For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 15:4

This verse underscores the reason we read the Bible and give our lives to its truth. The Apostle Paul talks about how “all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable,” and when we look at the Scriptures, we see account after account of God’s faithfulness throughout the generations (2 Timothy 3:16).

And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Hebrews 11:32-34

When we look in the rear view mirror of history and see the patterns that were set in the Scriptures, we can take away something personal: Instead of letting the battles of life reduce us to a state of survival and maintenance, we find that we too are called to rule and reign and to carry the Gospel of Jesus around the world.

We are to be people filled with hope. Don’t conform to the bitterness and misery of the culture around you. Instead, get in the Word and find out who you are and what you have been called to in Jesus. You are a child of God and He is not weak toward you but mighty in you (2 Corinthians 13:3)! You are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God (Psalm 139:14; Genesis 1:27-28). You are called to change the world, to be fruitful and multiply, to meet and influence people, and to pray big prayers of faith. You can go into workplaces, schools, economies, cities and nations and make a difference by the power of the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).

Press on,
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2012 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

The change agent—Jesus—makes us different than we were before. We were all without hope, but Jesus came on the scene—not to condemn or reinforce failure, but to become a sin substitute for us (2 Corinthians 5:21).

When everything else wears out, when ideas are blurred, when vision gets disrupted, when momentum gets crippled by hurts, challenges, and trials, it’s important to remember that God does not grow weary or tired. It is God who is at work urging and helping us to put off the old ways and keep putting on the new (Philippians 2:13; Ephesians 4:22-24).

One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13b-14

Could it be that all the demonic pressure and satanic bombardment hitting your life have been designed by the devil, who knows his days are numbered and is trying his best to hinder the ministers of reconciliation and grind to a halt the mighty moving force called the Church? Don’t miss what could be by looking only through the lens of your present circumstances. Instead, “lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest” (John 4:35b). Resist the devil and fortify yourselves by taking up the whole armor of God and conforming to the image of Christ.

The path of the righteous shines brighter and brighter until the full day (Proverbs 4:18). Yes, you can change. Yes, your marriage can get better. Yes, you can grow in God, bear more fruit, prosper, be healed, be more effective, be more on fire, change the world, and contribute to the harvest. Yes, you can alleviate suffering. Yes, you can be the encouragement that might keep someone on his feet. We are to keep growing and growing and growing. The best is yet to come.

Press on!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Therefore lay apart all filthiness and the superfluity of wickedness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls. James 1:21 21st Century KJV*

The Word has the ability to change you: save your soul, change your personality, heal, restore, deliver, and maximize fruit-bearing. To get results though, the Word must be engrafted into your life. Once I visited a Washington state apple-grower. He grafted Fuji branches to his already established Red Delicious trees. To my surprise, he explained that the superior Fuji apples would grow from the grafting. When we receive God’s Word, better fruit is produced.

We get the Word in our lives by spending time pouring through its pages and meditating on what it has to say. When you and the Word are one, the devil can’t defeat you any more than he can defeat the Word of God. All the devil can do is try to hinder the engrafting process, try to trip us up and let the little foxes—the bitterness we hold on to, the “small” sins—come in and spoil the vine. (Song of Solomon 2:15).

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. John 15:4-5, 11

Before you die, God wants to use you to do some extraordinary things. “The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree; he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and very green” (Psalm 92:12-14).

God has done a great work in you, but He wants to do a great work through you. You’ve got a part to play by keeping your heart with all diligence, by stopping sin in its beginning, by choosing the love walk over bitterness. Then you will yield quality fruit your entire life.

Press on!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright ©2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. *Scripture quotation taken from the 21st Century King James Version®, copyright © 1994. Used by permission of Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

I’d rather have the pain of moving forward than the pain of stagnation. God loves and accepts you right where you are, but He doesn’t want you to stay stuck there. When you become a Christian, you change and then you become a change agent to impact others’ lives. Some of you are encumbered by so many variables, and the stresses of life have been wearing you down, but don’t let the devil make you back away from a tenacity to push forward. Lift up your head, because Jesus has things figured out.

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4

As I’m advocating change, I’m talking about getting ready for increase. The purpose of the change is not about personal comfort, but about reaching souls. People who have been disinterested in the things of God are becoming interested because they have been shaken. Now we need to be ready. Nations and hearts that were closed are opening up, and God wants to gear you up to answer the problems in other people’s lives. This is not a spectator sport but the proper working of each individual part (Ephesians 4:16).

At some point you need to decide to trust God. Instead of succumbing to all the worries of the world, stay engaged in the presence of God and spend some more time in the secret place where you’ll find rest (Matthew 11:28). As you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you (James 4:8). And, as you wait upon the Lord, you’ll gain new strength (Isaiah 40:31). This Christian life of change and moving forward is not for the elite few—it is accessible to all who seek God.

Press forward!

Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. Proverbs 4:18

God has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). Psalm 119 tells us that the entrance of God’s Word brings light (119:130a). So, to get where God wants us to be, it’s important to pull out the owner’s manual, the Bible, and read the instructions.

We must keep ourselves filled with the Word of God and keep our spirits sensitive to the Holy Spirit by daily surrendering our lives to God’s plan. This requires us to deal with offenses and make constant adjustments to lay down things that don’t please God. Don’t get overwhelmed! Even small changes produce big results.

My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them and health to all their body. Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:20-23

Don’t let your purpose be thwarted by bumps in the road. Clear off your spiritual windshield so that you can see things the way God does. You have a heavenly Father who delivers on a very profound level. He gave His Son. Meditate on that for a while. If God can cleanse you of sin and save you for all of eternity, He can certainly cover every other deal in your life.

The rubber-meets-the-road part of this letter is that I believe God wants to use you in the upcoming days to impact others. You aren’t just striving to be a “nice Christian”—the goal is to reflect who Jesus truly is so that your message to the world is clear. You might be the only Bible some people read. Make it your goal to please God and finish strong. Cast your worries on Him (1 Peter 5:7).

He can stabilize any situation. You are more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ (Romans 8:37). With man it may be impossible, but with God all things are possible (Mark 10:27). He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). So trust Him. Stop looking in the rearview mirror at past mistakes and step forward into the great big beautiful plans God has for you. The best is yet to come!

Happy New Year!

Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2008 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.