First Friday Fellowship

We need to take a moment and pray, and ask God if we are on the right side of Him. Because as we draw closer to Him, we begin to experience a purity and how we see things, our interpretation of events and how we see other people. Not that we see other people as perfect, but we start seeing them MORE as God sees them, and LESS as how Satan wants us to see them.  But, we should make no mistake, God...

The Bible tells us that we don't battle against flesh and blood, but the principalities of the spirit world.  But how should we handle the world we live in day to day, when the battlefield isn't isn't so obvious?  And for those that follow Jesus and claim him as their personal Savior, your future is completely secured. But it's still our job to work as scouts on this earthly battle...

700 years before the birth of Christ, the Book of Isaiah was written.  The Book of Isaiah is very popular among religious scholars, because it contains many of what we call “Messianic Prophecies” - Many, many promises of what the Messiah will look like, what He'll be like, and what to look for. Jewish scholars call these particular scriptures, “The Scriptures of the Suffering Servant.”  The wo...

We don't have the right to define God. We don't have the right to build a god in an image that we're comfortable with. And His ways are higher than our ways, and we can't possibly understand them all. But, would it be possible for God to blind me in such a way, that I could no longer see the truth of Him, or come to His salvation? 

So many of us on the journey to coming to Christ, have resisted or stalled for many reasons, but, mostly because Satan has an amazing way of reminding us of just how unworthy we truly are. Every sin we have ever committed, we allow to come flooding back into our minds. We become acutely aware of how undeserving we are of a Savior. The truth is, there’s not one of us that deserves salvation. There'...

The Bible tells us that that all have fallen short of the glory of God, and ALL need a Savior.  We're sick. We're broken. We need someone to mend those wounds. And those wounds… Those deep wounds… can only be mended by one… And that is JESUS himself.  If we have not yet come to Christ, we need to recognize that we are sick. We will die in our sins, and we will be condemned forever.  Unless, we get...

What does it mean to, “Work out our salvation with fear and trembling”? Jesus was/is patient and loving and kind, but also, and maybe even more importantly, ZEALOUS, and STRONG, and FIRM. Jesus IS NOT our homeboy. He probably had a pretty big dose of what the world today might call, “Toxic Masculinity.”  As the modern Christian Church, at least in our rush to embrace a Doctrine of Grace, we have b...

When you've been in a relationship with God for a long time, you've most likely experienced some amazing examples of His presence. He's answered prayers for you. You've watched Him move into people's lives, and people literally have become different people, and you've been amazed to witness it. But, what happens when the answer is “NO!”? What happens when we pray and fast and beg… When we know our...

I talk way too much. I’ve said things that hurt people. I have been sarcastic, when I should have been sensitive, and many times you would think my foot was permanently implanted in my face. Conversely, my mouth has been used to praise my God, to speak the truth of who Jesus is, and to lift people up. BUT… Why can't I live my life in the latter, and completely avoid the former? Why can't I live a...

Freedom isn't free. There's a price… and the price to real freedom… True freedom, is actually in SERVANTHOOD. While the world tells you it's time to “Get yours,” and “You have a right to be happy,” the paradox of freedom, is that this freedom is not found where no demands are being placed on our lives, or where worldly pleasures with no accountability are filling our time. The wisdom of God speaks...

We all seem to have an incessant, narcissistic belief, that somehow, we humans are the arbiters of spiritual truth We often feel as though it is up to us to teach the unwashed masses.  Well… The Bible has some things to say about we teachers.  What makes Jesus different, is that it’s NOT what we do that determines whether or not you can be saved. It is, instead, WHAT JESUS DID, that allows us to b...

Being a believer definitely doesn't mean that life is about to take a major turn toward the easy and comfortable, because we've chosen to follow Christ. In fact, becoming a believer in most cases, is the beginning of some pain… the pain of change; and God definitely loves us enough not to leave us who we were. We're going to fall. When we do, just stay down there for a minute. Stay down there when...

It's not enough to point at the world around us and blame them for everything that is happening, when we, His people, have corrupted ourselves with the world in hundreds of ways. It's time for His people to start dealing with OUR OWN corruption.  We're saved by the grace of Christ, and with that salvation, we are called to face this world with courage. When it comes to healing this land, we need t...

Declaring “Jesus is Lord,” is important. However, it is not enough to speak the truth of God's Word. We must also DO His will.  Our actions support the fact that we believe it. We start living a life that glorifies Him, because we BELIEVE He is who He says He is.  Words are cheap.  Any of us can say, “Jesus is Lord.” Any of us can write, “#Jesus loves you!”  But, that's not the same as living a li...

The scales of justice on this earth are simply not balanced. Great people have lived and died, and paid the ultimate price for us. And we will never know their names or anything about them. Life isn't fair. For that matter, the greatest Man to ever walk on this earth, was brutally killed without ever committing a crime, or a sin of any kind, JUST so that we could have eternal life, and be reconcil...

Satan's entire goal is to turn our eyes from Jesus.  Why?  Because our Redeemer lives, and our salvation is near, and there is no name under heaven in which man can be saved.  Simplify the battle. See this world for what it is. This is just a spiritual battleground. Simplify the battle and you will see far more clearly that this all comes down to Jesus.  The media we consume will either, subtl...

What happens to us when God puts us under intense pressure over time… when He puts us to the refiners fire? God is not interested in making us rich, or for us to be respected by the world. He's interested in real, authentic growth. And that growth does not happen without pressure, without pain. The refiners fire of God's hand, the pressure that God allows us to be placed under, is what tak...

“The Upside-down Kingdom,” is what Christ showed us, through servanthood, through sacrifice, through patience, and unwavering love. While caesar and kings all over the world during the time Jesus walked on the earth were being served... Jesus was serving. There is no freer man or woman, than one that has completely surrendered to being a slave to Christ. THAT is what it means to experience God&#39...

Simple truths in this world seem more and more rare, and obvious lies are being spoken and accepted as truth, every day. Many of us Christians, especially, are finding ourselves rushing to relief... We binge-watch Netflix. We spend half a day on YouTube. We drink or eat a little too much. And what kind of used to be our entertainment, for some of us, has become more of a focus, and a little bit to...