts, You can never be emptied of you and filled with God. So, who needs to move? Not God, He’s right where you left Him. He’s pouring out His oil of gladness, He’s stirred the waters, and He’s waiting for you to step into what He is doing! Who needs to move? You.

Common Church! Let’s seek the face of God, rid ourselves of all that holds us back from Him and be changed and empowered! God has great things in store for us! I, for one, do not want to miss it! He is coming quickly!

Do You See What I See?

Posted on Aug 12, 2015 in Devotions, General |

We see families going about their business too busy for church. Why don’t they come to church today, we think as we drive by them Sunday morning all prim and proper. We see people in their own world, not interested in what we have to say. “I wish they would come to know Jesus” or “I hope they come to know Jesus”, we think as we pass them by. But what does God see. He sees souls meant for Heaven but headed to hell, not just outside of the church walls, but within them too. He sees people who like to keep up appearances, but on the inside they are a mess, lonely, hurt, confused and longing for hope. He sees His church to busy with life, to busy with “church” to stop and share His love with those that are lost.

How do we know when we are close to God? When we hear his voice. When we hear with His ears. When we see with His eyes. It is far too easy to become concerned with our appearances or accomplishing the things on our to do list that we miss God. We miss the opportunities to sit at His feet, and we miss the opportunities to love others into His Kingdom. Yes, we have lives, we need to raise our kids and make a living. But there is more to it than that. We need to know God. We need to love God and let His love be in us and work through us. We need to love and lead others to Him.

“But I don’t know how to lead someone to Jesus”. If you draw close to Jesus, something will begin to change on the inside of you. You will no longer be licking your own wounds, and working to mend your own hurts in the altar every Sunday, but rather your arms -instead of reaching within to cradle yourself- will begin to reach out to others. If we know God, truly know Him, we will be perfected in His love. Then His love will radiate from us, touching those around us.

Take some time today. Examine your life. Is God your everything? Does your soul long more for God than yesterday? Are your arms reaching in rather than out? When you come to church is it so you can be spoon fed and coddled, or is it to Worship your God with fellow believers, encouraging each other, as you look expectantly for our Savior’s return? Does your heart break for the lost or for your own needs? Let’s draw nearer to God, so we can see what He sees and be His hands extended.

I’m reminded of a song we used to sing in church when I was a child: “Just to be His hand extended, reaching out to the oppressed. Let me touch Him, let me touch Jesus. So that others may know and be blessed.”

Ephesians 5:1-2, 15-21: Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; ²and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.¹⁵Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, ¹⁶making the most of your time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; ²⁰always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; ²¹and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

Proverbs 8:17 “I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.”

1 Timothy 2:1-6 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, ²for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. ³This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.

Welcome To Our Official Church Website

Posted on Mar 7, 2015 in General |

Come Check Us Out!

Posted on Mar 7, 2015 in General |

Thank you for visiting our website! We, here at New Life Family Worship Center, are excited to share with you what is going on, and excited to have you take part in that! We are dedicated to meeting you where you are at, and hopeful that you will rise above whatever circumstances you find yourself in today as you draw nearer to Christ Jesus! HE is the Way Maker, the Author and Finisher of our faith, and is still restoring broken lives! If you haven’t visited our church yet, and are looking for Bible believing church, please join us! We count it a privilege to serve you as we serve Christ together! Be blessed today!