stevecuringtonministries.com

Our Quote for Today: (part two)

“There are two ways in which we may govern our lives.  The first is through rigidity.  The second is through liberty.  One tends to rules.  The other--relationship!”

Good morning friends of RU!  Our conference has ended with record attendance and great blessings have abounded.  I have rested and am back at it, if you will so choose to hear my words that I want to share with you.

What a privilege it is to awake with the rise of the sun and meet with the Lord Jesus Christ!  I hope that you too have had the opportunity today to be fortified with a period of time spent in the Word and prayer.  Allow me to supplement your “God and I” time by sharing with you yet another fantastic application out of Romans Chapter 14 concerning our freedom as blood-bought Christians.

By way of review, allow me to re-lay the foundation of this truth we are discussing. In simple terms, there are basically two ways to govern our lives.  We can be led by the liberty of the Spirit-which is granted to us by the Spirit of God, for we know that where the Spirit of the Lord is there is always liberty. Or we can be kept at bay by rules.  It is not liberty.  It is actually a form of rigidity.

Sometimes, rules come from the Word of God, and we know that these rules can never be contrary to the leading of the Spirit, for the Holy Spirit would never contradict what the Bible says.  We also have rules placed over us by our God-ordained authority, which again are almost always consistent with the leading of the Spirit.  However, we often find that others who are not directly over us want to place rules over us or feel that we should personally impose more rules upon ourselves.  This is where we must proceed with caution. Why?, you ask.  Because rigidity without liberty is stupidity! 

Don’t get me wrong, rigidity (that is to say rules) is good.  Having boundaries and setting personal standards that we refuse to compromise are integral to our Christian stability, especially when our walk with God may seem dormant or distant.  But they are only beneficial if they are a spiritual bumper to keep us IN Christ.

But, again I say, when rigidity infringes upon my Christian liberty it is stupidity.  Jesus Christ came to make us free.  We are to live within boundaries, but when our freedom is dependent upon those boundaries, we are bound, not free.  Therefore, it is counterproductive to allow ourselves to be made free by rules that squelch the liberty bestowed upon us by the Spirit of God.  We are to be made free by a relationship that leads us to obey all of His rules out of appreciation and selflessness.  Thus, we must strive to strike a healthy balance between the two.

Upon that foundation, let us further proceed our understanding of our passage in Romans 14.  Romans 14:4 says, “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant?  To his own master he standeth or falleth.  Yea, he shall be holden up: For God is able to make him stand.”  In this verse, Paul presents the concept of “jurisdictional judgment.”  Simply put, the premise behind jurisdictional judgment is that a person is only permitted to judge those whom God has placed directly beneath them.  I am able to cast judgment upon my children, my students and my staff while staying within the boundaries of jurisdictional judgment; however, there are some caveats to this.   With my staff, I can judge them in areas related to their employment, and because of the nature of our ministry, I can also judge their spiritual walk.   However, it would be wrong for me to judge them on issues that fall outside of these parameters.  For example, I have a right to cast judgment and ask an employee to clean their office, but I have no such right to order them to clean their living room!

Likewise, my pastor, Dr. Paul Kingsbury, has the right to judge me because I am under his jurisdiction.  However, if Pastor Kingsbury was a guest in my home for supper, and my children were misbehaving, he would have no right to order me to discipline my children in my own home.  So we see that there is a fine line with jurisdictional judgment and God has designed specific areas for each of us to judge; it is our responsibility to be careful to stay within our jurisdiction when judging others.  Here’s why: The Holy Spirit is going to work through leadership-He is not going to work with any other part of the chain of command to influence someone underneath to do or be right. . . so if God is sharing something with me about an individual and not sharing it with the leader of that person, then I need to question whether or not it is indeed the Spirit of God who is doing the sharing:  The Holy Spirit is not going to have me judge another man’ s servant (employee, student, child), for this would be directly contrary to the Scriptures!

So if somebody outside of the organization of Reformers Unanimous said to me, “you know what, Steve?  I think your employees over there at RU are just a bunch of spiritually-liberal souls who need to focus more on rules!”  Well, ha, this may be somewhat true, but that is beside the point!  The point of the matter is that nobody has a right to judge my employees in areas regarding their work but me and their supervisors underneath me!  This is why, again, we are commanded to not judge another man’s servant!!!  So we could deduce that the person that made this comment was not acting out of God-given enlightenment and take his criticism with a grain of salt.

Have you ever wondered why your authorities behave the way they do and even question their intentions at certain times?  Do you find yourself correcting their actions in your own mind or thinking about how much better you could do the task at hand?   Well, my friend, if you are anything like me (especially in my younger days!), you have wrestled with these thoughts from time to time, but take heed-- this is a natural reaction that is inherent to the sin-nature of man.

If you and I can remember this truth, I believe that it will be instrumental in helping us to avoid being judgmental in circumstances where we have no right to be.  Just imagine how much simpler life would be if we focused only on casting judgment upon those whom the Bible tells us we have a right to. .  .  it would be so much more pleasant!  Not only from the perspective of being the one who casts judgment, but also from the other side-the one who is being judged.  I mean, who likes to be judged by everybody all the time anyway?!?

Granted, this can be a tricky truth to apply, but I am confident that if we can learn to yield to Paul’s words in Romans 14:4 our lives will be much simplified and we will henceforth be much rewarded!

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!

Steven Curington

Good morning and MAN! What a week it's been! This week, like no recent week I can remember, has had its share of difficult decisions and circumstances. Yesterday was surely one of those days.

One thing is for sure, working late and getting to bed early in the morning doesn't help one prepare for the same day. As I awoke early yesterday for my time with Him, I thought to myself: "I can't do this!" So He did it.

Our Quote for Today: (part two)

“There are two ways in which we may govern our lives.  The first is through rigidity.  The second is through liberty.  One tends to rules.  The other--relationship!”

Good Morning!  Do you know somebody in your life that always seems to be critical of other Christians?  How about somebody who tends to judge every little nuance of others?  More importantly, have you ever found yourself guilty of being critical or judgmental of those around you?  Well, friend, if you’re like everybody else in this world, then of course you have-at least on occasion, right?!?

Today we will be continuing-on with our study of Romans 14:1-5; it is my aim to further elaborate upon the different applications of rigidity and liberty as they relate to our thoughts and behavior.  Specifically, I will show you from verse three what Paul teaches us about criticism and judgment.

Romans 14:3 says, “Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him”. Now, to comprehend the truth contained within this verse it is imperative that we carefully consider Paul’s usage of pronouns as they relate to the context laid out in verse two

Last week, we saw that the “one who eateth” is the Christian who is governed primarily by the liberty of the Holy Spirit, while the “one who eateth not” keeps his focus upon rigidity, or a rules-based governance.

Keeping that in mind, in verse three we see in the first clause that “him that eateth” (that is to say, the Christian who exhibits Spirit-controlled liberality) is instructed to not despise-or criticize-”him that eateth not” (the rigid and rule-controlled Christian). Likewise, in the second clause Paul tells “him that eateth not” (rule led Christians) to not judge “him that eateth “ (liberty led Christians).

            So, therefore, we can conclude the following:  People who are liberty-focused tend to be critical of those who are not liberty led, and people who are rigid and rules focused tend to be judgmental of others who are not.

This begs the question: Where do I land?   What type of Christian am I and what type ought I to be?  How about you?

Are you judgmental? Do you find yourself telling others what they ought to do and what they ought not to do, or are you eager to always tell people when they are wrong? If so, you could at times struggle with rigidity and that can cost you some of your valuable Christian liberty. God doesn’t pour out His Spirit upon judgemental Christians.

Or are you more of a critical person?  Do you find yourself saying negative things about people who appear as “rule followers” but are a bit apathetic in thier appreciation for their salavation?   If so, then you probably tend to have the great possession of Christian liberty.  But how long will that last if you are a critic and comparing yourself among yourselves?  Your critical thoughts will quench your Spirit and limit your liberty.  With less liberty and a lack of focus on rules, you will be in danger of something much more dangereous than the self righteous rigid one.  You will be in danger of unrighteous rebellion.

Personally, I find that I have a tendency to want to criticize those who are dominated by rules and boundaries; thus, it is apparent that I tend to focus on liberty.  Sometimes I tend to want to be critical of a preacher or teacher that drills me with exhortations to conduct my life by a set of rules and boundaries that are not consistent with the way the Holy Spirit leads me. . . But this is WRONG!  The Word of God clearly states that I am to not be critical of those who “don’t eat meat”-or those who are rigid and rule-governed.   Looking back to Romans 14:1, I see that I have only one obligation: to embrace the rigid so that I may help to show them a better way-the Spirit filled walk that leads to liberty!

On the other side of the aisle we are also instructed by Paul to not judge “him that eateth”, or him that is governed by the liberty of the Spirit.  Why are we not to judge?  Well, the third clause of Romans 14:3 says, for God hath received him.  Now friend, who is the pronoun, “him”, that concludes this verse referring to? It’s referring to “him that eateth”!  So Paul, without any ambiguity, declares that God receives “him that eateth”-that is to say, God receives those who lead their life by the liberty granted them by the Holy Spirit! Therefore, brethren, we too must also receive those whose walk has produced a spiritually liberation!

Clearly, through this verse of scripture, Paul leaves us no room to be critical or judgmental.  I pray, friend, that you and I will hide this truth in our hearts; that we may consider with greater care the next time we begin to meditate upon critical or judgmental thoughts, and that we will be moved to make personal adjustments in the way we view various people and circumstances!

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord,

Steven Curington

“Rigidity without Liberty is Supidity!”

  Our Quote for Today:“There are two ways in which we may govern our lives.  The first is through rigidity.  The second is through liberty.  One tends to rules.  The other--relationship!”  

            Recently the spirit of the Lord has led me to study a portion of scripture which has afforded me many great truths that I desire to share with you.  It is my intention to bring to you a series of blogs where I will break down Romans 14: 1-5 and detail Paul’s instrumental teaching as it pertains to Christian liberty.  I think it will help understand why some Christians only do well in an environment of rules and why others who have such great liberty, may sometimes find themselves struggling to live right while proclaiming they enjoy a “great relationship”.

              Because this will be a multi-part blog, I will not spend a lot of time on fancy endings.  We will just end at 700 words or so and pick it up again the next time I write to you.  With that said, it is probable taht no single blog will hold the entire counsel of God.  Please give me the grace in this space to place each truth side by side over the course a few days in order that we may see this truth in it’s entirety for what it should be--illuminating!

            In simple terms, there are basically two ways to govern our lives.  We can be lead by the liberty of the Spirit-which is granted to us by the Spirit of God, for we know that where the Spirit of the Lord is there is always liberty. Or we can be kept at bay by rules.  It is not liberty.  It is actually a form of rigidity.  Sometime rules come from the Word of God, and we know that these rules can never be contrary to the leading of the Spirit, for the Holy Spirit would never contradict what the Bible says.  We also have rules placed over us by our God-ordained authority, which again are almost always consistent with the leading of the Spirit.  However, we often find that others who are not directly over us want to place rules over us or feel that we should personally impose more rules upon ourselves.  This is where we must proceed with caution. Why you ask?  Because rigidity without liberty is stupidity!

              Don’t get me wrong, rigidity (that is to say rules) is good.  Having boundaries and setting personal standards that we refuse to compromise are integral to our Christian stability, especially when our walk with God may seem dormant or distant.  But they are only beneficial if they are spiritual bumper to keep us IN Christ.             But, again I say, when rigidity infringes upon my Christian liberty it is stupidity.  Jesus Christ came to make us free.  We are to live within boundaries, but when our freedom is dependant upon those boundaries we are bound, not free.  Therefore, it is counterproductive to allow ourselves to be made free by rules that squelch the liberty bestowed upon us by the Spirit of God.  We are to be made free by a relationship that leads us to obey all of His rules out of appreciation and selflessness.  Thus, we must strive to strike a healthy balance between the two.

            Romans 14: 1 says, Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.   In this verse, is Paul referring to the faith of justification (believing that Jesus died for your sins), or is he referring to the faith of sanctification (allowing Christ to live his life through you)?  Well, friend, he must be referring to sanctification because the faith of justification is either all or nothing.  You cannot be weak in your salvation!  So Paul must be speaking about those who are weak in their ability to yield to the sanctified Christian life.  Keeping that truth in mind, Paul goes on to tell us that we are to receive those who are weak-those who struggle.  The weak in faith are more often then not those who allow rigidity to dominate over their Christian liberty.  That is to say, they focus on obeying rules and boundaries rather than on the intimacy of their walk and the selfless sacrifice of their personal agenda’s.  This ultimately hinders their relationship with the Lord and limits the liberty and power that is found in the abundant, Spirit-filled life.

              Furthermore, Paul tells us to receive these weak, rules dominated people of rigidity, but not to doubtful disputations.  This means that we are to embrace these rigid Christians not for the sake of argument or criticism, but rather to show them something better-a better way!  It is our responsibility to demonstrate, and even teach, the Spirit-filled life of liberality to those “weak in faith” (rigidity dominated Christians).  We that strive to live the liberated Christian life can often learn from those who lean toward rigidity, but we do not stand to gain nearly as much as those whom Romans 14: 1 is referring to.  It is by our influence that the spiritually rigid will ultimately discover the freedom found only through the liberty afforded by the Holy Spirit! Are rules wrong?  Of course not!  Are rules necessary?  Of course they are!  But rules without relationship eventually lead to rebellion

.   Have a wonderful day IN the Lord! 

Steven Curington

 “There are two ways in which we may govern our lives.  The first is through rigidity.  The second is through liberty.  One tends to rules.  The other--relationship!”

Good morning! If you happened to have missed my last posting, allow me to fill you in.  We are in the process of studying a portion of Scripture that has helped my staff and me to realize a previously undiscovered avenue to true Christian freedom!  That’s right, I believe Romans 14:1-5 contains the truths necessary to strengthen and protect your Spirit-filled life and reach a new personal pinnacle with your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Romans 14:1 we saw that there are two basic ways to govern our lives: Liberty and Rigidity.  Liberty is found by adhering to the leading of the Holy Spirit; while rigidity is the rules or boundaries that we or others place over us.  We discussed the role and importance of these two forms of governance as they relate to each other and also established what, exactly, is the source of each.  Furthermore, we learned that it is the responsibility of those of us who strive to live the liberated Christian life to demonstrate, and even teach, the Spirit-filled life found through Christian liberality to our weaker brethren who are dominated, and thus “held back” by rigidity.

That being said, let us now take our study a step further.  In Romans Chapter 14:2, the Apostle Paul tells us, For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.  Hmm. . . what in the world is he talking about here?  Well, friend, Paul is giving us a metaphor that demonstrates the fact that being governed by a Spirit-filled liberated life is indeed demonstrative of a stronger faith IN Christ and thus renders a greater measure of freedom from the power of sin!

You see, the “one” who BELIEVES that he may eat all things does so because he BELIEVES that he can-He has FAITH!  And not just any faith, but a strong faith that is found only by adhering to the Spirit of God and embracing the liberty that God has set before us!  Conversely, we see “another” who limits himself to only herbs.  Why does he do this, you ask?  Because he believes that he is only permitted to do so-he is the one whom God indicates here has a faith that is WEAK!  This individual has limited his freedom IN Christ by subjecting himself to rules and boundaries that are not consistent with the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Paul clearly shows us the danger of being a rigidity focused Christian.  Friend, the Lord has a wonderful and perfect life custom-designed just for you. . . all you have to do to enjoy it is to be consistently led of the Holy Spirit.   It is my opinion that the purpose of Romans 14:2 is to make us aware of the trap that results from being dominated by rigidity.  By falling into this “trap” we will certainly stymie our ability to experience the freedom that is found through the Spirit-filled life!  Do not allow yourself to become rigid when the Spirit of God is leading you contrary-allow yourself to enjoy the liberality of the Holy Spirit.

Once again, I want to reiterate that the presence of boundaries and rules is indeed imperative in the life of a Christian.  When our faith falters, as occurs to all of us on occasion, it is our character-imposed boundaries that will keep us upright until communication with the Lord is restored.Keeping that truth in mind, allow me to conclude with this:  The Bible clearly says in Romans 14:2 that the “one” who is focused on rigidity is weak, and the “one” focused on liberty is strong. . . Why? 

Because he BELIEVES! If we will simply BELIEVE the Spirit-filled life, my friend, our lives will change forever!

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord,

Steven Curington   

Sept 1, 2008:  "Our West Coast Evangelistic Tour"  

Good Morning!  Our Evangelistic Team is finally home! After seven weeks of traveling 8,500 miles, we are thrilled to be back to our RU family here in Rockford, Illinois. We had an incredible trip, and saw God do amazing miracles and revival during our tour.

To walk you through our journey, we headed to the west coast on July 15th. Nebraska, , Colorado, Nevada, and California were our first three weeks. Then we circled around and went to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and closed our tour in Missouri. What a journey it was! It is humbling for us to see what God is doing across America through the ministry of RU.
 
When we were in Oklahoma, we were a part of the Regional Training Conference in Tulsa, at Eastland Baptist Church, Pastor Troy Dorrell. Wow! What a great conference!  We saw many of the churches determine to start chapters

Now that we are home, we have kicked fully into gear for our National Conference, to be held October 6-9. Friend, please pray for us. As proven to be true every year at conference time, the Lord is refining our staff to better prepare us to be used of Him. Though details are going smoothly, the enemy is fighting hard to destroy our team through the difficult adversity. I ask you to pray for our leadership, our families, and those under our leadership.  Will you, friend? Will you seek God's face and ask Him to supernaturally protect our ministry during this time?

I ask you to pray for Steve Schupp, his family, and the operations ministry under him. He carries many responsibilities that keep this ministry moving forward.

I ask you to pray for Brother Ben Burks, his family, and the National Staff under him. They are so diligently working on our conference attendance and all the details that come with that.

I ask you to pray for Paul and Pat Lay, and our Schools of Discipleship. Ask God to protect our students and that there will be no casualties.

I ask you to pray for Pastor and myself, our families, and supernatural Strength as we lead this ministry during this time.

Lastly, but certainly not the least, please pray for our 650 chapters across the US. Pray that God will raise up within this body of Reformers Unanimous soldiers who have successfully graduated from Adversity University, and will go on to be soldiers for Christ.

Now that we are home, I will be more faithful to my blogs. I appreciate you, friend. I appreciate your support of our ministry, and I covet your prayers for our ministry. The Lord willing, I look forward to seeing you at the National Conference in just a few weeks!

 Steven Curington

 August 15, 2008:  “Our West Coast Evangelistic Tour”   Good morning to you! How are you all being? Is God becoming more real to you in these days? Are you going through a spiritual death? Are you daily arming yourself, prepared to fight the enemy? I assure you, friend, he is prepared to meet you today. Well, I trust all is well with you. My family and the Joy Belles just left Albuquerque, New Mexico--Rio Grande Baptist Church. The pastor is Pastor Boggs, the RU Director Alfego Moya.  Oh my, did we enjoy our stay here!  We arrived late Thursday evening, and found already the red carpet prepared for us. It is a particular blessing and convenience to our team when we get to stay together. This church has its own little living community here at the church! They had prepared a 3-bedroom home for the Joy Belles, and an RV hookup available for us, right next to a kid’s dream play ground!  Our kids loved it.  Pastor Boggs is a most humble servant. The first time I saw him on Friday morning, I did not realize he was the pastor. He was quietly serving amongst his people. His leadership is most unique, for his soft, spoken words demand one’s attention and respect.  As I have gotten to know Pastor Boggs, I find more about him that I admire. I am sure I am not the only one who sometimes battles thoughts of inevitable defeat in remaining faithful to being righteous in such an ungodly world. But it is meeting fellow soldiers in the work of Christ that breathes life back into my dreams. God uses men such as Pastor Boggs to remind me that we are not alone. There are many others, whom we may never meet, that are faithfully serving the Lord. Praise God! Men like Pastor Boggs are the un-sung heroes of our faith! We had the typical RU weekend-class on Friday night, training on Saturday, and Sunday services. However, we purpose to never just make our tenure at a ministry as “typical.” We might as well go home if God’s presence does not grace such events. This weekend, He did just that. The RU here at Rio Grande is small, but new. They are not even a year old. However, the RU Director, Brother Alfego, runs things just the way he was trained. And, God is blessing!  One testimony on Friday night has stuck out in my mind. An older gentleman sat in the middle of the auditorium with a peaceful grin across his face. When it came time for him to testify, he held up an AA coin, representing his 90 days victory. He had been an alcoholic for 30+ years, and had only once attained 90 days sobriety (not victory, but sobriety). Every day of those 90 days he said had been miserable!  He used profusely on the 91 day.   However, years later, he saw a sign hanging outside of a church, advertising an addictions program. He is just reaching his 90 days victory this week and he said he has enjoyed every sober day.  Why? He said it is because he met Jesus at RU. I am sending another blog in a couple hours with a link to watch our E-Tour live tonight with the Joybells and all!  Hope to to “see” or be seen there.   With great love for your love,  Steven Curington  

August 8, 2008: Part I  “West Coast Evangelistic Tour”  

Good morning to you! How are you all being? Is God becoming more real to you in these days? Are you going through a spiritual death? Are you daily arming yourself, prepared to fight the enemy? I assure you, friend, he is prepared to meet you today.

Well, I trust all is well with you. My family and the Joy Belles just left Albuquerque, New Mexico--Rio Grande Baptist Church. The pastor is Pastor Boggs, the RU Director Alfego Moya.  Oh my, did we enjoy our stay here!  We arrived late Thursday evening, and found already the red carpet prepared for us. It is a particular blessing and convenience to our team when we get to stay together. This church has its own little living community here at the church! They had prepared a 3-bedroom home for the Joy Belles, and an RV hookup available for us, right next to a kid's dream play ground!  Our kids loved it.

Pastor Boggs is a most humble servant. The first time I saw him on Friday morning, I did not realize he was the pastor. He was quietly serving amongst his people. His leadership is most unique, for his soft, spoken words demand one's attention and respect.  As I have gotten to know Pastor Boggs, I find more about him that I admire. I am sure I am not the only one who sometimes battles thoughts of inevitable defeat in remaining faithful to being righteous in such an ungodly world.

But it is meeting fellow soldiers in the work of Christ that breathes life back into my dreams. God uses men such as Pastor Boggs to remind me that we are not alone. There are many others, whom we may never meet, that are faithfully serving the Lord. Praise God! Men like Pastor Boggs are the un-sung heros of our faith!

We had the typical RU weekend-class on Friday night, training on Saturday, and Sunday services. However, we purpose to never just make our tenure at a ministry as "typical." We might as well go home if God's presence does not grace such events. This weekend, He did just that. The RU here at Rio Grande is small, but new. They are not even a year old. However, the RU Director, Brother Alfego, runs things just the way he was trained. And, God is blessing!

One testimony on Friday night has stuck out in my mind. An older gentleman sat in the middle of the auditorium with a peaceful grin across his face. When it came time for him to testify, he held up an AA coin, representing his 90 days victory. He had been a alcoholic for 30+ years, and had only once attained 90 days sobriety (not victory, but sobriety). Every day of that 90 days he said had been miserable!  He used profusely on the 91 day. 

However, years later, he saw a sign hanging outside of a church, advertising an addictions program. He is just reaching his 90 days victory this week and he said he has enjoyed every sober day.  Why? He said it is because he met Jesus at RU.

I am sending another blog in a couple hours with a link to watch our E-Tour live tonight with joybells and all!  Hope to to "see" or be seen there. 

With great love for your love,

Steven Curington

August 8, 2008:  PART II

Good afternoon!
 
Well, our tour is moving along, and God is immensely blessing. Last night, we arrived at Arden Road Baptist Church in Amarillo, Texas. I wanted to let you all know that, tonight's class here at Arden Road will be live broadcasted on the church's website.  If you are able to, we sure would love for you to "attend" via internet! Here is the church's website, just click on the link below, which will take you to their Live Broadcasting.
 
Watch our Tour Live!
 

Or you can copy and paste this link:  http://www.ardenroadbaptist.com/


Directly under their RU advertisement (about halfway down), is the option to watch their services on Live Webcast.
 
You will then be given the option to download Real Player, which you will need to play the video. But notice that, there is a link that will download a FREE copy of Real Player, if your computer does not already have it. Follow through the steps, paying close attention to simply getting the FREE copy of Real Player.
 
They will begin Live Broadcast at 6:50 p.m. Central Standard Time.
 
You will get the chance to hear our Joy Belles sing! We hope to "see" you there!

 

Steven Curington

August 1, 2008:

  "Our West Coast Evangelistic Tour" 

 Good morning! At the present time, my family and I, accompanied with the Joy Belles, are leaving Mesa, Arizona and heading for Albuquerque, New Mexico. We are into week two of our six-week journey on the west coast. We have seen God do miraculous things for us and through us.  Every church has opened their arms to us, and hosted our team with such Christ like servanthood.   One church in particular left a lasting impression on our team-Fundamental Baptist Church in Glenrock, Wyoming. On Friday morning, prior to our setting out for our twelve hour drive to their church, our team gathered in prayer with two burdens for our trip. One, we wanted God to give us the opportunity to be master servants to this next church. Two, we desperately needed God to meet our financial needs. We take these trips with no real financial cushion budgeted, thus dependent on God supplying our needs along the way. Every journey He has done so, but has always waited until it looks really bleak. It was looking rather bleak for us.  Twelve hours later, we pulled into the small community of Glenrock, ready to serve in any possible capacity. Yet, little did we know that we were about to meet some of God’s most humble servants. This little church cared for us as if we were royalty! And, aside from their care for us, they had put countless hours of work and prayer into our visit to their community. The entire town was blanketed with invitations to our meetings, including an evangelistic service we were having in the public park on Saturday night. The town grocery store had our large poster propped up in the entranceway!  I believe God abundantly blessed Fundamental Baptist Church’s passion to use our time at their church as a creative outreach opportunity.  But as we prepared to leave on Monday morning after such a God-glorifying weekend, our evangelistic team felt as if we were the most blessed of all.  This past weekend, we were in beautiful San Diego, California at Pastor Fisher’s church, Lighthouse Baptist Church.  What a ministry God has there! The RU Director, Chris Chaney is a phenomenal man with a great heart! Once again, we experienced God’s outpouring of power and anointing as we ministered. If there was a director out there that does absolutely everything the way the program is set up, Brother Chaney is just that. What stood out the most to us about Brother Chaney was that he had planned, prepared, and above all, prayed for our days in his mission field.   Brother Chaney had coordinated a Saturday breakfast with local business owners who have a heart for Reformers Unanimous and want to be investors in it. I spent a great deal of time getting to know them and discussing opportunities to propel the RU ministry with their investments. I am continually amazed how God orchestrates furthering the gospel. One would be quite foolish to think serving God is only done if you draw a paycheck from a church. The gifts and callings of God are without repentance. God’s anointing on a secular business is just as much a calling of God to Christian service. Of course, the trip is not free of adversity. Strenuous driving hours through the hottest part of Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico are accompanied with the air conditioning going out in the ladies van and my RV overheating. The temperature is consistently over 100 degrees, but we endure hardness and drink lots of water!  Friend, please continue to pray for us. We so desperately long for your prayer support. We are not taking the journey for vacation reasons, but rather because God has called us to serve the western RU’s in this capacity. I ask you to specifically pray for our two-fold purpose: One, to strengthen the western RU’s, and two, to exhort the pastor of the RU churches.   As well, we are asking God to lead our pastor friends to support our women’s home.  The needs are enormous and growing!  

 Thanks for your love for us and I sure love you as well,  

Steven Curington 

 West Coast Evangelistic Tour

"MY REJECTION PORTRAYS THE WRONG REFLECTION!"

Our Quote for Today:

"The number one way to prove we are exercising His faith, rather than ours, is during difficult times. Our first weapon would be prayer, our second is pause and our third and final weapon is . . . PATIENCE!"
ACT; REACT; ACT; REACT!!!!  It seems to be the story of my life.  Either I am IN Christ and I am acting and reacting properly or I am IN me and acting and reacting improperly.  It true for me, I'm either IN or I've SINNED! 
 
But I can always tell (usually AFTER my mistakes) why I am acting or reacting improperly.  It is a lack of His faith.  We know that James taught us that faith on trial through various temptations will produce patience.  Thus, it is understandable to a loving and patience Father that we will often lack patience.  But it is safe to assume if it takes successful trials to develop patience that we will not have an acceptable level of patience until we have learned to yield to His acceptable measure of faith for any given situation. 
 
I seem to lose my cool every day.  Sometimes this heated moment remains within and few, if any, realize it.  Some think that's not so bad.  But to be honest, that attitude produces pride.  "As long as no one knows I "got hot" under the collar, they assume I have great patience".  No, great patience is formed from successful trials and trials are ONLY successful when IN MY HEART I have yielded to His faith in my difficulties not mine own faith, my own doubt, or heaven forbid, mine own unbelief! 
 
If I exercise mine own faith, it is me that is doing the work.  I may be able to keep my temper composed, but it will not exercise His faith, so He won't be glorified.  He is never glorified by my self righteous acts of the soul.  I will look good, but He will not be lifted up. 
 
If I exercise my own doubt, then not only will He not look good, but neither will I.  Though my self righteous faith will keep my temper in, unrighteous doubt will always let it out!  I won't be able to maintain my composer for long if I doubt the TRUTH which say's everything "going wrong" is actually "going right".  For if all things work together for good . . . then I should never struggle with doubt.  My "bouts with doubt" will make their way out.  When they get out then my reputation is criticized and Christ's is minimalized. 
 
Finally, if I respond in my own unbelief, I will be of all men, most miserable.  There will be no patience, for there will be no peace.  The Spirit knows what I need when He leads me into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  If I reject those divine circumstances and deem them "unnecessary", my rejection will produce a reflection of my circumstances.  A "reflection of rejection" manifests itself in negative, pessimistic, critical thinking.  It is at this stage my unrighteous acts of unbelief will cause me to look bad and literally hinder the work of the Lord. 
 
My only recourse is to refuse to ACT; REACT!  Rather, I must REST/RELAX!  I must rest in the fact that Christ will manifest Himself to me if I would but relax in my stressful situations and wait for Him.  That is what patience is.  It is not as much enduring as it is waiting.  We must endure as we wait, but how hard is it to endure when we have faith the endurance is bringing about things that work together for good?  That's not hard at all.  If I understand through His faith that I must endure these situations that seem bad but work together for good, then I will find the necessary calm to rest IN Him as I relax and wait ON Him. 
 
That willingness to relax and wait on the Lord is the patience He is looking for in tumultuous times.  For it is that patience that is produced by trials of temptation. It is those trials of temptation that prove we are yielding to His faith and it is yielding to His faith that glorifies God and lifts up Christ that others might be drawn unto Him. 
 
I guess we need to get serious about all this stuff and just lighten up!  Sound like an oxymoron?  No, rather, it's much simpler than that.  He is my proxy or I am mine own moron!   

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!

Our Quote for Today:

"Just remember when things get tough, we will only get rough, if we fail to remember 'Christ is enough'!"

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!

Steven Curington

"It's not a purple heart but it is His people's heart!"

Our Quote for Today:

"It's not about being delivered.  It's about the Deliverer!"
 
On this Independence weekend, we have so enjoyed our freedom in America and our freedom found only IN Christ.  Both freedoms are a gift from God.  We are truly fortunate people indeed.  If we did not behave that way this weekend, shame on us.  But fortunate we are, whether we meditate and appreciate it or not!
 
Why are we so fortunate?  It is because we have been delivered!  In America, we have been delivered from the tyranny of a former ruler.  The very words of our original thirteen colonies declared in our "Declaration of Independence" from Britain these words declaring our absolute delivery from tyranny!

"Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. . ."

Though the pain of these earliest of Americans citizens is surely lost on most all of our countryman, it doesn't change the fact that our good fortunes are so valuable that no one in the whole wide world, save another fellow American, is as fortunate as we! 
 
We ought also to be thankful for our freedom in Christ.  For in that freedom we have been saved from the tyranny of the devil.  Where would your life be without America and its freedom?  What would your life be like without Christ and His freedom? 
 
Life is good.  But still, though our life has been delivered, it has not been so delivered that we should honor our delivery.  But rather it is our DELIVERER that should be honored and He should be honored for His delivery! 
 
"For me to live IS Christ."  If you are alive and free today, IS Christ?  Or does He lie dormant in your spirit bound by your unwillingness to give Him access to the life He bled and died for? 

Independence from my former dependence is not for me to live it up.  It's for Him to live it out!    

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!

Steven Curington

Our Quote for Today:"Exercising His faith rather than mine own places Christ into my hearts meditations.  And it is my meditations ON Him that maintains my position IN him when the world, the flesh and the devil are in severe attack mode!"
  
Seventy five times the Apostle Paul told us to situate ourselves IN Christ.  Jesus taught us to 'abide IN me" over 25 times.  Where we are standing is not a superstition.  It's a position.  When we position ourselves IN Christ and remain there during intense temptations and trials our abiding relationship with Him (the vine) gives us (the branch) the ability to be anything and do everything He would require of us. 
 
But so often we find ourselves out of position, spiritually speaking.  We look to the Lord (from whence cometh our help) but not until we are in a jam.  Our walk with God is intended to be a momentum building experience that lasts throughout the day.  It's not only motivational, directional and integral.  It is supernatural!  If we snooze we will always lose.   I don't know about you but that uninterrupted 45 minutes to an hour with the Lord is the most attacked portion of my day.  Nothing is harder for my stubborn flesh than early morning walks with the Lord.  But absent of my walk, I am weak and can do nothing! (John 15 various verses)
 
In Ephesians 3 Paul prayed that God would grant the believers a most specific need in all Christendom.  "That he would grant you . . . to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man."  This verse clearly teaches that the strength we need is not physical or soulical for the sake of our natural man, but rather spiritual for the sake of our inner man.  My spirit and His Spirit dwell together in my inner man and when that relationship is strengthened then something supernatural takes place in my heart (that is to say my meditatonal thoughts).  What is that supernatural phenomenon? 
 
It is the thoughts of Christ's mind dwelling in my meditations.  Paul puts it this way in the very next verse "That Christ may dwell in your hearts. . ."  But how does that happen?  How else would it happen but (the next two words of the verse say) "by faith. . ."?  When we by faith recognize His presence within us we can ascertain His persuasion for us and find the strength in our inner man to respond purely to our adversary the devil. 
 
The end result of His persuasive presence in my hearts meditations is not only the strength of my inner man but he concludes that I will be "rooted and grounded in love."  When my whole being is properly rooted in His love, yielding to His faith, I will find the things of this world growing strangely dim and the presence of His persuasion to be the normality of illumination. 
 Be Blessed IN the Lord!Steven Curington 

Quote for Today:

"To be disappointed in yourself is to have believed in self."