As I sit here thinking what had happened these past few days, I keep stewing over the same undeniable fact. God is in complete control, and I derive my peace from Him and that. The verse that comes to mind is from the book of John. ​

​This peace as stated here “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:7, will keep us on that solid rock that is Christ Jesus our Lord. 

For those of you who don’t know, a storm that hasn’t been seen in a long time, and was ill prepared for, hit Texas. Many people including us were without power for more than 30 hours. It caused freezing conditions in homes causing an immense amount of damage to many properties. 

Not to mention the deaths that have happened from the cold, the conditions that have happened from COVID, and the inability of the trucks to deliver food to the grocery stores due to road conditions. I’ve seen first hand the chaos at the stores from the mass of people who are doing emergency buying and taking more than they need. All of this has caused a frenzy all over. 

People are fearing for their lives and for the lives of their families. Seeing how the world reacts to this kind of catastrophe, I sit back and see those who have this peace live and react. Either prepared or not, we move with peace and eternity in mind. This is how we should live. This is how we should live. 

No matter if it’s a financial storm, a rain storm, an ice storm, a power outage, a death and yes even a war, God had given us this peace as a gift. He has made His children to be Holy (set apart) from the world and to lead as an example -to lead the people of this world to Jesus. He is the Lord of peace. The King above all kings. 
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In times of sorrow, and in times of struggle. In times of sorrow and pain, He gives us this peace that confounds the wise and the people of this world. Let us not forget that this peace we have, that was given us, can shine like a light to those around us as a beacon of hope to a lost and dying world. Let your light shine and let it shine bright for the Glory or God and the furtherance of the Gospel!  

Jonathan Eckel

When I became a Christian I knew my life wasn’t guaranteed to be easy. I knew that, Jesus said to pick up my cross and follow him (Matthew 16:24). Not to long after I became a follower of Christ, the real estate bubble popped and down went the market.

Shortly after that, the company I worked for had to shut down (real estate title insurance) because the business just wasn’t there. I couldn’t find a job making what I had made, so I started a cleaning career. I worked as hard and long as I could but, we still lost everything. House, cars, credit cards, and savings.

This seemed like the hardest time of my life but, truly it wasn’t. There have been tougher times, but God has always been there. I know that, I could have wavered in my faith through these times but I didn’t because my hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness. I remember being so down that I could almost hear a whisper “curse God and die”.

The worse it got though, the tighter I clung to Him. We aren’t promised an easy ride. In fact we are warned that we will have troubles. We are told to count the cost, and not to take it lightly. Many say, you are who you are when no one is around. What about when your kids or wife see you in those times? They see how your faith in Christ leads you in times of trouble and need.

How do you act in the rough times? Are you lashing out in anger or depression? Both are easy to fall into but Christ is our strength. Let me encourage to draw near to Him in your times of need and in your times of plenty. If you can’t rely on Him for everything, your statement of faith is nothing more than that, a mere statement, not a real faith.

Jonathan Eckel

The fear we think of as Christians should be this kind of fear. We should always remember who it is we call Father, the God of all creation who spoke everything into existence. The one to whom the mountains bow down, is the one we call Lord.

Before I was saved I imagined Him as this angry old guy in the sky and I did have a healthy fear that he would crush me if I sinned (not like I wasn’t a specialist in it) and cast me out. I had a completely unbiblical view of Him and didn’t know God or Jesus as I should. No one ever showed me in Scripture His attributes.

As a Christian though, I have learned to study and see that, the one who I was afraid of, wasn’t even real. True, God could squash us like bugs, and honestly that’s what we deserve for sinning against Him, but He has grace and mercy for us. The fear I now have, is a Biblical one. I hate my sin, I hate my pride. Really, the beginning of wisdom and knowledge, is hating what He hates, and loving what He loves.

When we stop and think about it, doesn’t this just make you want to praise Him more?! How much different is the God of the Bible than what you where taught as a kid? The true God of the Bible is amazing and loving, the just judge for sure but truly more than I could have ever imagined. I can’t wait to open His Word and get to know Him better. I hope you feel the same.

Jonathan Eckel

​Dr. Anthony R. Silvestro, Jr. & Jonathan Eckel, Ev.

How does a church grow Biblically? As we take a look at this “popular” subject, we have to remember that, as Christians, we must start and stand on God's Word (The Bible) for all of our views. This is no different, although you might get confused while walking around a "Christian" bookstore. You will see all kinds of strategies and different “ways” to manipulate people into coming through your doors. One of the things that you have to remember is that it is not your doors. The doors (as well as the rest of the church) belong to Christ. He gave you the lamp stand. If He chooses to grow the body of believers in your church, that's His prerogative to do so.

​In this blog post, we will be dealing with heavy theory and working in a theological playground. You may first be asking, "Where in the world is he going with this?"
        
Many people say that there are a number of ways into Heaven - different religions, multiple “saviors”, several “prophets”, etc.  The reality is that all religions on the earth can be placed into 2 categories: works-based and grace-based. Every religion on the planet, other than Biblical Christianity, is works-based.  It is what you do to earn, aka bribe, your way into Heaven.  We are going to establish here that this is wrong: there is no amount of good works that you can do to outweigh the bad.  Biblical Christianity, on the other hand, is based on the Doctrines of Grace.  It is by the grace of God, through Faith in Jesus Christ alone that gets us into Heaven. Why is that?

I would like to start off with a simple question:

​Dear Christian. What do you do with your in-between moments? Not just the ones you have between the next two meetings, or the ones you have between your meals. I'm talking about all of them. Every moment from when you leave church one Sunday and then arrive on Sunday the following week.  How do you live your life on a regular basis between the Sundays?

​I just love reading God's word - I cannot go a day without it!

As I opened my Bible today, I decided to read Psalm 103. There is so much in this Psalm; I will only point out a few things that made me praise the Lord for His mercy. The Psalm 103:1 starts off with pure praise! It says, "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!”  Do you see what David is saying? He is praising God with everything that he is! He is pouring himself out in praise to God!