EWBS Winder

Spring Study – “How to Hear God’s Voice”

Valerie — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 18:25:20 +0000

Yes, God really does desire to communicate with His people! We have all been taught the basis of the Christian faith is one must have a personal relationship with Jesus. Just how ‘personal’ however, tends to greatly vary amongst the teachings. Hearing God is a must for developing a personal relationship with Him. We all have different levels of understanding of how God speaks and what it means to hear Him. The importance is that we believe He still speaks and wants to speak to us personally! Most of us know how to talk to Him and about Him, but He really desires to talk to us. Have we developed listening ears or a sensitive spirit to His voice? How close would you be to a friend that you only knew from what another friend told you about them? How intimate would you be with someone if you only wrote each other letters? Part of the dynamic of what Jesus restored to mankind was walking and talking with God in the cool of the day!! What a joy to know He longs for intimate personal relationship with us. My prayer is that this study will bring each one of us, no matter where we are in our relationship with Him or our understanding of how He speaks, to increased intimacy and a greater level of hearing Him. I am so looking forward to what He has already placed before us to receive!!

With great expectation!!

Valerie

Character Check

Valerie — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:41:18 +0000

Upon finishing our study in Titus, it is evident that we are challenged in today’s society with the structure of the church and the character of her leaders, as well as the body of believers. The Apostle Paul clearly put forth to Titus the character set apart in choosing leaders. He was concerned that the word of God not be blasphemed. In addition to that character, he expected actions from believers that would adorn the doctrine of our Savior in all things. Paul began his letter to Titus, proclaiming who he was, in a personal way, a bondservant of God, and in a positional way, an apostle of Jesus. It is not that Titus didn’t know Paul’s identity or his authority, but Paul knew others would see his letter as well. Titus could use this letter to support the authority he would move in upon fulfilling Paul’s request. After establishing his personal authority, Paul proclaimed who Titus was, letting whomever reading know he could be trusted. You can almost hear him saying, ‘this is my son, listen to him.’ What a great example of a father/son relationship in the faith. He leaves Titus with a responsibility to set up structure in the churches they had started. He clearly lays out lifestyle standards for leaders as authority in the church and also for believers and their relationships to others. This standard of righteous living can only be found in a life transformed by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. A man can accept Jesus as Savior, but until he builds a relationship with Him through the Holy Spirit, he will in no way be able to imitate Him. One will only declare ‘follow me’ when he is confident and personally knows who he himself is following. A leader will only lead where he himself has been or is being led by the Lord. A believer who continually declares ‘I am only human,’ excusing his failures, has missed the enabling power of grace to become all that God has intended for him to become, Christlike! We as believers are responsible to live out to the world who Jesus is, to adorn Him. It is our purpose here! Are we not willing to confess our responsibility in doing this because we fear our inabilities and continue to identity with them instead of yielding to His power to overcome? Do we have more faith in the power of the enemy that could cause us to stumble than we have faith in the power of God to keep us in His righteousness? Understanding the meaning of grace releases an individual to live out the character of God the Holy Spirit enables them to live in. Grace – of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues. Grace is our enabler and it teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly. When? In this present age! A man who can declare his relationship with his Father God, boldly speak out his calling and position, and live in the character of God’s authority and leadership he is declaring, will raise up sons in the faith. Paul is confident in the power of God that works within him! He says imitate me, as I imitate Christ.1 Cor 11:1 Oh that we had more leaders in the church who could confidently declare this to the body, and a body who could confidently declare it to the world!!
In grace alone,
Valerie

2012-2013 Registration

admin — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 20:12:50 +0000

Join us on September 20, 2012 at 2:00 pm to register for the Pastoral and Short Letter Study.
Please click our Contact and Registration Page for additional dates and fees.

The Word Really is Alive!!

Valerie — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:29:01 +0000

We have been encouraged by the writer of Hebrews to the obedience of heeding God’s voice daily, “Today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” He then points out the power of the word! The power that will keep our heart from becoming hardened and falling away from the ‘rest’ that God has promised. Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Through the completed work of Jesus, not only do we have access of hearing the voice of God, we have His Word living within. This is one of the ‘better’ benefits of the New Covenant the writer of Hebrews is explaining to the converted Jews. The law couldn’t change their heart, only their actions, which would leave their hearts far from God, worshiping Him only with their lips. However, the fulfillment of the law through Jesus, brought completion to God’s promises and provision for abiding fellowship with Him. In this, a life of righteousness greater than the law could be attained. Jesus is the Living Word and His Spirit lives within every believer. This provision should encourage us, knowing that we always have His keeping power that guides and directs us every moment of every day. Any action that steps out of His ways, the motive of His heart, what He is desiring to do through us that day, will be checked by His Spirit within. He has now written His word in our hearts, the transforming power lives within!! In our daily life, we should immediately get a conviction within concerning what we are about to do, say, or even what we are thinking if it is not in line with His nature. It is then up to us to make that choice, sometimes that immediate choice, of what His Spirit is saying or what we are being convicted not to say or do. This in itself should bring great comfort in knowing we are never alone and no longer do we have to work at becoming righteous, we need only to abide in His righteousness. He has given us the power to abide in who He is and His ways. A great honor it is as a believer to have eyes to see what the Father is doing and ears to hear what the Father is saying because of His abiding presence within. This is the transforming power every believer has, that we be perfected into His image!

This power of the Word within is also the reason why many are rejected by those who do not know the Lord or by those who are His and not in His will. His word is living and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword, it is the discerner of thoughts and intents of hearts. There are times when a believer’s presence will be avoided by those who do not believe. The Light of His word will always shine on areas of darkness, not only our own, but those around us. This causes for a decision to be made by others. The same decision we find ourselves making in that moment when He convicts our thoughts, intentions, words, or actions. Whether it is a challenge for a maturity level change from one believer to another, or a standard of righteousness for an unbeliever, His word is the discerner of thoughts and the intents of hearts. It is when one does not want change that His word is rejected, the Light that is shining on any area in opposition to His ways and His character. Remain in Him and His word, no matter the rejection you may receive, it is not you that is being rejected, it is Him. (John 15:18-20) His word is alive with power, it is sharply dividing soul and spirit. He brings life and it is His desire to draw all man unto Him to give them life, abundant life! Again, what comfort we have in knowing, His living word within, lives to keep us in who He is!! As we abide in Him, He lives to draw others into His character and nature as well!!

Let your Light Shine!!

Valerie

Our confidence is in Him!!

Valerie — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 01:16:57 +0000

In reading the life of Jesus in the scripture, I never see a place in which He felt the need to be right. The words from His mouth were powerful and either they were accepted or denied, but He never stopped His flow of Love that represented His Father. He only spoke the truth. He had no insecurities and never felt it necessary to defend His actions, who He was, or where He came from. He knew He was right and was never threatened by another. He knew who He was, knew who His Father was, and knew His position of authority and purpose. Can I say “confident”?!

There are times when we find ourselves, as followers of Jesus, shaken by our surroundings, moved by our circumstances, and burdened by things in this world that in many instances we have no control over. That feeling of needing to be right, wanting to point out another being wrong, and trying to defend our faith, only reveals that our faith is weaker than whatever is coming against it at that moment. The best defense of our faith is to remain in it and not be moved out of the assurance of our hope. When these feelings come and we have the insight to recognize them, it should reveal to us that our position in Him is being challenged. Who is greater, He within, or …. ? At that moment, it is time to stand and believe that we are one in Christ with the All Powerful, Most High God, and nothing will ever change that. We must remain in our faith in order to remain in power over the enemy. This is the testimony of Jesus within us! We must represent who we say we believe in! This is done by allowing Him to be who He is within – never threatened by man, never moved by circumstances, never weakened by insecurities, always speaking the Truth in Love and standing firm in who we are in Him, because we know who He is! Challenge, yes, but only in the areas we do not yet know that He is who He says He is. It is an opportunity each time to mature in Him!

I say all that to say… When it comes to our faith and we see the times of persecution rising, we should be comforted in Whom we believe. It is obvious to see and hear when other religions that serve other gods are threatened by Jesus and His power. So much so that the very mention of His name causes them to get defensive, to the point of crucifying (literally) those who believe in Him or speak His word. That alone reveals to me, Jesus is the Way and the Truth! The authority a Christian stands in should reveal the ultimate power within. His power is never threatened!

I am humbled and yet confident in knowing the Most High God, the One and Only True God, and I do not need to feel threatened, I only need to remain and walk in He, who is Truth! He is my confidence!! Heb 3:14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end –

May we all stand firm in grace, confidently!!

Valerie

Faith That Rests!

Valerie — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 17:09:36 +0000

What a good day at study Thursday! Looking back over the reference to Psalm 95 in Hebrews chapters 3 – 4 at the warning to not harden our hearts and come short of our promise of rest, one must ponder how and why this happens. These scriptures take us back to the day of rebellion, the days that Moses is leading God’s people into their promised inheritance. In answering the cry of His people, God is leading them to a land with abundant provision, free from bondage, a life of rest. Hebrews 4:11 tells us to be diligent to enter His rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. Let us ponder then these examples. With it all before us in the Scriptures, it seems hard to grasp the actions of the Israelites to God’s miraculous provisions. However, their faith is continuously tested through this journey. Their disobedience was manifest because of doubt and unbelief, with the result being a failure to enter into their promised destiny. Their faith failed because of their unbelief. However, I can’t overlook the example of Moses and his failure to enter as well. We know the writer of Hebrews calls him a faithful servant, highly esteemed for his leadership, and yet he too stumbled in disobedience and missed his promised destiny of leading a people into their rest. This happened because Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to the rock as God had commanded, in order to bring provision of water for the Israelites. What was the reason for his actions? Numbers 20:12 tells us that he didn’t trust God. Once before God had told Moses to strike a rock and water would flow for His people and he did, but in this instance, God said speak. Going back to Exodus chapters 3-4 we read where Moses is chosen as an instrument by God to lead His people to freedom, but Moses’ greatest insecurity was his ability to speak. Even after several instances of miraculous examples from God to build his faith, Moses still feared. This leaving God angered, He still agreed to a mouthpiece for Moses, Aaron.

After 40 years of many miraculous signs of provision and still a lack of faith from the people, one can wonder if Moses and Aaron were discouraged by unbelief, grumbling and complaining. Together in the hearing of God’s voice, He said speak to the rock, so why the striking? It is clear to see that Moses, after many years, never gained victory over his insecurity, his fear to speak. He still trusted in the rod that God had given him (Ex. 4:17). He had seen with his own eyes the power it represented and the miracles performed. However, now was the time for him to overcome his fear by faith and speak, trusting God to empower His words and see water flow from the rock. Instead Moses stumbled in his insecurity that overpowered his faith, loosing his promise of entering his intended destiny through disobedience. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Aaron would have been strong and spoke to Moses when he picked up his staff to strike the rock, reminding him of the word the Lord had spoken. Would he have listened? Could he have been encouraged to obedience from a brother who knew him?

We eventually see Moses at the Mt of Transfiguration, knowing he reached his eternal destiny, but let us glean from his example in testing that we not fall away from a rest that is provided for us daily. The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to a greater faith because of the superiority of the completed work of Jesus! It is faith with the power to overcome unbelief and keep us in His promises! Let us head His word!!

Our insecurities and fears are overcome by God-given opportunities that test our faith! Has your faith been tested lately? We have been given the power to overcome by His abiding Spirit, let us not fall away from our intended promised destiny! May we not be as those who hardened their hearts because of unbelief, but let us encourage and exhort one another in this walk of faith together as God’s people. How important it is for us to hear and heed His word, as well as guard what we hear spoken by those around us! Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God! “Today” if you will hear His voice, do not harden your heart!

In this faith, there is ‘Rest’ that abides!

Valerie

Created for His Glory!

Valerie — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 01:41:43 +0000

I marvel at the excellence in description that is in the first four verses of chapter 1 of Hebrews that distinguish Jesus as superior, and His work complete. He, being One with the Father, is Creator, the beginning of all things; Heir, the end of all things; Sustainer, the One who holds all things ‘in between’ by the word of His power. He is the completion of all things! Being the exact representation of His Father, He is the radiance of His Father’s glory! Jesus is the embodiment of all that was spoken! He is the supreme and final revelation to the Old Covenant – He is the Word! Jesus is God manifest in the flesh!

The more revelation I grasp of who He is, and His role of completion in reconciling man to God, the more I understand how complete I am in Him. This brings a greater sense of security, a confident assurance of who I am and my purpose in this life.

As I ponder the scriptures in the lessons of the past two weeks, and think of how Jesus is now manifest in this earth through His own (that’s us!), this verse has caught my attention – Heb 3:6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. We are His house, His temple, the place where He now resides through the Holy Spirit! Being the exact image of the Father’s person, Jesus is the means in which the Father lives within us. Holy Spirit is the way He lives in and comes forth through us. And now we are the ones in which our Father has chosen to reveal His Son to the earth! This opportunity and call exceeds any offer of the world for success, satisfaction or fulfillment! How special, loved, and liberated should this make one feel?! He created the house, He cleansed the house, and now He lives in the house. If we as the body of Christ, the house that Jesus built, were functioning in the confidence of this Truth, how less appealing would other gods be to the world! What has happened to our confidence? Have we ever walked in it? Where is the rejoicing because of the hope we have, or where is our hope?

There seems to be a string of false humility in the house that is keeping us from flowing as Jesus, a radiance of His glory, the Light of the world. Is this a plan of the enemy because he fears our moving in the power that overcomes his deceitful schemes? He definitely does not want mankind to know their worth, which would surely expose his tactics of destruction. He despises the likeness we represent, for we are made in God’s image. Or is it a comfortable choice that keeps us from taking the ‘responsibility’ of furthering the Kingdom and continuing the excellent work of Jesus? Continuing that work means releasing ourselves to be the house in which He continually abides. False humility only reveals man’s dependence on himself, which produces fear. That fear then creates an identity in insecurity. Insecurity will always view confidence as arrogance, because it fears losing its identity. We will become secure and confident in our calling when we face our fears with faith.

It is He who works in us; it is He that is our hope of glory! It is deception to believe that we are not worthy of this call. Jesus died because He saw our worth. How great a ridicule of the blood of Christ to accept unworthiness if we say we belong to Him. One will never represent the excellence of who Jesus is with his/her life while believing it unworthy. He created flesh and blood and chose to reside in all who believe. He has not left us without the means to live confidently, filled with hope, understanding our worth in this flesh. This flesh is weak, but its treasure within is priceless! Let us see our worth! One will walk in true humility when he knows the worth of the treasure within!! We have been restored to the Father through the Son, what more are we waiting for? It is truly finished. We have a work to do that can only be accomplished through Him, and His Spirit within, and it is He that chose to do this work through us. Believe your worth as His vessel, stand firm in confidence, and rejoice in the hope of your calling!! You are built on a firm foundation!!

In awe as His,

Valerie

A Superior Access

Valerie — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 23:04:21 +0000

It would be well said that only God knows for certain who wrote the Book of Hebrews. Just who He inspired to emphasize a ‘better’ covenant, established on ‘better’ promises, encouraging the foundation for life in the New Covenant with His people (Heb 8: 6-8) remains a mystery. The writer points out the overwhelming superiority of Christ over all that had been experienced under the law. What is offered through Christ is so much better than that which is promised under the Mosaic Law. The believing Jews were wavering under the persecutions and the writer stresses the importance of remaining steadfast (Heb 2:1-4, 10:32-36). There are many high points for meditation, but one thing caught my attention, and that is, Jesus becoming our High Priest, our Mediator, giving us access to our Father’s presence. It was but once a year that the Priest could enter the Holiest of All, and even though the rituals of the ancient tabernacle were observed with dignity and glory, they failed to provide free access to the presence of God. However, now we have access into the presence of God, the Holiest of All, through the sacrifice of His Son every moment of every day!! (Heb 9:6-10, 10:19-21) What would possibly keep us from desiring to enter daily into that presence? From abiding in that presence? Why would we settle for anything less? And why is that the extent of our commitment to Him? As I pondered these questions the Lord dropped a thought into my mind (I love how He knows my thoughts) – ‘The level of commitment one knows that I have made to him through My Son, is the level of commitment one will make to Me and My ways—for it is I who works in him to will and to do.’ I then understood that the level in which one believes that God is absolutely committed to giving him abundant life, is the level one will be committed to Him and will live his/her daily life as close to that source of abundance as possible. It is He that began a good work in us and He is faithful to complete it! Much of our time and commitment is spent searching for abundant life in things that do not satisfy, only to reveal the measure in which we believe His commitment to us. Our faith in His promise is vital! Oh that we believe it is only He that gives abundant life. Committing to Him and His presence will bring about His will in our lives. He never asks us to do His will apart from His promised presence! What an amazing privilege we have been given—access to the Holiest of All, His presence, at anytime through our High Priest, His Son!!

Pondering a continual superior access!

Valerie

Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession!!

Sweet Anticipation!

Valerie — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:51:40 +0000

It was a great day at registration! There was such a wonderful atmosphere as we gathered to get our study material on Thursday. The joy and expectancy in the air always creates the beauty in fellowship together. It is such an awesome opportunity for us to be able to share this time! I sense our Father is just as excited for us to be together again as we are. He loves sharing who He is with us, which is why we love sharing our lives together as well. There are things in life that need our time, and then there are distractions that take our time. As we heed His voice and the inner peace within, we know the difference. Always be mindful of this, the level of obstacle that is overcome is the level of victory that is owned! There is no greater peace than to know you are in His will doing what He would have you to do! It is then that no distraction or circumstance will take precedent over His desire for you. Therefore, I am anticipating and expecting from Him with excitement, because I know we are positioned where He would have us, and I know the Book of Hebrews is the means in His Word in which He wants to speak to us this year. As you have committed to seeking His heart for you throughout this study, be expecting the joy that comes through the enlightenment that brings transformation! And yes, we will have the victory! Here’s to the beginning of a race ran together –

Sweet anticipation!

Valerie

Register September 1st between 10am – 12 noon

admin — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:36:16 +0000

Please stop between 10am -12 noon on Thursday, September 1 to register for the upcoming 2011/12 study!

We look forward to meeting new people and returning members. Please visit our registration page for fee schedule and to download your form ahead of time.