Romans 8:22-27

The whole of creation groans, the earth around us, and we as God’s children (the first fruits).  We hope and wait for what is unseen, for the eternal, but we know that the world is not yet as it was intended.  Our spirit groans within us for God has put eternity in our hearts.  To live in hope means to act in spite of our imperfection, knowing we won’t get it right, that the results will not be exactly what we planned or envision.  We can trust in God to use it for His glory regardless.  We have hope because God is not yet finished with us.

Romans 8:18-21

Faith and hope is what allows us to let go of the things of this world and hold them loosely.  Hope is an anchor for your soul.  It can be so difficult to see God’s plan at work when we are in the midst of pain and struggle.  Our present sufferings however are not even worth comparing with the glory that is set before us.  The entire creation is waiting for its redemption and deep down we know that things are not as they truly should be yet.  God’s will is that we will be set free from our bondage and be redeemed as His sons and daughters.  One day He will set all things right, oh what a day that will be!

Psalm 8:3-5, Romans 8:19, Philippians 2:14-15

Romans 8:17-18

We are children of The King, we share in His suffering but also we are meant to share in His glory!  Paul reminds us in Romans 8 that “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us”.  We must commit ourselves by faith therefore, a faith that is proved genuine through trials, that is refined by fire.  Our perseverance brings maturity in us and glory to God through us.  Our statements of love for God if not tested and confirmed by our actions are simply words.

Believe it when God says that He rewards those who earnestly seek him because He is trustworthy.  His love endures forever, even unto the ending of the age.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 and 11:23-28, Hebrews 11:6, 1 Peter 1:6-7, James 1:2

Romans 8:12-16

The Bible tells us that when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior we are given the gift of the Spirit. We are now the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The result of this is that we can truly relate to God as His children, as His son’s and daughters. This is an incredibly profound, wonderful truth. No longer do we relate to God as slaves, in fear. But now we say ‘Abba’ even as Jesus did, calling God ‘Father.’ This is indeed the Jesus Way that He made possible.

Through the Spirit we are adopted into God’s family, by virtue of Jesus work on our behalf. The one and only Son of God made it possible for us to become son’s and daughters of God – through faith in Him. What a gift this is! When you are adopted you receive the full rights of a son or daughter. This includes an inheritance. And the inheritance we receive from God beats any earthly inheritance – eternal life in God Kingdom, enjoying Him forever. This is what we have to look forward to.

May we live now not as slaves, in fear. But may we by faith live as God’s children, with great joy and expectation.

Romans 8:5-11

The Christian life is a matter of life and death – literally. The Bible tells us that when we walk by the Spirit, when we are controlled by the Spirit, we live. But when we follow the desires of the ‘sinful nature’ we die. It’s quite clear.

Death at it’s core is separation from God, to be at odds with Him. What we should fear most is the ’second death’ spoken of in the book of Revelation. This death is to be alienated from God forever. But we can begin to experience this death even now, in this life. We can experience a kind of ‘walking death’ by living apart from God and doing our own thing. We can be dead, even while we live – spiritually anyway.

Moses exhorted Israel as they were about to enter the promise land to ‘choose life.’ (Deuteronomy 30) They stood ready to cross the Jordan, but still had a choice to make. It was a matter of life and death, and Moses challenged them to ‘choose life;’ to follow God and obey Him.  We have a choice also, a matter of life and death. May we choose to follow Christ and walk by the Spirit of God, in faith and hope. May we choose to take hold of the ‘life that is truly life.’ (1 Timothy 6:19) May we truly live, both now and forever.

Romans 8:1-4

We do not live according to the sinful nature, instead as the followers of Christ, we have been set free.  Free from the law of sin and death.  Because of our sinful nature we were unable to follow the law adequately.  It is only by the Spirit of God that we can be justified.  That He can take our burden and lighten your load.  We have a tendency as humans to try to justify ourselves and claim our own righteousness, but our own righteousness is inadequate.  We must by faith receive His righteousness instead.

We hear the Gospel, we receive the message, and we receive the Spirit of God but then we must take action.  We must stop, get on our knees, and call out to God for help.  He will lead us but we must follow.  The war is already won but the battle is still raging on.  Victory is found only in Christ!

John 15:12-13

Sacrificial love works its way out in our lives through concentric circles of love and connection.  True agape love takes giving and sacrifice.  The sacrifices that define our own lives include those of our savior in heaven, our parents, our spouses, our mentors, our public servants, and of course our soldiers.  If you take these promises and sacrifice away then what are you left with? … not much of value or meaning.  Our sacrifices define our values and provide the opportunity to others to experience and find value in this life.  Christ’s ultimate sacrifice provides us a hope and a future in eternity.

Simple Truth Church is more than a building, more than somewhere to spend your Sunday mornings. We are a family of believers with an unquenched thirst for the knowledge of our faithful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  A family who laughs, cries, prays, and spiritually grows together.  We are not perfect; but we strive to live a life pleasing to our Father God.  We really love God and we really love people.

The mission of NarrowGate is to provide individuals and families with an effective faith-based solution to the intense problems of this life. We equip people with the necessary tools to live a healthy, spiritually productive life outside of the confines of a structured program. By instilling Christian principals and values we empower people with mental stability, emotional balance, physical wellness, social ability, and Spiritual Life.

At NarrowGate we offer a 1-2 year, live-in facility for individuals with issues such as drug, alcohol, gambling, pornography addictions, depression, eating disorders, homelessness along with any other life-controlling problems. We offer a safe structured environment designed specifically for people coming out of unhealthy backgrounds. People coming out of these life styles are not usually accustomed to handling the pressure of life without shutting down and turning to their escape. We help establish healthy ways of handling the situations of life. Our students also learn a good work ethic, study habits and people skills, thru the encouragement and support they receive. We believe grace, truth, time, accountability, structure and love are the essential elements to see authentic change in a person’s life. We give people room to fail and then come along side them with counseling and guidance to help them work through their issues. Everyone receives individual attention because everyone is different. Some begin to embrace change more quickly than others.

Happy Mother’s Day! As we contemplate the beauty of motherhood, we are looking at the story of Naomi from the book of Ruth. We often focus on Ruth the Moabitess and her loyalty to Naomi, but the story is as much (or more) about Naomi: her character, motherliness, and relationship with the Lord. Join us as we look at some of the important lessons that Naomi’s life teaches us about being a good mom, in both struggle and blessing.

Romans 7:7-25

In this christian life we battle many things; the world, the flesh, and the devil.  When the flesh rules our lives we will give way to foolishness and open ourselves up to predation by the evil that lies within every human heart.  The law, rightly understood, is a gift from God.  It reveals our shortcoming and the worldliness that we still cling to.  To succeed in our pursuit of Christ we need support and fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We must put to death the sinful nature and learn to walk by the spirit, to keep in step with the spirit.  We must remember that our lives really do matter to God and what we do with them has eternal consequence, not only for us, but for those we love, and for the God that we worship.

1 John 2:15-16, 1 Peter 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 5:16-17, Romans 8:12-13