River of Life Blog
  • Pastor Todd Weston's Blog

RLA Pastor's blog

not a punching bag

3/26/2018

 
Picture
At the fitness center where I work out there is a kickboxing stand.  While I have never used it, many others abuse this freestanding punching bag on a regular basis.  As I go through my routine, I watch people punch and kick the daylights out of this exercise device.  One guy in particular is especially good at delivering a punch.  As he delivers blow after blow in rapid fire succession, the kickboxing stand just stands there and takes it.​

One day as I watched this piece of training equipment take yet another brutal beating, it occurred to me that it was similar to the experience of many Christians.  They get a beating from the enemy, and they just stand there and take it.  Satan attacks, and they never fight back.  Maybe they don’t know how.  Or maybe they don’t know they can.

The Bible is clear that we are in a spiritual battle against a supernatural enemy.  It’s called spiritual warfare.  But spiritual warfare doesn’t mean just standing there and getting shot at.  At some point you return fire.  You transition from a defensive position to an offensive position.

Like the wizard in The Wizard of Oz who made himself out to be bigger than life in an attempt to intimidate and manipulate the inhabitants of Oz, Satan comes on strong in his effort to paralyze believers in fear.  He brings giant-size adversity against us hoping we will abdicate the field of battle and go into hiding with panic-stricken Saul and his army in the tents of unbelief.

Have you ever been there?  Beaten up.  Beaten down.  Praying for it to stop.

So why doesn’t God do something?  He did.  He provided us with spiritual armor.  He armed us with the sword of the Spirit, and the strong weapon of prayer.  He gave us authority in the name of Jesus, and filled us with the power of the Spirit.    

Maybe Satan has backed you up against the ropes, and you have assumed a defensive position just hoping to survive the beating.  It’s time to fight back!

  • Did you not know, “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world”?  
  • Did you not know, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God”?
  • Did you not know, “We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us”? 
  • And have you not read of those who overcome the enemy, “By the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony”?
Be encouraged in the battle.  The next time the enemy launches an attack, remember that you are not a punching bag.  Put on the whole armor of God.  Take up your spiritual weapons.  Stand in the authority of Jesus’ name and in the power of His Spirit, and put the enemy on the run.

Pastor Todd Weston

upset

3/19/2018

 
Picture
We have just begun the exciting season in College Basketball known as March Madness.  The NCAA Tournament began last Thursday where the #1 seed teams play the #16 seed teams in their respective brackets.  Every now and then you get a major upset.  Such was the case last Thursday when #16 University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) upset #1 University of Virginia (UVA).  The really amazing thing about it is that the game wasn’t even close.  The UMBC Retrievers crushed the UVA Cavaliers by a score of 74 - 54.​

I am especially interested in this game since UMBC is scheduled to play my Kansas State University (KSU) Wildcats in the second round.  While I am happy for the Retrievers’ win over Virginia, I am hoping their upset streak ends once they take the court against the Wildcats.

Stories of major upsets are interesting.  If you enjoy reading such stories, look no further than the Bible.  Narratives that come to mind include --

  • An eighty-year-old shepherd name Moses toppling the mighty Egyptian Pharaoh
  • Joshua and the Children of Israel taking down the stronghold of Jericho with a shout
  • Gideon defeating the massive army of Midian with three-hundred unarmed men
  • Young David overcoming the Philistine champion Goliath with a sling and five stones
  • Elisha and his servant prevailing against the surrounding Syrian army
The biblical accounts of major upsets are many.

God loves to defy the odds!  So He choses the powerless to overcome the powerful, and the things the world considers foolish to put to shame that which the world considers wise.  God sometimes allows situations to go far into the realm of the impossible before He works.

Such was the case of the resurrection of Lazarus (John 11).  Upon receiving word that Lazarus was sick, Jesus waited.  As a matter of fact, He waited until Lazarus died and had been dead for four days!  Have you ever wondered why?  Clifton Slater pointed out in a recent board meeting devotional that according to popular Jewish belief resurrection was no longer possible on the fourth day.  In biblical times many Jews believed that after death the soul would hover over the body trying to get back in for a period of three days.  The soul would then depart to the next life making resurrection impossible.  That explains why Jesus waited until the fourth day.  He was letting the situation move from impossible to beyond impossible!  So it was that standing at the tomb of Lazarus on the fourth day, Jesus pulled off one of the greatest upsets in history.

If you ever find yourself hopelessly outnumbered by troubles, or in a situation that has gone from bad to worse, do not fret!  The God we serve is known to pull off some amazing upsets.  Keep believing, for as the prophet Jeremiah declared, “Nothing is too hard for You!” (Jermiah 32:17)

Pastor Todd Weston

The Quieting Touch Of Jesus

3/12/2018

 
Picture
It’s said there are four compelling motives in life that move people to action: faith, hope, love, and fear.  For many, the greatest of these is fear.  

Peter, James, and John would have agreed in the seventeenth chapter of Matthew.  The chapter begins with Jesus leading His inner circle of three up a high mountain.  While no one knows the exact location, tradition identifies it as Mount Tabor in Galilee overlooking the Valley of Megiddo.  There on the mountain Jesus was transfigured in front of His amazed disciples.  For a brief moment, Jesus’ appearance changed as His eternal glory came brilliantly shining through.  Even His clothes dazzled in radiant light.

As the three disciples looked on in wonder, Moses and Elijah appeared from out of nowhere and began having a private conversation with Jesus.  Never one to be at a loss for words, Peter started to say something when a bright cloud appeared and a voice came out of the cloud saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!”  This was supernatural overload on steroids!

What would you have done had you been there?  Some super-spiritual person might say they would have basked in the glory of the moment.  Maybe so.  Others would have set a new world’s record for the one-hundred-yard dash.  But Peter, James, and John didn’t run down the mountain.  They were too scared to move (Matthew 17:6).

Seeing that His three disciples were paralyzed with fear, Jesus went to where they had fallen and touched them saying, “Arise, and do not be afraid.”  As a result of His quieting touch, Matthew writes in v8, “When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.”  All their fears were gone.  With just one touch, the Master who calmed the wind and stilled the storm, silenced their fears.

In a moment the disciples were overcome with fear.  In a moment their fear was gone.  If fear is having it’s way in your mind, I recommend to you the quieting touch of Jesus.  Jesus is the answer for all of life’s fears. “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you” (Psalm 56:3 NLT).​

Pastor Todd Weston

Sent

3/5/2018

 
Picture
Our new Sunday morning series is based on the words of Jesus to His disciples in John 20:21, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”  While that statement was made to a group, it included each individual person.  To every believer Jesus says, “I also send you.”​

I was reminded last week that the Lord’s sending may not always look like we might expect.  On my way to a ministry meeting out of town, I stopped to put gas in my truck.  As I started to get back into the truck, I heard someone say, “Sir…”  I turned and saw a Haitian man standing by a dilapidated vehicle.  He was dressed in dirty jeans and a torn t-shirt.  A real down-and-outer.

Having my attention he said, “Sir, could you give me some money so I can buy something to eat?”  I must confess that all the usual thoughts ran through my mind in a split second.  How many other people has he asked for money today?  Will he spend the money on food, or on something else?  Besides, I was on my way to a ministry event.  I didn’t have time for this.  So I shook my head, got in my truck, and left.

Has the Holy Spirit ever hit you in the chest with a sledgehammer?  The moment I pulled out of the service station I was hit with the sledgehammer of conviction.  How could I leave the guy standing there?  Then I remembered Hebrews 13:2 that says, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”  I thought, “Oh great!  I might have just stood up an angel!”

Worse yet, what if he wasn’t an angel?  What if he really was just a hungry guy with no money.  Didn’t Jesus say in Matthew 25:35, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink”?  When His listeners asked when they had done this, Jesus explained in v40, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”  

By now the conviction was overwhelming.  Turning my truck around, I drove back to the service station where the man was standing by his battered old vehicle with his head hung low.  Pulling up I rolled the window down and waved to him.  As he approached my truck I saw tears streaming down his face.  Apparently, he really was hungry and had no money.  The tears were those of frustration.  He was in need, but no one was willing help.

I introduced myself, apologized for leaving, then explained why I came back.  Handing him some money, I took his hand and told him that Jesus loved him and so did I.

As I pulled out of the service station for the second time, I remembered the words of Jesus, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”  Ministry opportunities may present themselves at unexpected times and in unexpected ways.  Some are big.  Others are small.  All are important.  Even a cup of cold water given in His name will yield a reward. 

Pastor Todd Weston 

    Pastor Todd

    Lead Pastor
    River of Life
    Assembly of God

    Archives

    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011

    Categories

    All
    1 Timothy 4:12
    9/11
    Accountability
    Bible
    Bitterness
    Blessing
    Blessings
    Cheerful Heart
    Choices
    Christmas
    Church
    Church Ministry Center
    Comfort
    Commitment
    Compromise
    Confidence
    Connection
    Courage
    Courageous
    Creativity
    Criticism
    Daniel
    David
    Deceitfulness
    Direction
    Discernment
    Drifting
    Economy
    Elections
    Endurance
    Esther
    Faith
    Father
    Fear
    Fellowship
    Finances
    Forgiveness
    Generosity
    Gifts
    Gospel
    Grace
    Great Commission
    Greatness
    Haiti
    Heaven
    Hebrews 12:14
    Heroes
    Holiness
    Home
    Hope
    Israel
    Joseph
    Light
    Mary
    Media
    Mercy
    Miracles
    Missions
    Moms
    Mothers Day
    Motivation
    Natural Gifts
    New Year
    Obstacles
    Options
    Outreach
    Overcome
    Peace
    Perspective
    Planning
    Power
    Priorities
    Race
    Rapture
    Read
    Renew
    Rla Connect
    Running
    Servant
    Sin
    Sing
    Spiritual Gifts
    Success
    Time
    Tithe
    Trials
    Truth
    Unity
    Variety
    Vision
    Voting
    Wedding
    Willing Heart
    Word
    Youth

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.