You Are What You Think

We all understand that you are what you eat physically. If you want to gain weight or lose weight, you eat accordingly. If you want to raise your blood pressure or lower it, you eat accordingly. And if you want to increase your energy levels or decrease them, you eat accordingly. It is the same for our minds and how we think. And this week Pastor Rick shared a message with us entitled "You Are What You Think".

One of the first points Pastor Rick communicated to all of those in attendance was that you've got to resolve and resign yourself to the fact that you are always blessed. Always. As Christians God has promised to exalt you and to provide for you in every way imaginable.

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6-7

Too many believers ask fruity questions. How will this ever happen for me? How is this going to work out? Why is this not going my way? And remember, these are the cries of believers...those who claim they know the Bible and are following the teachings of Jesus. Well to regular people listening, it is obvious that these "believers" do not really believe the Word of God. Moreover, the spiritual forces that are against all of God's children hear this doubt and unbelief too. And since the spirit world knows the rules that God has implemented for all to adhere to, this sends alerts that those crying are not living by the benefits of being in God's family. Whoa!

And when the enemy recognizes that you don't know you have all authority, you open yourself wide for attack and allow all kinds of problems to come your way.

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8

He can't devour those who are living life according to God's Word. Why not? Because God promised to protect you. God said he would work all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). And if you love Him, you would do what he commands you to do...so you can continually propser!

Don't cause a curse to come into your life because of disobedience and unbelief. Proverbs 26:2 says that if you do not cause it, a curse will not come upon you. Additionally, those who have put their lives in God's hands through their faith in Jesus Christ have already been redeemed from the curse of the law and have God's protection and help while living here on earth.

God said you are blessed! Start thinking and living like it.















































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Security in Uncertain Times

Who would have thought that in our lifetime so many of worlds banks, brokerage houses, and even countries would essentially vanish. Who would have ever imagined that America's auto giants would be on the verge of extinction. As Pastor Rick taught a message entitled, Security in Uncertain Times, we were shown how the Word of God not only speaks to these realities we are living out today, but we were also reminded of how Gods Word has been consistent and yes...still here!

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come." 2 Timothy 3:1

It is obvious we are living in perilous times, but some may say what about the last days. Gloom and doom prophecies about the last days have been spoken about for centuries. Well Pastor Rick pointed out that the "last days" are a period of time. And in any period of time (i.e. the Ice Age, Stone Age, etc.) there are "times" that come within that period of time. Therefore we see that today we are experiencing the "perilous times" where all kinds of violence, greed, hate, and people trusting themselves more than trusting God. Pastor Rick reminded us that you'll always succeed trusting God, not man.

"It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." Psalm 118:8.

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:6

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3

As the message continued Pastor Rick showed us an easy way to identify if we are "really" trusting God or not. "What you talk about reveals who you trust." If your conversations go to the stock markets this, or the housing market that, then your focus may not be in the right place. If when you find out you are getting laid off, you words are aligned with fear, doubt, and concern, then you may not be fully trusting God. Remember, if we keep our mind focused on God's Words, He will keep us in "perfect peace".

"...For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things." Matthew 12:34-35

We need to guard what we allow to get into our hearts. We need to watch what we see, what we hear, what we read. So when you examine yourself and realize that your heart is not full of as much good treasure as you need, change your heart by changing what you let into your eyes and ears. If you find that you must read the newspaper (which has no good news in it) read Gods Word instead. If you find yourself watching any news program that focuses the bulk of their broadcast on the negative, you need to change the channel, put in a DVD or CD of truth from the Bible.

God's Word is full of great insights into life. He reminds us to "...give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life." Proverbs 4:20-23.

Jesus told us in John 8:31-32, that if we stay in His Word, we'd be His disciples, and the truth that we'd come to know, that truth will make us free. Trust God by staying in His Word and you'll have security in uncertain times.

Silence the Shame

This week we came into the service to celebrate our Pastor on the 6th Annual Pastor Appreciation Day. This is a day that the members of Berith set aside to tangibly show our love for our awesome Pastor and Man of God that God himself has sent to us.

And like a hand goes with a glove, Pastor Rick's message was a great reminder to all of us about how God has given all believers an example to follow. The message instructed us to not be ashamed of honoring our Pastor. We went through numerous scriptures that illustrated the fact that when people took care of the prophets and God's anointed leaders, their lives were blessed. Not the lives of the prophets...the lives of the people who took care of the prophets.

At Berith we have seen a man who God has put in our lives to help us fully understand the Bible and how we should live our lives accordingly. He and his family have been an example for husbands, wives, and singles. And when the world takes time out to celebrate accomplishment in theater, film, and athletics, we should never be ashamed to celebrate the lives of God's leaders in our lives.

In Ephesians 4:8-11 the Bible says that Jesus gave "gifts to men" and some of them were apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Well can truly say that God has done just that for all of us here at Berith. We have a good gift in Pastor Rick.




























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