I have several friends who are currently walking through their own storms at this very moment. I have pleaded with God to take away their suffering and have asked Him to calm the storm in an instant…He hasn’t yet, but I continue to pray.
 
As I pray, I become more attune to what He is doing in the situation. Have you experienced this? Maybe you start by pleading for someone’s suffering to lift…but then in the middle of it, you start to see the growth in that person. You see the depth of their faith, you wonder how they are so strong in the Lord after all this suffering. But all the while, God is shaping them, molding them.
 
This is when believers find themselves in the “wind and waves” of this life. The storms, the trials, the tests.
 
I stopped and took note of Pastor Jason’s point on Sunday about what happens in these storms:
 
“Jesus disciples us through difficult situations.
These difficult situations reveal what is really there.”
 
Like a little tea bag that holds the tea leaves inside of it…on the surface you wouldn’t even know what is in there. But when the hot water hits, the tea comes out.
 
It makes you wonder…what comes out of us when the “hot water” of life hits? Where do we turn for comfort in the chaos of the wind and waves?
 
Pastor Jason candidly spoke of what he feels like doing after a long day of work and ministry…sitting on the couch! How I could relate. I often want to isolate, not talk to anyone, watch my comfort shows, or simply just sleep!
 
But here we see Jesus…going away to pray. To be with the Father. Prayer is His “safe space”….His sacred security.
 
I wonder what would happen if we all stopped turning from our coping mechanisms and turned to prayer instead…what would life be like? How much stronger and deeper would our faith actually be?
 
Pastor Jason pointed out that these times of trial are not always the work of the enemy…but at times, they are for our testing — for our development. He said it this way:
 
“(This storm) was not demonic, it was developmental.”
 
Developmental. It is hard to think of storms in this way. Because when you’re in the throws of it, like my friends who are facing immense pain — physically and emotionally — the last thing on your mind is “growth.” But it is on God’s mind. He is always looking to “develop” us and “disciple” us into people who look more and more like Jesus.
 
As we are broken, and molded, and developed and discipled…what comes out of it might just surprise us. A deeper faith, a stronger foundation, an assurance that when the next storm comes…we can face it with courage and might.
 
Who knows how your trial today will prepare you for what is to come? And I don’t say this to scare you, but to strengthen you. In the testing, He is also strengthening us.
 
This is one of my favorite passages to send to close friends who are walking through tough trials, because there is incredible hope in what is happening here. This is where the deep shift happens to our internal life —where the Christian walk gets especially good.
 
“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen, you.”
1 Peter 5:10 (RSV)

Erika Pizzo

I know I usually write about the message that we heard this past Sunday, but today I felt the Lord leading me to talk about something else.
 
Can I make a confession to you? Sometimes Easter Sundays are difficult for me. I know this is the opposite of what you think a believer would say…but let me explain. Sometimes Easter becomes a really big production. There are huge props, lights, sounds, social media posts, and things that are meant to be “seen.”. I am much more of a Good Friday service kind-of-person with the quiet contemplation of the cross. I know not everyone shares my take, but this Sunday really felt different…it felt like being “home.”
 
Yes, there was powerful music. The Lord’s name was lifted high. Pastor Jason’s message got to the heart of what Jesus did in rising from the dead. It was beautiful…but it also felt like home. It felt like our church family just being who they always are. No major production, just worship. That felt right. Did you feel it too?
 
I always wonder how pastors can cover the same exact story of the resurrection over and over again every single year. It has to be hard to try your best to re-invent the wheel, in a way. But this Sunday, I was looking at the resurrection with fresh eyes. No longer about putting on our Sunday best, but instead, coming as we are…and letting the change happen internally. No external theatrics, but a true internal heart posture that was soft to change. There was a quietness and reverence about Sunday that I didn’t expect.
 
I am someone who spends their life in church…and I love my church family! But sometimes Easter can feel like an unfamiliar place. It shouldn’t, but I can’t help but get caught in those unfamiliar feelings sometimes and wonder…is this how it is supposed to be?
 
But this Sunday, I sensed a humility about Easter. A true coming to the cross, where nothing else mattered. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy Easters past…but I felt the intentionality in this one. I know it takes an entire team to do this, and to make people feel at “home” in our church, and I just want to say, from the bottom of my heart – thank you.
 
I know if you’re reading this, you were probably a very big part of that. You brought the humility on Sunday that we all needed, amidst a world that often feels like it’s falling apart. How sweet to worship at the feet of Jesus when things seem so uncertain.
 
I read this quote in a Spurgeon devotional the other morning, and I felt like it encapsulated the joy I felt at church on Sunday. Allow me to share it with you:
 
“What a bright light may shine within us when it is really dark outside! How firm, how happy, how calm, how peaceful we may be when the world shakes, and the foundations of the earth removed!
 
Even death itself, with all its terrible influences, has no power to suspend the music of a Christian’s heart, but instead makes that music become more sweet, more clear, more heavenly, until the last kind act that death can do is allow the earthly song to melt into the heavenly chorus, the temporal joy into the eternal bliss!
 
Let us have confidence, then, in the blessed Spirit’s power to comfort us.”
 
I hope that on Sunday, like me, those who visited felt that “happy, calm, peaceful” feeling of knowing Jesus. It is truly unique isn’t it? We have something precious that the world sincerely craves!

Keep spreading the Good News. Keep sharing that light. He is with us.

Erika Pizzo

The miracle of feeding the five thousand is one of those miracles I wished I could have been there to see. I just picture an incredible scene…loads of fish and bread coming out of seemingly nowhere. At some point, the disciples had to start asking…where is this all coming from?
 
Philip is the one to approach Jesus with the little boy’s lunch. He says, “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” (John 6:9, NLT)
 
There is a seed of faith, but there is also a touch of doubt. How realistic, right? We approach God the same way. We say, “Lord, I know you can do this…but will you?”
 
I especially love Pastor Jason’s question on Sunday: “What’s in your lunch?” He talked about how we are each given gifts to share with the body of Christ. Everyone has something to give.
 
Paul writes about the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 where he says, “To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit…

All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” (1 Corinthians 12:8,11 NIV)
 
I like the way Paul says that the Spirit “distributes” these gifts. It kind of reminds me of the way these disciples had to distribute the fish and loaves. There is a “passing out” that happens.
 
I think sometimes it’s easy to look at the giftings of someone else and wonder: Why didn’t I get those gifts? Or…God, why did you make me this way?
 
I know I’ve had those questions with God, myself. And I honestly spent years of my life not exercising my spiritual gifts! I was on the path of serving myself with the gifts God had given me, and I wasn’t really using them the way that the Spirit intended for me . God had to humble me, as I’m sure you’ve experienced once or twice as well. Yet through that process of humbling, I learned how beautiful and freeing it is to use these gifts for and with God.
 
It’s a partnership, almost like a dance…where God presents opportunities to use those gifts and He equips you to move through it with grace.
 
I really enjoyed Pastor Jason pointing out that some in the crowd were instructed to “sit and wait,” while others, like the disciples…were actively serving.
 
The reality is…it is hard to be the one who sits and waits. I remember going through a season just like that, and God kept saying “slow down”…come be with me for awhile. I even had to stop serving in certain capacities because the weight of those things became too much. I wonder if it was hard for some people in that crowd to sit and not be up serving, moving, actively helping. But on that specific day, their role was to learn from Jesus.
 
It reminds me of how Mary instinctively knew that it was time to sit at the feet of Jesus. Martha was up serving, but Jesus says, “Mary has chosen the good portion...” (Luke 10:42, ESV)
 
For those of us who are “doers,” this might be just the word we need to hear. Sometimes, we have to sit awhile at the Savior’s feet. That is the good portion. It is worth being still in His presence.
 
On the other hand, if we are called to actively serve…we must ask Him for the strength to do so. Anything in our own power will be striving, but working in and with the Spirit is an entirely different thing.
 
So I have to ask…what’s in your lunch? What gifts do you have to give Jesus? He has placed some beautiful things inside of you. Whatever they might be, I hope you share them with others in our church.

I also hope that you know when He says “be still,” that’s OK too. No matter where He calls you to be, you can trust that His way is always better.

Erika Pizzo

C.S. Lewis has this quote that I come back to often when it comes to who Jesus claimed to be. As we journey through the book of John together as a church, I am seeing the increasing evidence that Jesus’ bold claims simply do not lend to the gray area of “moral teacher” that many attribute Him to be.
 
Lewis says it like this:
 
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [that is, Christ]: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say.
 
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic–on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg–or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice.
 
Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse…. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.”
 
We are approaching Easter, and this is always a time where we get the chance to invite our neighbors and friends to come to church — people who usually might not step foot inside a church building. But there is a willingness at Easter. Almost a softness to the whole idea of church and religion. It makes you wonder…how many of them just put Jesus in the gray area? How many believe Him to simply be a “moral teacher?”
 
In John 5:22-23, we see that Jesus claims actual “authority:”
 
“For the father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”
 
The father has given Jesus authority…”
 
This idea of authority greatly upset the religious leaders of the time. I actually believe they were adhering to what C.S. Lewis indicated above…they put Jesus on the level of heresy, because they actually knew what His words meant. They meant that He claimed the same authority as God. We have to give them credit for seeing what this really was and not sugar-coating it.
 
Now-a-days, things are a little different…society doesn’t put Jesus into the camp of lunatic, madman, or fool as Lewis alludes to… it simply calls Him a “good teacher”. One who says good things, and teaches people to live a “good life.” They try to package Jesus up with a nice red bow.
 
However, there is one major problem with this: you simply can’t read the book of John and come out saying He is a “good and moral teacher.” The statements of Jesus demand an answer. What is He claiming, and furthermore…are these claims actual truth?
 
I love how Pastor Jason worded it this past Sunday calling our faith “reasonable.” Because God could have made it where we simply rest on blind faith…accepting what we read with no amount of reasonableness. But instead, God chooses to engage the human mind…filling our arguments of apologetics with reason, and truth, and believability.
 
One of my favorite little verses is found in the book of Isaiah where God says, “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’” (Isaiah 1:18 NKJV)
 
How incredibly intentional, right? We serve a God who is not only after our heart…but also after our mind.
 
As we approach the Easter season, here is a challenge for you: let God engage your mind.
 
Think about what happened, and whether or not Jesus is who He says He is. Think about the implications of His claims. Don’t settle for living in the gray area…either choose to give Him your whole life, or not.
 
Friend, I have tested His claims, and all I see is reasonableness. All I see is a man who had to be divine. But don’t just take my word for it, search the scriptures and know for yourself.
 
May we be like the Bereans:
 
“And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.”
Acts 17:11-12 (NLT)
 
Wouldn’t it be something if our reasonableness brought others to the faith? Wouldn’t it be beautiful if we showed others our hunger for the scripture, and it led them to do the same? This Easter season, let’s engage God with not only our heart, but our full mind as well.

Erika Pizzo

I remember reading this story of the lame man in John chapter 5 during a time when I was facing some pretty serious health struggles. I had been to so many doctors, with so little answers. My body was crying out for help, but I simply couldn’t heal it in my own strength.
 
I love the way Jesus approaches this man by the pool in Bethesda. This was a real turning-point for me as I read the very direct question to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
 
The man replies to Jesus with, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” (John 5:7, ESV)
 
I was so similar to this man…coming up with a thousand reasons why I wasn’t healed.
 
Lord…my thyroid is messed up, my hormones have changed, my metabolism doesn’t exist anymore, the fatigue is crushing so I can’t even work out, the anxiety and depression stops me from living my life. I can’t do this, Lord.
 
While these were all real and actual experiences I was having, embedded in there was a whole range of excuses. And we all have our own excuses, right? We all have our own reasons that we keep coming back to…things that keep us stuck beside that pool.
 
Something God reminded me of time and again in this season was this simple (but sometimes hard to grasp) truth:
 
You don’t need to earn my love.
You don’t need to earn my healing touch over your body, spirit, and mind.
But you do need to partner with me in the healing, I want you involved.
 
It’s funny because I was actually more of Pharisee in my thinking when it came to healing. On paper, my theology agreed with what Jesus said — I don’t have to earn a thing. It’s all finished with the work of the cross.
 
But in reality, my actions resembled the Pharisees. I thought if I got eight hours of sleep, drank enough water, ate certain foods, exercised a certain way, and took all my vitamins…I would be in perfect health! But my health actually never depended on me and my own power. It depended on Christ’s power working in and through me. I am not the healer, He is.
 
During this season of about eight years of health struggles, I remember wondering why God didn’t just heal me on the spot. I asked Him candidly, “You can do it, God…so why don’t you?”
 
The answer was always to wait and see what He would do. The answer was a quiet partnering of my soul to His that needed to happen. The answer was obedience out of love…He wanted me to meet Him halfway. There were some things I had to learn before the healing actually took place.
 
At the end of Pastor Jason’s message he shared this beautiful truth: Through Christ, we all have life.
 
The fact that we even woke up today and are alive is only by His grace. The eternal life available to us through Christ is so beyond what we can even fathom. And we are given that. We look forward to that.
 
I think that is why Paul says, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18, NIV)

There is something much deeper at work, and one day we will look back on these moments of suffering and it will pale in comparison to the glory. Oh, what beautiful glory awaits.
 
I reached out to a friend this week who also struggles with anxiety, and we shared a mutual excitement of one day having these amazing heavenly bodies that will know no more fear, anxiety, exhaustion, or depression. Those heavenly bodies will be glorious. The fear and the pain will all pass away.
 
As we look forward to that day, let’s partner with God in what He is doing here and now. When He finds us, like He found this man after the healing…and wants to deal with the sin in our hearts…let’s take Him up on that. 

Is it painful to expose these areas? Yes. Do we sometimes return to the same old sins just as the dog returns to his vomit in Proverbs 26:11? Yes. But in the uncomfortable exposing, we get a taste of what is to come.  

I have to wonder…what freedom awaits on the other side of all our familiar sins? What little slice of heaven will we experience in that freedom?

Oh Lord, let us walk in obedience to what you have called us to do. We want to be healed.

Erika Pizzo

As we continue through the book of John, like Pastor Manny shared, I am appreciating these one-on-one conversations that Jesus is having with everyday people. Each person He encounters has a deeper story, and each person is challenged to believe or not to believe.
 
This week as I listened to the message, I was paying special attention to that journey home that this official had to take. A long two day journey. Many miles of walking. Wondering, waiting, hoping and believing.
 
I thought about how much of our life is spent in this part — in the “waiting”. Yes, we have those mountaintop moments where we receive an answer to prayer, healing, or deliverance. There is suddenly restoration of a relationship, or salvation of a loved one long-awaited. But most of our life is spent in the waiting, in the prayers, in the crying out to God for Him to come through. We wait in the quiet belief that He truly is “doing a new thing” (Isaiah 43:19).
 
I recently heard a podcast with Annie F. Downs of someone who had been through a long battle. Specifics weren’t shared but they said that all God had told them was to “wait.” And in that waiting, she wrestled with pushing and pulling against God. Running a few steps ahead of Him, or dragging a few steps behind. Never truly being “in step” with Him as she waited. I could relate to this, because as I wait for long-standing prayers, I often feel the need to micromanage along the way. “Well certainly there is something I could be doing during this, God?! Where do I go? What can I do?!”
 
But then I think about this helpless father. There was nothing he could do for his son. Only Jesus had the power to save here. And in our waiting, I think deep down we know the same. We are helpless to change anything, but we know the One who can change it all in one instant.
 
I love that this helpless father chose to believe. He chose to trust Jesus at His word. I wonder how many times our anxieties that plague our mind come down to that one thing: Do we trust His word? Do we truly trust Him?
 
Chances are, as you read this, you are on your own long road of waiting. Your heart has hoped and believed, but maybe you have also doubted that He will come through, or wondered if He even hears you. As we wait and journey and continue on, I believe the more we are “in step” and the more we “abide,” the easier our journey will be. The waiting could actually become a weightless experience where we finally learn to trust. And when the time comes for Him to answer — whether that be a yes, or a no, we can trust that He is still good, because we learned His character along the way.
 
In that Annie Downs interview I listened to, she described waiting as not running ahead of God or behind Him, but just releasing and “floating” like floating down a river in a raft. The current is moving, as God is always moving, and we finally surrender to that movement. We float as if to say, “You are in control, and I will trust you in the waiting. I trust you with the journey ahead.”

Erika Pizzo

The story of the Samaritan woman tends to hit very close to my heart every time I read it. I feel that, as believers, we have all had this particular moment with Jesus.

The moment where He exposed everything we ever did, yet chose to love us and free us anyway. Her moment with Jesus is similar to the point where we come to salvation…when we are fully seen, fully known and fully forgiven in an instant. This moment is the defining moment of our lives.
 
As I thought about this woman at the well this week, I remembered Pastor Jason’s words, “She is trying to satisfy an internal spiritual thirst with an external physical activity.”
 
This woman had searched for love and belonging in every single marriage she entered into. Every wedding day when she put on a dress and wore a veil, it carried a small sense of hope that this would be the “one.” The one who would love and cherish her and grow old with her.
 
Even with the current man that she lived with, was she still hoping to find the love that maybe felt unreachable or lost? No little girl grows up with dreams to get married five different times, and for each of those times to end with heartbreak. Somewhere along the way, her spirit was broken, and the hope of this “working out” was lost.
 
Being in a position like that, with so many failed marriages and never truly feeling chosen by a man, had to be beyond difficult. And we see from the time of day that she came to the well, that there was an element of being outcast by the women of her society as well. Community, love, family, belonging…all of this was not a part of her existence. She wanted it more than anything, but simply could never make it work on her own.
 
I deeply related to this woman’s search for belonging in something other than God. At times, that search led me to look for love in boyfriends and romantic relationships, other times that search led me to food and the dopamine hit that came from eating to numb my pain. For many years I pursued the approval and praise of people, hearing the words of praise and admiration fed my flesh…but never my spirit. In other moments I obsessively trained in athletics and controlled and over-committed in the ever-fleeting hope that I would finally gain peace inside. But none of these satisfied. I know, because just like that woman…one day I met Jesus. There is only One who can satisfy the human heart.
 
One of the best pictures we have of this concept is the Prodigal Son. He left his father’s home to pursue any and everything he ever wanted. It says in Luke 15:13 that he “squandered his wealth in wild living.” (NIV)
 
He roamed, and partied, and drank to his heart’s content…only to realize that none of this satisfied. None of what he pursued filled the hole inside his heart. No amount of over-consumption, partying, spending, or frivolous living could calm the deep longing inside.
 
At the end of it all, when the money was spent and the loneliness invaded…this son realized what he had done.
 
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.
 
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:17-20, NIV)
 
This is what I picture when I see Jesus at the well with this woman…this woman whom no one loved…His heart was filled with compassion.
 
We are chosen and loved just like this woman. He sees it all, He sees what we have tried to turn to and how we have attempted to fill the big gaping hole in our heart…and yet, His heart of compassion remains.
 
Oh Lord, fill us with compassion for those who still have this gaping hole. Give us eyes to see those who need you, who are constantly turning to other things. And when we ourselves are tempted to turn and fill with something else…remind us of your steadfast love that is truly the only thing that can satisfy.

Erika Pizzo

This week our oven broke down. I was making some roasted vegetables and all of a sudden, we started getting a big error message with an incessant beeping sound the entire time. This was not the first time we got that message so we knew it would happen eventually, but why in the middle of a busy and hectic week where dinners need to be made?! A few moments later, the oven simply quit.
 
I found myself grumbling and complaining that I had to spend all day on the phone with appliance salesmen trying to figure out what height and width oven would fit our space. “Lord, I have things to do! I’m supposed to be working! Why does this have to happen?!”
 
My eight year old son overheard me complaining and just burying my head in my hands as I realized I couldn’t bake anything this week for dinner and he very confidently said, “Mom, just have a little faith!”
 
His words reminded me to come back to the point…God would provide. He always has. He always will. I can live without an oven for a few weeks! Come on Erika, have a little faith!
 
This week as we talked about having the right mindset for ministry, my son’s words kept ringing true in my heart. It takes faith to keep walking this road of serving and loving on people, especially when the people we are serving and loving on are, at times, hard to love.
 
We find ourselves in the middle of petty disagreements, misunderstandings, judging how the other person acts or speaks, all the while the Lord whispers to our heart: “Don’t miss the point.”
 
John the Baptist understood the point. We see from his response to his disciples, “He must increase, and I must decrease,” (John 3:30) that his heart was in the right place all along. He was content for the spotlight to be off of him and onto Jesus. No praise was needed, just all eyes on the Savior. He is what matters. His message is what matters.
 
I found great comfort in the idea of “stewarding” my ministry and not making it my identity. In the past, I have felt the need to identify myself as an “author” or “speaker” or “bible teacher” but ultimately, I don’t have to worry about any of these titles. I simply have to be a good steward.
 
I can do that, Lord…I thought. It really takes the pressure off, doesn’t it? We can be free to move and live and serve in different ways. We don’t have to be tied down to one thing forever. We serve a creative God who moves us where He has prepared us to go. As my son says, it’s time to “have a little faith.”

Erika Pizzo

The story of Nicodemus and his night encounter with Jesus is truly one of my favorite moments in the Bible. He is an unlikely character to request this meeting, and I believe we see real glimpses into his heart through the text.

I don’t know if you ever have those moments where you’re sitting in church, and hear something and you just know you’ll have to wrestle with it later? I definitely had one of those moments this Sunday!

Pastor Jason was sharing how Jesus really challenged Nicodemus in this story and in a way said, “why don’t you understand this yet?” After explaining to him this concept of being “reborn”.

Pastor Jason was communicating that there are times where Jesus seems to “call out” or “call higher” people who are not getting it. And in my spirit I’m wondering, “But this isn’t the Jesus I know? He doesn’t make me feel bad when I don’t know something?”

This internal conflict of what I’m seeing in scripture vs. the Jesus I have in my mind and in my heart are two things that do need to be reconciled.

I don’t let these things go…but instead, I choose to wrestle with the Lord through them.

I brought Him my questions: Lord, this doesn’t sound like you? Why are you talking to Nicodemus like this? Is this how you feel about me? Do you expect certain things that I haven’t achieved or understood?

He gently guided me to what is true in this very story: Nicodemus was a man that hungered for true wisdom and knowledge in Christ. He wanted answers. And it wasn’t just about “head knowledge” answers…he was pursuing Jesus at night and away from the crowds in a way that wouldn’t cause a scene because he wanted the real truth. Unfiltered.

So Jesus gave him a very unfiltered answer. He got directly to the point. And in this moment where he essentially says, “don’t you know these things?” I believe He is challenging Nicodemus intellectually and spiritually.

From what I see throughout the life of Jesus, He has a specific and unique approach for every single person. There is no factory-express answer to His children. He approaches them one by one…often going straight to the heart.

Jesus is thoughtful with those He loves. He speaks to the woman at the well differently than He spoke to Nicodemus. He rebuked the Pharisees in a way that sharply contrasted His tenderness toward Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue whose daughter was very sick. His words and tone and communication all depend on who He is speaking to, but He always speaks the truth in love.

Jesus knows what Nicodemus is after…the truth. And He is willing to challenge his thinking in order to get him there. He also knows that Nicodemus can handle the challenge. We notice in his response that Nicodemus is not easily offended, or shying away from the sharp challenge Jesus gave him. No, he continues to pursue truth. And we will see that Nicodemus continues that pursuit all throughout Jesus’ earthly life.

I think I can learn a thing or two from Nicodemus. One being that I don’t have to be afraid of Christ’s conviction and confrontation in my own heart. If He chooses to speak to me like He did with Nicodemus, I can receive it with the same hunger for truth that Nicodemus himself did. I can choose to not be offended by my Savior, but to remember that His discipline is always done out of love. The second thing I want to take away from Nicodemus is this: If I truly seek out the truth, I will find it.

Like Jeremiah 29:13 encourages us: “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (NKJV)

This hunger for God’s truth is something He put deep inside of us, just like Nicodemus. Thankfully, we don’t have to approach Him in the secret of the night. We can freely seek out these answers and talk to Him at anytime, anywhere. We have that kind of access.

Just like I had to wrestle with the character of Jesus this week, I hope that you take the opportunity to bring to Him anything that weighs heavy on your heart. The more honest we are with Him, the more our hearts begin to open up to His answers. Don’t ever forget that we have a loving Savior who longs to speak with us each and every day. Talk to Him friend, He can handle it.

Erika Pizzo

One of the verses Pastor Jason shared on Sunday has really been hiding in my heart all week, because God actually brought that verse to my mind before Sunday’s message. I am realizing as I look at the world around us that there is a real lack of being “slow to speak”.

I think we actually live in a culture that initially rewards being quick to speak and quick to become angry, but then, just as the enemy loves to stir up strife…later an onslaught of criticism comes to the speaker.

The earthly reward is in the outrage, but the sting of sin quickly follows.

James says it so well in the verse Pastor Jason shared, so I want to share it again here:

“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.” (James 1:19-20, NLT)

There is a strong movement in our current culture to do the opposite of what this verse says. And as someone that works in social media, I see the way things can be lit on fire with a simple post of outrage. The algorithm loves it, and it is sent out to even more and more people.

But here is something hopeful I see in this world of reactionary news and sharing and posting: a hunger and sincere craving for authenticity.

The more real and authentic you are on social media, the more people seem to be drawn to the message. And it’s interesting because when Paul talks about the last days He says that people will, “love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.” (2 Timothy 3:2, NLT)

These last days are characterized by inauthentic individuals who are only in it for themselves. And I don’t know about you, but I have seen this all across culture today, it’s almost scary how much this verse mirrors our current reality. But there are those who deeply crave the opposite…they crave what James 1 is telling us to do. People are increasingly become skeptical about what is “fake” and what is “real”. Those who are craving this have fertile soil for hearts to be changed by Jesus.

This is why our real and authentic walk with God is so important. As Pastor Jason put it towards the end of his message, “Be real and right with the Lord; your relationship matters.”

In these last days before the Lord returns, we must be extra vigilant to stay at the foot of the cross, tethered to our Savior. It will be increasingly harder to communicate in a world that is turning so quickly to the worship of self and darkness. But friend, in the midst of all of this…you carry the light. The light that cannot be hidden under a bushel. The light that deserves to be seen and heard, because it points to Christ.

How do we point to Him? By practicing radical humility. By being slow to speak, slow to become angry. Trust me, that is a rare thing to behold in this day and age. With God’s help, we can have this kind of control over our tongue and over our words. It matters because He matters. It matters because our witness is of utmost importance.

This week, if you’re anything like me, you’ve been tempted to speak out in anger or frustration at the state of the world. This place is not our home, so it is understandable that we will experience these emotions! But even in our frustration, let’s pray deeper into the Spirit. Let’s ask for God’s divine wisdom to hold our tongues when it is His will for us to do that.

This is about surrender. Surrender of something that is as hard to control as the tongue.

“What you say flows from what is in your heart.” (Luke 6:45b, NLT) 

Erika Pizzo

Sunday’s message in the beginning of the book of John was truly eye-opening to me, and I have read that passage hundreds of times. Isn’t it amazing how the Lord can reveal things to us in scripture that we have glossed over or not paid attention to?
 
I was especially appreciating Pastor Jason’s attention to the servants and how they must have felt bringing the water-turned-into-wine before the master of the feast. Was there hesitancy, fear, trepidation? Were they worried about losing their jobs or possibly their lives? What would happen if they served him water instead of wine? Like Pastor Jason said…this was an act of faith.
 
He compared it to the way we offer our lives before Christ. It’s true…all we really have to offer is water. God reminded me in that moment of all the times I approached Him with my meager gifts…yet He made something beautiful out of them. As we present our offering, He multiplies it. And in the multiplication, there is abundance…more than we could ever ask or think.
 
I am quick to say the phrase, “God will give you just enough strength for today…” to my friends who are suffering. This truth is real and relevant, but I also wonder if I should, at times, expect big gestures of grace. The times where God goes over and above and beyond…true abundance in the middle of ministry.
 
It reminds me of the five loaves and two fish…another instance of over-the-top providing from our great God. It says in Matthew 14 that the disciples, “took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.” He could have given “just enough” but He lavished them with more.
 
Sitting further with the idea of pouring out our lives before Him, I was reminded of a passage I just read in the Old Testament where Jacob built an altar to remember God at Bethel.
 
It says in Genesis 35:14 that, “Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil.” (Genesis 35:14 NLT)
 
How beautiful it is that we get to see these moments of surrender, between a believer and his/her Master. And these moments of offering are not just limited to the New Testament. We see Paul speaking in the same language, of “pouring out his life” in Philippians 2:17-18:
 
"But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.” (NLT)
 
It seems as though pouring and joy are linked…just like as we were encouraged on Sunday. It’s in the pouring that we grow closer and more dependent on Christ. It’s in the pouring that we see the hand of God when all we have to offer is our weakness.
 
In John 12, we see Mary pouring out her expensive bottle of perfume, a symbolic act of preparing Jesus for burial. Her offering that day was her tears and her heart. A pouring out of love.
 
I wish I could sit with you at coffee and let you know what you need to pour out, but really, that is such a deep and intimate matter of the heart. No one can truly “tell” us this other than Jesus Himself. He knows what we hold tightly and what we would rather not give up. He knows what we struggle to surrender.
 
I’ve never thought of myself as the servant in that story, filling up those jugs with water, hoping for a miracle to happen…but now I see it. And it actually takes the pressure off of my shoulders to “produce” anything on my own. It’s His doing…it’s His miracle. We are living images of our great Savior.
 
This week, let’s mediate on God’s call to surrender and trust, let’s loosen our grip over anything we might be holding too tightly, and let’s invite Him into our everyday so that we can see and experience and know the abundance of His grace.
 
At the end of our lives, may we say these beautiful words with Paul:
 
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
1 Timothy 4:6-7 (NKJV)

Erika Pizzo

Pay-it-Forward is a concept of doing some thoughtful act for someone around us. It’s the idea of not just satisfying ourselves, but instead doing a “good deed” for someone else. And then we hope that they too will “pay-it-forward” for the next guy.

Every now and again, I like to pay for the coffee being ordered by the guy in the car behind me. It makes me smile as I think about giving a cup of coffee to a stranger. Kindness goes a long way, not only in the heart of the recipient, but also in the heart of the giver.

That Pay-It-Forward idea has blossomed in some big ways. Starbucks reports that a pay-it-forward moment in Florida lasted 11 hours. Apparently nearly 400 people paid for the order of the car behind them. How cool. (But can you imagine being the guy who refused to keep it going? What a scrooge!)

That theme or “serial reciprocity” can be found in ancient writings, books, plays, movies and even in music. And of course, in the scriptures.

In Pastor Jason’s message from John chapter one, we see seven principles that we need to embrace and then pass along to others. These seven truths help us express the gospel message in simple, clear terms.

It starts with the understanding that we are not the Messiah. “He is God, and we are NOT!” The focus of our sharing scripture with others begins with the declaration to look full in the face of Jesus. And as we gaze into His eyes, we recognize our need to repent from our sins. Jesus was the substitute sacrifice, and we desperately need Him.

When Jesus invited the early disciples to “Come and see…” He was encouraging them to ask their important questions, but to do so as part of their relationship with Him. It was not an academic exercise. And our conversations need to have that same kind of warmth. We need to demonstrate that we care personally for those around us.

Not only should our conversations flow from personal interest in our family and friends, but those chats should convey the truth that there is so much more to come. We can have a future with Christ, and it involves much more than just a ticket out of hell.

As we finish our presentation of the “Good News” (the Gospel), we must model Jesus once again and make sure our words and actions flow from our hearts. We genuinely care for those we are talking to…we are truly concerned for them.

If we keep those things in the forefront of our minds and hearts as we begin to point someone to Christ, our motive will be so obvious. Our family, our friends, our colleagues at work and our neighbors will sense our genuine care for them and their eternal souls.

Jesus cared for ours. Let’s Pay-it-Forward!

Sherry Worel

I have to say I am pretty excited to start the gospel of John together as a church! Personally, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the Old Testament this past year and I am ready to learn from the life of Jesus. There is nothing quite like taking a closer look at our Lord and Savior and the way that He lived. It changes us.
 
This Sunday as we ventured into the first few verses of the book of John, I kept thinking about this concept of “belief” which is a central theme in John’s gospel.
 
I wondered to myself:

Why is belief so important to God?
Why is the concept of belief so central to the gospel?
 
It reminded me of this time when my kids were in the middle of a fight. Of course, one of them had one entire side to their story, and the other child had a completely different story! As a parent, there are often these moments where you are trying your best to lean on discernment and you simply don’t know which way to go. Finally, my daughter burst out with, “Why don’t you just BELIEVE me?!”
 
In this instance, belief would have meant everything to her. If she could have just persuaded us to actually put faith and trust in what she said…that would have changed everything! Her story would “win” and she would at least know that we took her at her word.
 
I never did find out who was telling the truth in that situation…but I do remember thinking about her words long after she said them. And now, I am thinking about how important “belief” is to God.
 
Belief is really an act of total trust…like the analogy of Pastor Jason bringing a chair on stage. When we sit down in that chair…we either trust it or we don’t.
 
The part that convicted me the most was where he said sometimes we sit on the edge of the chair…half believing it will hold us up…half believing it will cave in at any moment.
 
Between you and me? I think this is honestly how I live most of my life. One foot in my faith…the other trying to manage and control “just in case” the bottom falls through. 
 
I trust God in theory, but I try my best to manage and control all outcomes so whatever His answer might be, I will still be OK. But the funny part about all of this is…He always had the control in the first place! So all my micro-managing actually gets me nowhere.
 
I can rest easy in the chair…I can sit back into His loving arms. But how do I do this when the rest of my heart, mind and body scream, “take control!! Manage this!!”
 
I am hoping and praying for us as a body as we venture into the book of John that we learn to walk out true “belief”. That we will cease to sit at the edge of the seat, not truly trusting in God…and move to a more comfortable sitting position where we fully rely on the grace and goodness of our Savior.
 
Life would be so much easier if we just learned to “trust”, right? Let’s lean into true belief as we walk side by side with Jesus, learning and growing from the One who holds the world together so very well.

Erika Pizzo

I really love the movie, Chariots of Fire. Of course I admire the character of Eric Liddell. Not only did he refuse to violate his principles at the Olympics and run on the sabbath, but ultimately, he died serving as a missionary in China.

But the character of Harold Abrahams fascinates me too. He was the other runner in the movie, the man whose life was entirely wrapped up in his performance on the track. At one point, his coach was trying to get him a few extra seconds of an edge. So, he was teaching Abrahams how to stretch for the tape.

And his practice worked. In the 100m final in Paris, he was neck and neck with both Charley Paddock and Jackson Schoz at the halfway mark. But some intense efforts pulled Harold ahead and at the end, he strained towards the tape. And won.

That act of straining or stretching for the tape is what Paul is talking about in Philippians 3:12. And Pastor Jason’s message this past Sunday drew our attention to that concept.

Spiritually, we too are supposed to “lean in” towards the “prize” of the high calling in Christ Jesus. Just as runners sometimes must thrust their torsos forward straining for the tape, we need to learn how to push aside weights and distractions and reach for the goal of serving Him.

But like most spiritual exercises, learning how to strain towards His will can be and usually is very uncomfortable. And that brings us to the word and concept for the year, embracing being uncomfortable.

Pleasing the Lord, doing His bidding with some joy, serving others with a great attitude will likely cost us something. But the good news is that we do not have to make huge, wholesale life changes all at once. We can improve our discipleship efforts a little bit at a time.

We can start with just 15 minutes studying His Word. We can memorize one verse in a week. We can choose one chore to do for our spouse. We can complement one colleague at work. We can pray for just a few minutes at lunch. And so on…

So maybe this week is a great opportunity for all of us to recognize that we really are in a race. Let’s look down our lanes and eye the finish line. That proverbial tape strung across the track deserves our attention.

So, let’s press in and run our race with enthusiasm!

Sherry Worel

To be honest with you, I’m still trying to get used to our word for the year - “Uncomfortable.” It’s not easy to know the uncomfortable is coming. It’s funny, because that is actually a definition of anxiety…dread of what’s to come.
 
But after hearing about having the mind of Christ, there really should not be dread for what is to come. Even though life will get harder (Christ Himself warns us of that), the deeper and closer we get to our great God, the easier it will be to trust Him. So in a very backwards way, the more uncomfortable we get…the easier life becomes.
 
It all comes down to what God does in the discomfort.
 
He shapes us, and changes our character, and molds us a little more every single day to become more like Him.
 
My friend and I were talking the other day about how we see growth in each other towards Christ. We smiled as we thought about how we used to really panic about certain situations, but God has shaped us into two women that trust Him more and more. We both laughed with hope as I said, “I wonder what we will be like in our 80s!”
 
There is hope for who we will become because Christ is involved. He took two anxiety-driven girls and turned us into women who now “laugh without fear of the future” like we hear of in Proverbs 31.
 
Sometimes I wonder…is it even possible to laugh in the middle of discomfort?
 
I’m reminded of the times that spiritual attacks have been brought against me as I am getting ready to speak, or release a book, or serve in some capacity. You wouldn’t believe the things that happened before the prayer class I helped lead this past year! But as I told my friend about each and every attack, we both felt a stronger sense of courage. It was hard to go through the attacks, no question, but it was also this moment where she encouraged me with, “Hey, if there is so much attack, you must be doing something right!”
 
The enemy will work hard to get us in an uncomfortable place. But discomfort can also be a place of joy, laughter, and knowing that even though things look a little crazy right now, God is still in control!
 
Joy in chaos. That’s the beauty of the Christian life.

I love how Megan Marshman puts it in her book Relaxed (quoting Dr. Gualtiere):

“Certainly, Jesus has some very un-relaxed emotions in these and other situations. Anguish, excruciating pain, overhelming pressure, fear, anger, and grief can certainly work against feeling relaxed. But the Master shows us that even in crisis or pain a mature person who is attuned to and aligned with God’s presence can be calm, joyful, and loving.”

If you’re feeling a little nervous about the word for this year, just know you are not alone in that. I have been nervously talking to God about it all week! But deep at the heart of being uncomfortable is true growth. And I think that’s what God wants for each and every one of us.
 
He never wants to leave us right where we are, that would be a waste of a life. Instead, He cares about who we will become. He cares about a deeper and more committed relationship. He cares about being our Audience of One.

Erika Pizzo

As Pastor Jason announced the word God gave Him for our church this year - “uncomfortable” - I had to send a quiet smile up to the Lord. The past few weeks, He has been relentlessly teaching me this lesson…all beginning with our trip to Indiana for my husband’s marathon.
 
My husband has been running more seriously for the past few years, and it has been an actual joy to watch him do this because we both came from a background in running and met on a team in college. I have had a front row seat watching God blossom his gift of running once again. As we’ve gotten older and had kids, I think both of us thought our running days were behind us. But God said, “not quite yet!” And this year, my husband had his eyes set on a race in Indiana.
 
Initially, I was excited and couldn’t wait to take a trip with my family. But over the weeks leading up to it, and even while we were on the trip, my heart started to grow weary. It had been a very busy October and November, and I felt like the last thing I wanted to do was fly across the county and see this race. Even typing those words feels so selfish, but I knew that God was exposing the selfishness in my heart for a reason. It was painful, like ripping off a band aid to expose a wound.
 
Possible flight delays, a snow storm coming, sleeping in another bed that I got maybe 2 full hours of sleep in all started to take a toll. On the outside, I was putting on a brave face to be proud of my husband, but on the inside I was screaming for home and the comforts of my own bed. I was overwhelmed and barely holding it together.
 
It was an honest and brutal reality check when my sweet 10 year old came up to me one day quietly and said, “Are you ok, Mommy? Why is your face like that?”
 
She knew what I was trying too hard to hide…I was uncomfortable. And my flesh didn’t like it.
 
November to me is the beginning of the holidays, when I get to plan and decorate and feel cozy in my home. November is also my “birthday month” so I like spending that month doing very “comfortable things.”
 
But in the middle of Indiana, God decided to whisper something to my heart. In the middle of my struggle with the flesh, and the simultaneous cries to Him for help…He said this: “Erika, your flesh loves comfort. But discomfort is where you serve others. Discomfort is the heart of Jesus.”
 
The entire trip was this internal struggle with the Lord where I realized that my comfort had become a true idol in my life. Going across the country in November was just not what I wanted to do. I couldn’t hide my flesh, and God was there to catch me as I was falling.
 
You remember the recent government shutdown that affected all kinds of flights, right? That was exactly the day we were coming home from Indiana. Again, I wrestled with the Lord…pleading for Him to get us home…on time and safely.
 
But I felt Him talking to me as I prayed. He likes to gently ask me thoughtful questions like “Would you be OK if your flight got delayed?” “Don’t you think I would come through for you?” “Could it be that I would have a purpose behind it all?”
 
My prayers started to change. Reluctantly, unwillingly, I started to pray… “Ok Lord, I’m going to give up trying to control everything here. If you want me to be uncomfortable, that’s OK. Please, just get us home eventually.”
 
Miraculously, we got home with no delays (when literally every other flight in that airport was cancelled or hours late). But the lesson He taught me about that trip stayed in my heart. There was a clear exposing of my flesh and selfishness, there was a challenge from the Lord to live outside of my comfortable bubble, and there was an honest surrendering that needed to happen of my plans and my days.
 
I love what we heard during the baptism on Sunday, “It seems as though these uncomfortable decisions I’m making for the Lord are actually the best decisions of my life.”
 
Maybe being uncomfortable isn’t really a “bad thing” like our flesh has propped it up to be. Maybe in the discomfort, that’s where we begin to see His hand the most.
 
I don’t know what the Lord will call you to this year friend, but I do know that His hand will continue to be over your life. There is nowhere you could go where He won’t be with you. So if being uncomfortable feels really scary (like it does to me)…let’s remind our heart that He will always be by our side, no matter what. Wherever He leads, in the uncomfortable or the unknown or just the opposite of what our flesh wants…Lord, may we follow. Amen.

Erika Pizzo

On Sunday, it really felt like the Holy Spirit’s perfect timing that we talked about Zacharias and his encounter with the angel. There are so many of us who are a part of this body, that are waiting, hoping and praying for God to show up. Like Zacharias and Elizabeth, our life may not have turned out the way we had planned or dreamed. We sit in the ashes and aftermath of those longed-for dreams that never happened and wonder…where are you God?
 
Although it was heartbreaking to hear, it didn’t surprise me that many walk away from God and church because of those shattered dreams…the times when it felt harder to hold onto faith because the pain was just too great.
 
I am holding on to something Lori Armstrong shared with us at the Women’s LIFE lunch that I just can’t stop thinking about. As she was walking through a season of grief from losing her husband…her son Brad didn’t feel like going to church. But she turned to him with love and resolve and said, “church is exactly where we need to be right now”.
 
I’ve been thinking about how the body of Christ is so much more than a place to gather on Sunday. It’s truly a family that comes around you and mourns while you mourn, comforts when you really need comfort, and rejoices when you rejoice. When Elizabeth shared the news with their church family it said “…her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.” (Luke 1:58, ESV)
 
If you are hurting and disappointed this Christmas, I pray that you would still show up. Even if it feels like you have nothing to give…that’s OK. Like Pastor Jason said, God will meet you there.
 
Church is an imperfect place, but it is still home. It is where our family of Christ resides. It is a place where eternity is felt…and the Spirit of God is ready to speak. I know it can be hard to show up, in seasons of great grief it just feels so much easier to stay in bed and let the depression take over.
 
But I hope this season, you remember that there are people here who love you with the love of Christ. They may do it imperfectly, but love is there. There are warm hugs, and silent prayers, and eyes full of empathy. If you are walking through loss or heartache or grief…chances are, many of us in the body are walking through that as well.
 
We are simply hurting souls that have decided to gather despite it all. Where grief tried to come in and swallow us whole, Christ came in and miraculously began the work of restoration. His coming is a sign of the hope we have waiting for us in eternity. There really is so much to look forward to as we await Him coming again.
 
Let me leave you with a simple prayer…
 
Jesus,
 
I am deciding to show up.
 
My heart has felt bitter and hard and I have held things back from you…
 
But today, I am asking you to soften me.
 
I am asking that you come in and restore, like only you can.
 
Take the broken pieces and make something beautiful, Lord.
 
As I show up, move me from a state of bitterness to a state of faith, just like you did with Zacharias.
 
Let me behold your awesome and mighty power to save and redeem.
 
Let me feel and experience your love in the body of Christ this season.
 
Let me serve with joy, knowing that you hold my tomorrows.
 
I ask this in Your name Jesus, Amen.

Erika Pizzo

What is it about the holidays that brings up so many feelings? I think this time of year we tend to contemplate bigger life things than any other time of the year. And hearing Sunday’s message on the Last Days had me completely in my feelings.
 
Every time I hear a message on Revelation, my heart goes out to those who are not saved in my life. For me, it is a message of hope, but for those who have rejected Christ…it is a message of eternal separation from God and from those we love.
 
As I was sitting in church contemplating these last days and all the suffering that will be for those who actively reject Christ, God whispered these gentle words to my heart: At the end of it all, it will be just you and me. Can you love me most?
 
I felt like Lot’s wife, looking back. Looking back at those who are not saved yet and saying, “Don’t come yet Jesus! Just wait a little longer. Save a few more souls!”
 
But when He comes, I have to be ready. I have to choose Him. I get to choose Him. He is the One that has been with me all this time, and the One who will be with me to the end.
 
When I hear messages on being prepared for His arrival, it’s hard to know what that looks like. Half of my heart is still ministering to the lost here on earth, but the other half simply wants Him to return so I can be with Him forever. But it feels selfish to just say, “Come Lord” when there are so many lost.
 
I wonder if any of you feel this familiar pull that I was feeling on Sunday.
 
It reminded me of when I was a little girl and I was actually afraid of the rapture. I didn’t want Jesus to come back yet because I had things to do! I wanted to get married one day, I wanted to be a mom, I wanted to live a little and see things and do life. I loved Jesus, but I didn’t love Him enough to go away with Him right here, right now.
 
Things have changed after all these years, after I’ve grown up a little. (Let’s face it, I still have a long way to go!) But Jesus has slowly changed my heart. I now long for Him to come back, and all the things that once seemed so important have faded into the distance.
 
It’s like that old familiar song “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” that plays, “When the things of earth grow strangely dim…in the light of His glorious grace.”
 
I am in the phase where things have grown dim. And yet, my heart is torn for those who still need saving. I am prepared, but I wonder about them. My heart aches for them to see the truth. I want all to choose Him before the wrath comes…but as we know, that is simply not the end of the story. Many will still be blind when He arrives, but on that final day…we will see every knee bow (Philippians 2:10-11).
 
I am guessing that you are spending the holidays with others who are lost…others who don’t know Jesus. It is a hard reality to face when you are in a room full of people drinking egg-nog but your heart is set on the eternal. We wonder…will they ever know Him? I’ve preached the gospel and shared and hoped and prayed for so long…will they ever commit to Christ?
 
Friend, I feel your heart, and I feel the pain you carry. If you felt conflicted on Sunday, know you are not alone. But at the end of the day, I think those words that God whispered to me still ring true: Can we love Him most?
 
We have to choose Him above all else. He is there for us at the end of it all, He is the One left standing.
 
What would it look like to release the expectation of what that looks like to Him, and to still simply look forward in expectant hope to His coming? How can we find joy, even when all is not “right in the world”? How can we experience the abundant life as we think about His arrival?
 
Choosing joy and expectant hope is not always easy, but when we get to a place where all that’s left is “Him”…deep in our hearts, we can truly rejoice!
 
We welcome you dear Savior. Come Lord Jesus, come.

Erika Pizzo

The passage we studied this week in Joel exposed the essence of what it’s like to have a very human, flesh-filled, sinful nature. It’s uglier than we ever thought it could be, and hearing the verse below just broke my heart:
 
“They have cast lots for My people, have given a boy as payment for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.” (Joel 3:3, NKJV)
 
Immediately, my mind went to the industry of sex trafficking. I took this verse literally and went there, knowing that this is still a huge, dark, and Satanic industry that is happening all over the world. But I also thought about the subtle ways that this verse plays out that we wouldn’t expect…
 
The root here that I feel the Lord is conveying is that we trade things for instant gratification…when often times, that gratification stems from a placement of identity or “happiness” in something other than God.
 
Like the account of Jacob and Esau, something as simple as food caused Esau to sell his birthright. It was the instant gratification of a warm bowl of soup that cost him family ties, wealth, legacy and generational standing. If one bowl of soup could do that, imagine how the enemy tempts us with even greater things?
 
Our addictions are not always outright and noticeable — like drinking and drug use, but other addictions can also be subtle…like the constant pull to our phones, online shopping, social media, or gossip. Addictions come in all shapes and sizes…they are not limited to the ones that land us in prison or rehab. Addictions are living among us in the American church. I believe our addictions are deep rooted and often filled with bitterness. No wonder we are called to “rend our hearts” (Joel 2:13) when there is so much there to uncover and break apart.
 
In James 1:15 we are warned that “sin gives birth to death.” The sin that starts in our heart of wanting something we don’t have, leading to an overwhelming desire to have it, and eventually resulting in action of hurting ourselves or someone else…brings death.
 
Jesus knows and teaches us the way to live, and yet our flesh pulls us in the opposite direction.
 
The last point Pastor Jason made was all about the peace that comes from surrender. Once we decide that we no longer want to “fight God”…we can begin to let go and rest in His loving arms, giving up our fight to trade it in for His fight — a fight of justice and of truth…a fight that wins every time.
 
Although it can be difficult to study books like Joel, in the end, I really believe it’s good for us to see this side of God. The side that wants to execute justice on those who have purposefully turned from Him and chosen not to be in relationship. He gave them the chance, but they ran in the other direction. It’s sobering, but it’s also good to know that we can trust His judgement.

He doesn’t judge unfairly or without mercy…we saw in Pastor Jason’s message that He is actually so full of mercy that it’s unbelievable at times. If someone is still living and breathing, it is never too late for God.
 
On Sunday, we were left with this simple question: Have I surrendered all?
 
I sat with the Lord for a few moments on this one. On the outside, it looks like I have surrendered. But He knows the inner-workings of my heart. There is still more work to be done. I trust that He will take the steps needed to pry my grip off of the areas of my life that I believe I have “control” over. There really is such a peace that comes from realizing that He is, ultimately, in control, and agreeing with that fact as we live our lives.
 
Maybe this busy season of December is the perfect time to acknowledge that we were never in control…but He is. That very fact can bring us such peace in a season that is often overwhelming. He is good, He is just, and He is in control.

Erika Pizzo

My favorite take-away from Sunday’s message was Pastor Jason’s very last point: Work the job God gives with the gifts He has given.
 
I needed to hear this, and God knew that my heart was craving some extra encouragement to simply “get the work done”. Over the past few months, part of my ministry has been working on filming videos where I share my story with anxiety and depression. At this point, all the filming is done and now it’s up to me to post. But it has felt like such a spiritual battle to even get myself to put these videos out. Every day I find myself caught up in a million responsibilities, and at the end of the night I am too tired to follow through with it. The enemy is succeeding in keeping me busy and exhausted.
 
I think the issue here is that I wasn’t seeing this assignment for what it was. To me, it felt like just another thing to check off my list…another job to do. But to God, this is an exercising of my gifts, a chance for me to speak and teach and reach others for Him. Often times, I have watched Him use a video of mine that goes to the exact person that needs to hear it, right at the moment they needed it.
 
On Sunday Pastor Jason talked about what happens when the Holy Spirit empowers us to do something. I can speak from experience when I say that it is nothing short of miraculous what He can do when He steps on the scene. Over and over again, I’ve seen Him take my five loaves and two fish and multiply it in a way that only He can. Each day I approach Him with little to give, but He knows exactly what to do with it. He knows where and when and how to send it out.
 
As believers in God’s greater plan, we need to view these moments as less of an obligation and more of a call. Not one more thing on our list, but THE thing on our list that is for Him. Even the small acts of obedience matter. He is watching what we do with our time, talent and treasure. No gift is too insignificant for Him to use, no amount of sacrifice too little to work with.
 
This December, as things start to get busier and more hurried…I am clinging to this verse that keeps encouraging me to give it my all for Him, and not for anybody else:
 
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31, ESV)
 
When it’s for His glory, a certain pressure to perform is removed. All of the sudden, the work becomes lighter because we realize that the empowering and the boldness comes from outside of us. It’s His Spirit at work, nothing we can manufacture on our own. This should motivate us to do our work with excellence, with a greater sense of Who we serve.
 
I know this month will be a busy one for you too, but remember that God has given you all the capacity you need to serve the people with whom He has entrusted you . Don’t get caught up in the enemy’s noise or distractions. The assignments Jesus gives are what matters. And you have everything you need inside of you (the Holy Spirit!) to do it well.

Erika Pizzo

It was a full-circle moment for me to sit in church this past Sunday as Pastor Jason shared the message on restoration. On January 1st of this year, I sat with the Lord and asked Him to give me a word for 2025. The word that He gave me was “restore”…so to end this year with this particular message was a beautiful Holy Spirit moment for me!
 
When God gave me that word earlier this year, my mind immediately went to all the good things that come from restoration…all the hope, the joy and the anticipation of things that have been “lost” for awhile. The years the locusts had eaten (Joel 2:25). I was ready to immediately see those things restored, with open hands and an expectant heart.
 
But along the way as I walked through 2025, I realized that God had a process of stripping away, exposing sin, and showing me ugliness inside even before the healing began. Ultimately, it’s hard to face these things and see them for what they are. The worship song we all sang on Sunday solidified what this process was like for me as these words rang so true:
 
“You can light up even the darkest parts of this heart…
I give it all up to you.
I give it all up to you, Jesus.”
(Clean Heart, Life Church Worship)
 
I have seen some of the darkest parts of my heart this year, and it was unbelievably hard to expose that. However, God would never choose to expose anything within our hearts without a reason, without a purpose behind the exposure. Exposing means redemption is on the horizon…there is still good work to be done.
 
The most encouraging part of Sunday’s message to me personally was this point: The most important thing we can do in our life is pursue God.
 
It reminded me of this beautiful verse I read this week as David was handing down the building of the temple to his son, Solomon. He encourages Solomon with these words:
 
“And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve Him with your whole heart and willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek Him, you will find Him...” (1 Chronicles 28:9 NLT)
 
There is something truly beautiful about the process of seeking…about the journey of knowing God. To really know Him means that there will be restoration. Healing will come.
 
I’ve often thought about what it would be like to stand before Jesus at the gates of heaven, and to realize that eternity is for real…but to never have built a relationship Him.
 
How can we spend eternity with someone we don’t even know? Our time here on earth is but a glimpse, but it is worth our time and effort and energy to truly get to know Him…to walk with Him in relationship. At the end of it all, that relationship is what lasts. That relationship will be forever.
 
As we head into Thanksgiving, I am choosing to meditate on King David’s charge to Solomon. To know God intimately, and to be thankful for that. There are so many things to be thankful for, God has been so good to us hasn’t He? But maybe the one thing I am most thankful for is simply knowing and loving Him. It is the greatest privilege of our lives. Friend, He is so worth knowing.
 
“Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” (Westminster Catechism)

Erika Pizzo

This past Sunday we talked about one of the most impactful verses in the book of Joel: “Rend your heart, and not your garments.” (Joel 2:13)
 
We see so beautifully in scripture that God has always and will always care about the heart.
 
He is interested in the very core of who we are…the seat of our emotions, thoughts, and actions.
 
He is relentless in pursuing our hearts, and this call to “rend” is an actual splitting apart, a force-filled and powerful repentance and surrendering of this crux of who we are. God is not just interested in the outward display of obedience, He is greatly focused on the inner-workings of our mind, emotion and will.
 
There are many examples of this theme throughout scripture. I want to take you through a few of them today so we can solidify in our minds what it means to truly “rend our hearts”…because once we understand this, we can stop acting as religious performers, and instead, start living and breathing as true believers.
 
In Matthew 23:25, Jesus is speaking to the leaders of the law when He says pointedly, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.” (ESV)
 
In Hosea 6:6 the Lord is speaking when He says, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” (ESV)
 
1 Samuel 16:7 gives us a glimpse into how God truly sees people. It says, “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” (ESV)
 
The New Living Translation phrases Jesus words in Mark 2:27 in this way as He speaks to the Pharisees, “Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.”
 
In Psalm 24:4-5, David pens what it means to live rightly before God. Again, it comes down to the heart:
 
“He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” (ESV)
 
When God asks us to rend our heart, He is asking for a full internal surrender. Something that outward actions cannot accomplish. It is the difference between operating in the flesh vs. the Spirit. They are always opposed, and you choose to either walk in one or the other. You can’t force your way into obedience by religious practices, it has to be a true giving over of your very life.
 
Can I encourage you with this final thought? As we head into the holiday season, there might be situations you simply don’t want to be in. Maybe you are around certain people that are tough to love, maybe your flesh is resisting even being in the same room as these people. You may have to drive or fly when you would much rather stay in the comfort of your own home. There will be times when you are asked to go above and beyond to serve someone else and it just feels downright miserable.
 
Friend, I understand. It is a true resistance of the flesh and laying down of what we want to serve another. But the moment you do…you begin to walk by the Spirit. The moment you decide to do something that serves someone else, the moment you go where God is asking you to go, the moment you give when you feel like there might not be anything else left to give…that is the moment you rend. That is the most meaningful part to God.
 
I’m reminded of the widow who gave her two mites. Jesus praised her faith. He said this of her in Luke 21:3-4:
 
“Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” (ESV)
 
Her heart was in the right place. Something tells me that long ago, she decided to rend her heart and give it over to God. This season, may we do the same…no matter how uncomfortable that may seem. He is with you, and He sees your heart.

Erika Pizzo

On a recent discussion board, someone asked the question “What makes a good foreign ambassador?”
 
The answers were insightful, especially after hearing Tim Mallory’s message that encouraged us to be ambassadors set-apart for Christ. Here are some of the responses from the discussion board that stood out to me:
 
• Emotional Intelligence and Empathy: These are crucial for treating people decently, managing conflicts, and building relationships.

• Humility and Sense of Humor: These help in navigating the challenges and stresses of diplomatic life.

• Language Proficiency: Being fluent in multiple languages is often a requirement and a significant asset.

• Cultural Awareness: Understanding and respecting the customs and traditions of the host country is essential.

• Negotiation Skills
 
(Source: Reddit.com)
 
It made me wonder what kind of ambassador I have been for Christ. Do I express emotional intelligence and empathy when I speak to others? Is there humility in my words?

Language proficiency makes me think of the fact that we need to know God’s word in order to share it! There are so many implications here of how we can be effective witnesses for Christ.
 
But one thing Tim said stood out to me the most: We must be filled with love.
 
As soon as he said those words, my mind drifted to the familiar verse in 1 Corinthians 13 where it says, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” (V.1, NIV)
 
I wonder how often I have tried to communicate the gospel, or some concept in the Bible, but I have said it without love. Trying hard to hammer down a point, or hone in on a theological implication without taking into account how this affects the other person and their story.
 
At the heart of this…we are to see people the way that Jesus sees them…filled with compassion and grace. Jesus sees past people’s defenses and walls, He sees right to their heart and He sees the burdens they carry. That is what made His ministry so effective on earth…every interaction was filled with undeniable love.
 
As you think about growing in your role as an ambassador for Christ, remember that the more you become like Jesus, the more your words will drip with that kind of love. And if you struggle to love others, maybe take a step back and ask Jesus to give you His eyes over that person or that situation. His eyes are filled with love, and sometimes our eyes are filled with contempt, jealousy, or anger. We need His sight in order to truly see.
 
When we speak, we speak on behalf of the King. We hold His very Word in our hands. What we say matters. How we carry ourselves matters. How we love matters.
 
Let’s take this message with us into our week as we interact with those that might be harder to love. As ambassadors, we have to rise above our feelings over their actions or the way they have lived or the bad choices they’ve made, or the way they have offended or hurt us…and we need to still carry the message of Christ. It is our chief goal to continue to spread His amazing message of grace. What a privilege it is to be an ambassador!

Erika Pizzo

Before the message on Sunday, I had been replaying a song over and over again. I simply couldn’t stop listening, because I felt that it conveyed the urgency of Jesus coming back.
 
In the song, the artist contrasts what it’s like when you are not prepared for Jesus’ second coming, and when you are, in his words “over-prepared.”
 
Here are some of the lyrics by Hulvey’s “He Will Return”:
 
Are you crying through the phone?
Realizing that this feeling that you feel ain't from a song?
The Holy Spirit sent me here to tell you, "Come back home"
Two friends in a field of flowers, one that's left, the other gone
 
This song captures what Pastor Jason shared on Sunday, and the urgency to come back home and be with the Lord before His second coming. To repent and turn, to give your life to Him, to live like He is coming back. To fast and deny ourselves in preparation. Oh how this convicted me.
 
One line in particular from the song is what tugged at my heart the most. He is talking about being the one that is not prepared for Jesus to return and he says,
 
“I told myself, ‘I'm ready for You’
(I’m) Weeping 'cause I didn't fast.”
 
Fasting has always been a really tough area for me. I understand the concept of it, and I know that the Lord calls us to deny ourselves to come into His presence, but I hesitate. As someone who has dealt with so many health issues and also disordered thoughts about eating, it’s hard to imagine the idea of “fasting” as holy. I see people fast and mix it with losing weight, and it’s hard to reconcile that in my mind because of my history. I also see people do fasting with great integrity and regularly “fast” before the Lord. We even have that time set aside at the beginning of every month to corporately fast as a church.
 
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that God gave me that song and gave me this message at the same time. I believe there is a drawing of the Holy Spirit to fast, and now I am wondering…what does that even look like?
 
This call to fast is all throughout scripture, and it is not something we can ignore. I wonder, dear friend, how God might be calling you to deny yourself to take one step closer to Him. When we frame it that way, it is not so hard to give up the pleasures of this world. Because being near to Him is truly the greatest reward.
 
There are so many things we could choose to set aside. It doesn’t have to necessarily involve food, but I pray that you would take the time to consider what God might gently be asking you to give up in order to hear from Him. What is standing in the way of intimacy with your Creator? Only you and the Lord know that, but if you ask Him, I believe He will lay it on your heart and show you what needs to be done.
 
As for me, I think one major thing that stands in the way of my relationship with Him is my phone. I know that I let it distract me from my time with Him, and the constant notifications make silence impossible. I think it’s time I take a step toward Him in obedience, don’t you?

Erika Pizzo

This past Sunday the message was titled “Wake Up Call” and Pastor Jason shared the importance of what it means to live our lives in such a way that we are awake spiritually. It is putting it lightly to say that this message was personally convicting, and really tugged at my own heart strings.
 
I thought about a time where I was not fully awake to what was going on around me. As I battled health issues and anxiety and depression, I was often at the mercy of the enemy. So many attacks were coming from left and right, and I struggled to see how I was living the “abundant” or “victorious” life in Christ.
 
The truth is, the enemy knew how to beat me up. He knew my trigger points. He knew how to keep me in shame over what I was dealing with in the corners of my heart.
 
One thing I believe the enemy uses as his most sneaky tactic is what I call the “drift.” It’s a slow leaning away…a slow moving in another direction, whether that be away from other believers, away from the church, away from spiritual discipline, and eventually…away from God.
 
This drift is very subtle. It happens slowly over time. But in the middle of all of this, Satan whispers this familiar phrase: “It’s not that big of a deal.”
 
Meaning…it’s not that big of a deal if you skip out on that group gathering. It’s not that big of a deal if you stay home from church one more Sunday. It’s not that big of a deal if you simply can’t make it this time.
 
All it takes for the enemy to get you on the path of “drifting” as opposed to the “narrow road” is one small excuse. One small step. And suddenly…you realize just how far off course you actually are.
 
Then comes the wake-up call. And on Sunday, I was thinking about how much God must love us to give us these wake-up calls.

I know He has done this for me in so many different ways. He presses His life-giving discernment into my heart as if to say, “Hey, are you sure you want to go down that road?”

A few weeks ago, Linda Huffman encouraged us in Bible study to “mind the checks.” What a helpful way to think of how the Holy Spirit leans in to direct and guide us. All throughout our day, He is giving us checks — moments to pause and redirect to the narrow road.
 
Maybe Sunday’s message was a wake-up call for you. Maybe reading this right now, you know the area where God is leaning into your heart and giving you a check point. Maybe that voice of discernment is starting to grow. All of this is good. All of this is because He loves you so very much. All of this is because He relentlessly pursues your very heart.
 
As a fair warning, I must say that as you begin to wake-up spiritually…things start to look different. If you truly lean into God’s voice and walk in obedience, the trials will come. But so will the freedom. Things that Satan has convinced you are “no big deal” are actually a big deal…and God wants to free you from them. Listen to His Spirit, lean closely into His word, begin to open your eyes, and take one more step towards that road less traveled.

Erika Pizzo