Do you want to be a part of a welcoming church?
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We've all been there.

Think to the first time you walked through the doors of a church. Or your first visit to a new doctor's office. Or even the first day at a new school.

How did you feel? Was it awkward? Scary? Intimidating I bet!

I know how hard it can be to step through the doors of a church for the first time. But that's why my hope and dream is for Swerve to be a place that is super welcoming.

Why? Because I want you to feel right at home. Like part of the family. But how can we create that welcoming environment? And, what was it like for the early church?

That's what we'll be talking about this Sunday at 11am inside of PS 299 - 88 Woodbine Street as we continue our brand new series, No Place Like Home. We'll have some bagels, fruit, coffee, and snacks for you when you get here!

P.S.

Don't forget about our Christmas party potluck. Bring a dish to share and enjoy a fun evening of food, fun, and fellowship. RSVP on Facebook.

​A family that serves together, stays together!
A note from our pastor…

I hope you’re enjoying this Thanksgiving season! I know that there’s so much that I’m grateful for.

One of those things is that I’m so blessed to pastor such an amazing group of people that are crazy enough to believe with me that God could use us to make an impact for the gospel in Bushwick!

This Sunday we continue our series, No Place Like Home and we’re talking about how we can be a place to serve.The early church was committed to both serving one another and their community. And it was from the overflow of experiencing the love and selfless sacrifice of Jesus that they were able to do so.

What does that look like for us as a church? What does it look like for you as an individual? 
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I truly believe God has uniquely gifted each one of us in such a way that when we work together we can have all the more of a greater impact not only on each other’s lives, but on our neighbors and community as well.

That’s what we’ll be talking about this Sunday at 11am inside of PS 299 - 88 Woodbine Street as we continue our brand new series, No Place Like Home.

 We’ll have some bagels, fruit, coffee, and snacks for you when you get here!

See you Sunday! 
Danny Torres
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P.S.
If you’d like to donate coats for our Coat Distribution outreach, feel free to bring in new or gently used coats with you to church this Sunday.

​Operation Christmas Child 2018

Each year we take time to think about missions on a global scale. I'd love to invite you to participate in this year's Operation Christmas Child.

What is it exactly?

Our missions partner, Samaritan's Purse, helps deliver literally thousands of  gifts to children all around the world who may never have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas.

Then, by partnering with local churches, they plug children and their families into a discipleship journey where they learn about the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ!

How awesome it is that we can partner with them to help make this happen?!

How can you do that?

This Sunday we'll have some pre-made shoeboxes specifically designed for you to fill up with all sorts of gifts for a little boy or a little girl. Then, on missions Sunday, you can bring your gift in. We'll pray for each of the boxes and the child that will receive it.

Need help determining what gifts to include in your shoebox? Click the button below! How to pack your shoebox Be sure to put Missions Sunday in your calendar and make plans to join us along with your shoebox gift.

MISSIONS SUNDAY
November 11 // 11am

If you have any questions, just hit reply to this email.Thanks for helping us be a church that is bringing the hope of the gospel across the globe!

P.S.
Don't forget to join us this Sunday as we continue our series, No Place Like Home. Then you can pick up your shoebox after service. Hope to see you there!

God With Us
Week 4 // In The Waiting

Do you know what’s one of the most miserable places you can find yourself in? The DMV! The reason no one finds a trip to the DMV joyful is because the lines are ridiculous! If you have to go to the DMV, you better pack your patience because you’re going to be there for a long time.

No one likes waiting. Especially here in NYC. We’re in arguably the fastest pace city in the universe. Everyone’s always in a rush. No one wants to wait. How do I know? If you’re waiting at a red light, what happens the millisecond the light turns green? You get honked at! The millisecond after!

Especially now, during this time of year, with all the hustle and bustle of Christmas, it can be extremely hectic, rushed, and hurried. Nobody has time to waste. Nobody has time to wait. If you order your food at McDonald’s, it better be in front of you in less than 5 minutes. If you pull up to the gas station, there better be a pump available. If you’re taking the train to work, it better be on time.

Do you consider yourself a patient person? For many people, if their patience were a gas tank, it’d be on empty. The best way to know whether or not you’re patient is to remember the last time you had to wait for something or someone. Did you pace back and forth? How often did you look at your phone for the time? How about this. How many times did you roll your eyes and suck your teeth?

Waiting sucks, doesn’t it?

But these are all light hearted examples of times we’ve been stuck waiting. But what those more intense and difficult moments in life? How about when you’re waiting for that medical report to come through? How about when you’re waiting to hear news from that loved one that is really ill? How about when you’re waiting for answers to some of your toughest questions about life? “God, what did you put on earth for? What’s my purpose? What career should I pursue? Who should I marry?”

When you’re asking those questions or when you’re in the middle of waiting, seconds can feel like minutes. Minutes like hours. Hours like days. Those seasons of waiting can drag.

I remember a time when I was stuck waiting. Another place it feels like we waste a third of our life is in the waiting room of the hospital. Have you ever had to go to the ER for something? How was that experience in the waiting room? Sucked right?

Melissa was pregnant with Jr, our first born. I’m not a hundred percent sure about this, but they say that women become more clumsy during their pregnancy. Melissa was in her third trimester of pregnancy and we decided to walk around at a park with some friends and family.

Well, at the time we lived on the second floor of an apartment building with no elevator. So we were taking the stairs when all of a sudden Melissa trips from about the third or fourth step and lands right on her belly and slides a few feet.

We jumped in the car and ran to the hospital. Because she was already in her last trimester of pregnancy they sent us directly to labor and delivery. We go up there and we explain the situation and they tell us to have a seat. As you can imagine, we were panicked. We didn’t know if the baby was ok. Was she going to go into labor? We had no idea.

So we sat patiently in the waiting room. Seconds turned to minutes. Minutes to hours. Hours to an eternity. We were freaking out because she had taken such a hard fall, we thought that if there was any chance of saving the baby or whatever, it was gone.

Can you imagine that moment? It was scary. It was nerve wracking. We felt so hopeless.

Some of you feel like that right now. You’re in a season of waiting. You have more questions than answers. You may feel scared, worried, nervous, or anxious. Your season of waiting can lead you to be frustrated, angry, disgruntled, or stressed.

In your season of waiting you might be asking God, “When are you going to restore this relationship? When are you going to bless me with some finances? When are you going to heal me from this pain? When are you going to remove this addiction?”

You know who else felt like that? Actually, it wasn’t just one person, but a whole people. The Israelites had received a promise that a Messiah was coming. They were waiting for someone to rescue and deliver them.

In fact, Matthew 1:23 has been our key verse for this entire series. I’d love if we could read it together. In Matthew 1, an angel appears to Joseph to confirm for him that the child Mary is to give birth to none other than Jesus, the one who would take away the sins of the world.

See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” {Matthew 1:23 CSB}

This is a direct quote from from the book of Isaiah where it was prophesied that this would happen. When was Isaiah written? About 700 years before the birth of Jesus! It’s 700 years after this prophecy that we see it’s fulfillment. Talk about waiting! We don’t see this promise come to fruition until 700 years later. That’s generations and generations of people waiting...waiting...waiting.

Is that where you find yourself this Christmas season? Do you find yourself in a time of waiting?

• Perhaps you find yourself waiting for this difficult season to pass. You’re tired of shedding tears. You’re tired of the hurt. You’re asking yourself, “When will this pass?”
• Perhaps you find yourself in a season of waiting in your career or with your finances. You ask yourself, “When can I get out of this dead end job? When am I going to find something better? With better hours? That pays more?” It’s a sincere season of waiting.
• Perhaps you find yourself waiting on an answer from God. You begin to think, “God are you even real? Do you exist? If you do, you don’t seem to care very much about me!”

IN THE WAITING

So what do you do when you find yourself in a season of waiting? For the rest of our time I want to look at one verse. It’s found in the book of Romans.

Just to give you a little context, Romans is a letter written to a church by the apostle Paul. Many of you know the story of Paul. He was a guy who once upon a time used to persecute and murder Christians. But he experiences a radical transformation and goes from a persecutor of Christians to leading people to Christ and starting churches all over the middle east and Europe.

In this part of his letter, he mentions what the attitude of a Christian person should be. In other words, if a person has genuinely been transformed by the power of God, they would begin to demonstrate these qualities.

This is important for us to note because a Christian will have a different perspective and take on affliction, difficulties, and a season of waiting. A person without Christ might respond to a season of waiting by…

• Anger and hatred
• Impatient, callous, and hard hearted
• Give up on God and others. All hope is lost.

But as followers of Jesus, what can we do? Let’s read this verse out loud together.

Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. {Romans 12:12 CSB}

I’d like to do something a little different today. I want to work through this verse backwards. Here’s the first thing in your notes…

1: BE PERSISTENT IN PRAYER

In a season of waiting it’s so important that we be persistent in prayer. One of the first things that happens when we enter a season of waiting is our relationship with God tends to squander. Prayer keeps us rooted and connected in Him.

What is prayer? Prayer is simply talking and listening to God. It’s our opportunity to communicate to God. Why do we pray? We pray because God hears our prayers.

1 I love the Lord because he has heard my appeal for mercy. 2 Because he has turned his ear to me, I will call out to him as long as I live. {Psalm 116:1-2 CSB}

How is God with us in our waiting? He hears your prayer. He answers prayer. Sometimes it’s a yes. Sometimes it’s a no. Sometimes it’s a maybe later. But God turns his ear to us and listens to our prayer. Another translation of the Bible says that, “he bends down to listen.”

Picture the God of the universe in all his revealed majesty and glory, stooping down to listen to your prayer. As a father kneels to listen to his child speak to him, God inclines his ear to hear your prayer.

One of the first things we are quick to let go of when we enter a season of waiting is prayer. Be persistent in prayer. Do not give up. There is power in prayer because of who you’re praying to.

2: BE PATIENT IN AFFLICTION

Often times, in your season of waiting, God is doing something in you before he can do something through you. Many times in a season of waiting there is a refinement and purification process going on.

The way the Bible often talks about this is the refinement of gold or other precious metals. You see, to have the purest form of gold, to remove all of its impurities you have to put it through fire. Only then can you melt it down and remove the impurities to have the purest gold.

For us, so often we want to rush through our season of waiting. When we do so, we bypass what God may be teaching us in the process. We bypass the what God is doing in us.

In our season of waiting, could there be a blessing in disguise?

These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. {1 Peter 1:7 NLT}

Be patient in your season of waiting. God is often time doing something in you so that he could do something through you. In the fire, your faith is getting stronger. It’s growing.

3: REJOICE IN HOPE

The last thing we can do during our season of waiting is to rejoice in hope. As followers of Jesus we have hope. We have hope because Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. We are not alone. We are not abandoned. We are not left to our own waywardness. We are not left to our folly. We have hope.

You can be in the middle of the waiting. You can be in the desert. You can be in the valley, yet ave hope. We have hope and his name is Jesus.

700 years after that prophetic word in the book of Isaiah, the promise finally comes. Hope arrives. This is why we celebrate Christmas. I love the decorations. I love the food, family, gifts, and Christmas music. But ultimately we celebrate that Jesus was born. That he is Immanuel, God with us. That he is our hope.

I went to my sisters building the other day and they had the whole lobby decorated. It looked like Santa and all the reindeer threw up on the wall. There were trees, decorations, presents, red and green everywhere. They also had HUGE letters on the wall that spelled out “hope, joy, peace.” And in my mind I was like, “YES!”

That is Christmas. Hope. Peace. Joy. And they are all found in Jesus.

5 Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from him. 6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken. {Psalm 62:5-6 CSB}

My hope comes from him. In your season of waiting, in the middle of your affliction, your hope comes from him. He is our rock and salvation.

Why did Jesus have to come down? Because of love. You and I are sinful by nature and choice. It’s not a little sin. It’s not a little white lie. It’s a huge, massive, gigantic, enormous, astronomical chasm between you and God. The Bible teaches us that the wages of your sin is death and eternal separation from a holy and righteous God.

But God in his infinite love for you and me came down. Love came down. Jesus had to be born so that he could die. Because the price is death, Jesus came to pay your ransom. That baby that we see on the manger on top of fireplaces and window sills all over the world, did not remain a baby. He grew up to be the sinless and perfect Messiah. The only one righteous to pay the penalty for our sin.

You cannot have the manger scene without the crucifixion scene. Because the only reason he was on a manger was so that he could hang on a cross. A crown of thorns was impaled into his scalp. Nine inch nails were driven through his wrists and feet. He was beaten, bruised, and battered. Isaiah says that the chastisement of our sin was upon his back. He hung his head and died.

He did it all for love. He did it all for you. Jesus died so that you wouldn’t have to be eternally separated from God. In his death you receive the forgiveness of sin.

But it doesn’t finish there because three days later he rose from the grave. He conquered Satan, sin, and death. And in his life we receive newness of life. Why is is important that he conquered death. Because Jesus was not just any man. He was God in flesh. So when you put your faith and trust in him, you can know that he is trustworthy. The same power that conquered the grave lives within us. And as you were dead in your sin and trespasses, the power of the cross has the power to raise you from your spiritual death and give you life.

All you have to do to experience this forgiveness and new life is accept it. As later tonight or tomorrow you will be opening up gifts, all you have to do is accept His free gift of grace. Accept it. Trust in him. Not yourself. You make a poor god. You can’t even control when you hiccup or cough. Put your faith in him. He is mighty to save.

In the waiting be persistent in prayer, patient in affliction, and rejoice in hope.

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God is with us in the valley and in the desert, but how is he with us on the mountain? Do we even need God when everything is going well? So often we're quick to run to God when everything is going to shambles. But what should be our posture in seasons of success? That's what we discuss in week 3 of God With Us.

GOD WITH US
Week 2 // In The Desert

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 Then the tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:
He will give his angels orders concerning you, and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” 7 Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.”

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”

11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and began to serve him. {Matthew 4:1-11 CSB}

Merry Christmas guys! Are you used to that yet? Last week we began our Christmas series called God WIth Us. We spoke about how God is with us specifically in the valley.

As I continue speaking with people, I know that many are going through a valley season. Meaning things are tough. Maybe there’s financial hardship, or relational strife, or the loss of someone you love and care for deeply.

We mentioned last week, that it’s not a matter of if but when you will go through a valley. We read that in Psalms 23:4. But even in those valley seasons, we have God’s promise that he is with us.

Next week, Steven will be sharing about how God is with us on the mountaintops. Those are the seasons in life when everything is great. In fact, maybe things are trending upward. Do we even need God with us in those seasons of life? Steven will be sharing with us next week, so you definitely don’t want to miss that.

As we begin our time, let me ask you a question. Have you ever been to a desert? Weird question, right? Especially if you don’t travel much, living in NYC, you don’t have any exposure to desert. But just for fun, in a show of hands, who has ever been to the desert?

You may have visited a desert if you’ve ever traveled to Arizona, New Mexico, or Texas. For the rest of us, the closest we’ve ever been to the desert is that exhibit at the zoo where they paint cactus on the wall and the floors are a beige color to mimic sand. They pick up the thermostat a little to make it warmer and put up hot light bulbs around.

In today’s passage, we read about Jesus finding himself led to the desert [wilderness].

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. {Matthew 4:1-2 CSB}

Imagine this scenario. Before the launch of Jesus’ public ministry, he is led into the wilderness where he fasts and prays and eventually is tempted and tormented by the devil.

The word translated “wilderness” is erémos which can be translated “desert, wilderness, isolated and desolate place.” This is where Jesus finds himself. And remember that the narrative of Jesus’ earthly ministry is mostly located in the middle east. So when we speak of wilderness here, we’re not talking about a rainforest. Think desert.

Matthew tells us that he is in the desert for 40 days. But he’s not only experiencing the physical exhaustion of the desert. But it’s also mentally, emotionally, and spiritually exhausting for him as well. He’s in a desert season.

Have you ever found yourself in one of these desert seasons? Here’s what we know about the desert.

In the desert…

// IT’S DRY

There’s typically a lack of water in the desert. Water gives life. You can go without eating longer than you can go without water.

When you’re going through a desert season in your life, you’re experiencing dryness. Perhaps you can especially relate to this on a spiritual level. You experienced the refreshing waters of God’s grace. You were overwhelmed with his love that came crashing over you like wave after wave.

But now, it just feels dry. And maybe you can’t even quite put your finger on why. You can relate to the psalmist when he said,

God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you. I thirst for you; my body faints for you in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water. {Psalm 63:1 CSB}

Have you ever found yourself there? Maybe it’s a place where you’re just numb. You’re numb emotionally and spiritually. You might feel emotionally removed from your surroundings or not experiencing God how you once did. Sometimes a desert season is dry.

// THERE’S SCARCITY

In the desert there are not many resources at your disposal. There’s not a lot of choice for food. There’s not a lot of options around you. There’s a lot of scarcity.

One of the ways the Bible speaks of scarcity is by using the word famine. For example in the Old Testament story of Joseph. The story goes that Pharaoh, who was the most powerful ruler of that day, had a dream.

In this dream he sees 7 fat, healthy cows grazing. But then behind them 7 scrawny and ugly cows come and eat the fat cows. Pharaoh asks Joseph to interpret the dream. His interpretation was not good news for Pharaoh and the land of Egypt.

29 There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, 30 but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land... {Genesis 41:29-30 CSB}

In other words, Joseph’s interpretation of the dream included 7 years of scarcity. There would be no food and the land would not be able to produce crops.

In a desert season of your life, it may feel like this as well. Money might be particularly tight. It’s difficult to make ends meet. There’s more bills than income. The fridge and cupboards are empty and there’s cobwebs at the bottom of your pant pockets. In the desert we find scarcity.

// YOU’RE ALONE

The desert is usually deserted. There’s not a huge booming population of people typically in the desert. You can tend to feel isolated and alone. That was the situation of Jesus in the desert. He’s alone and isolated.

In a desert season you can tend to feel this way. You can feel like you’re all alone. You feel like no one understands what you’re going through. Or no one even cares.

In a desert season, you might withdraw and isolate yourself.

// YOU’RE VULNERABLE

In the desert, there aren’t many options for where to hide. You’re exposed and vulnerable. In the wilderness there’s predators waiting to harm you.

In the desert you’re open to attack. This is where the enemy can really do some damage because you’re all alone. Like a lion who leads his pray away from the pack in order that he could attack, our spiritual enemy enjoys when we isolate ourselves because that is when we’re most vulnerable.

You may be here today and you find yourself in the desert. But what do you do to get through to the other side of the desert. Let’s look at three things Jesus did to help him through his desert experience.

1: DEPEND ON THE WORD OF GOD

3 Then the tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” {Matthew 4:2-3 CSB}

When you find yourself in the desert, the temptation will be to look at the circumstances around you and allow that to determine your thoughts, actions, and emotions. We’re so quick to take our eyes off what we know and hold to be true in the word of God.

One of the things God’s word helps us with is giving us direction.

Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path. {Psalm 119:105 CSB}

During a desert season, it is so easy to hear all the competing voices around you telling you what is contrary to God’s word.

I’ve heard many people say during a particularly difficult season of life, “I just wish God would talk to me.” Well, guess what? He already has. And it’s right here in this book.

So I have to ask you the tough question. How much of a priority is the reading of God’s word in your life? Or maybe I should ask you, what are you doing to make it a priority in your life? Don’t wait for a desert experience to begin digging into your Bible. Begin now.

In fact, to make it easy for you, how about we do this? There is a 6-day Bible reading plan that compliments this series. How about we commit as a church to read this devotional together. Together, let’s depend on God’s word. Let’s seek its direction.

2: PUT ALL YOUR FAITH AND TRUST IN GOD

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:
He will give his angels orders concerning you, and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” 7 Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.” {Matthew 4:5-7 CSB}

Did you ever play the “trust fall” game? It’s when you position yourself in front of someone else and you’re supposed to fall back trusting that the person behind you will catch you. Here Satan is playing a proverbial game of “trust fall” with Jesus saying that if he would jump off, then God would protect him.

Ultimately what Satan was attempting to get Jesus to do was to determine God’s trustworthiness based upon this test. But you see, God’s trustworthiness is not determined by whether or not he delivers you from your current state or situation.

Many times, we want to put God to a similar test and we might say, “God deliver me from this issue, and then I will serve you. Then I will go to church. Then I will pray. Then I will devote my life to you.”

Instead, we put our faith and trust in God simply because he is faithful and trustworthy. We don’t put our faith and trust in God so that we can simply withdraw from his celestial ATM machine. We don’t put our faith and trust in God just so that he can deliver us from our current desert situation.

I like what this verse says here. It helps us see to important attributes of God…

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. {1 John 1:9 CSB}

He is faithful. He is righteous. He is just. He is trustworthy. Therefore, even in our present desert experience, we will have faith and trust in him.

By the way, I love the other reminder that this verse gives us and that is that he is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins.” God in his infinite love for us made it possible that we might stand before him blameless.

We are sinful by nature and choice. This sin separates us from truly experiencing relationship with God. But God made a way for us to experience the forgiveness of sin and that was through Jesus. Jesus dwelt among us and lived a perfect and sinless life. Then on the cross he bore the weight of the sins of the world. Your sin and mine. As the only perfect sacrifice he died paying the penalty of sin for the world. Three days later he rose from the grave conquering Satan, sin, and death.

In his death we experience the forgiveness of sin. In his life, we receive newness of life. The Bible tells us that all we need to do in order to experience this forgiveness of sin and newness of life is receive God’s gift of grace through faith.

3: WORSHIP YOUR WAY THROUGH IT

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” {Matthew 4:8-10 CSB}

Here, the devil attempted to get Jesus to worship him in order that he might gain immediate gratification and relief from his current desert experience. Jesus is quick to remind Satan that the only One truly worthy of worship is God himself.

When you’re walking through a desert season, what is your default mode? Is your initial response to seek God and worship him? Or do you try to seek out immediate gratification and relief from your temporary problems?

Satan’s failed attempt was basically to get Jesus to worship comfort, success, and wealth. All the things that, if we’re honest, we spend countless energy pursuing.

How do you worship God?

1: You worship God individually.

This is you personally seeking after God through prayer and reading God’s word. This is your living your life in such a way that you’re in a constant red hot pursuit of Jesus. This is putting all your hope, trust and dependance off of yourself and onto God. It’s living your life devoted to him.

2: You worship God corporately with other believers in community.

Perhaps the greatest resource God has given us when it comes to traveling through those desert seasons in our lives is each other. Yet so many result to going through these moments and seasons alone.

24 And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works, 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching. {Hebrews 10:24-25 CSB}

In the context of community we can encourage each other. In the context of community we can pray for each other. In the context of community we can weep with one another. In the context of community we can help each other.

I wish we could all see this. But yet, so often the first thing we let go of when entering a desert season is worshiping God corporately. We chose isolation over community. This is probably the biggest weapon your spiritual enemy has against you. Because if he can isolate you, he knows he can remove the support system God has placed around you. There you’re alone and vulnerable.

But when we gather corporately, together we can encourage each other towards worshiping God through our current circumstances. Together we can lift the others hand, even when they don’t have the strength to.

What do you do if you find yourself in the desert? Realize that God is with you. You depend on the word of God. Seek direction in God’s word. It is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.

What do you do when you find yourself in the desert? You put all your faith and trust in God. Realize that he is true to his word. He is with you. He will never leave you or forsake you.

What do you do when you find yourself in the desert? Do you worship your way through it? Seeking God even in the midst of your desert season. Not because of what he can do for you but simply for who he is. Simply because he is worthy of your worship and adoration. Do you worship through it corporately in the context of a community of believers there to encourage you, pray with you, and support you?

Christmas time is a reminder for us that God is with us. He is with you, even in the desert.

PRAY:
God, thank you for the reminder that you are with us. I pray for those of us who find ourselves in a desert season right now. I pray that we would depend on your word. I pray that we might place all our faith and trust in your. I pray that we might be strengthened in the spirit to worship you through it all both as individuals and corporately as the body of Christ.

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What a beautiful passage. Honestly these three verses are jam packed with rich and essential beliefs of our Christian Faith. We can legit take these three verses and make a series out of them on their own.

But for the sake of time, let’s briefly explain each of these statements. First thing I want you to notice is that the word “one” repeats over and over in these verses. It seems to me that Paul is suggesting that this is the truth and there is no adding to it. There are no multiple paths. There are no multiple truths.

A truth claim is exclusive. To say that one thing is true is to say that all other options are false. The world would want you to believe that there are multiple roads to the same place. But Paul here is very singular in his vocabulary. He says there is…

ONE BODY
That is there is one church. There is one people that is united by the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no Jew or Greek, male or female, imprisoned or free. We are all one under the banner of Jesus. We all have experienced the mercy, grace, and forgiveness of sin through Jesus’ p perfect work on the cross.

ONE SPIRIT
There is only one Holy Spirit whom the Bible calls our counselor, guide, and comforter. The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts us of sin and draws us to God through Jesus. The Holy Spirit emboldens and empowers us with gifts to use for the benefit of the local church and to draw others to Jesus.

ONE HOPE
This is the hope that we have experienced through Jesus. While we were dead in our sins and trespasses, Jesus died in our place paying the punishment we were due. Jesus grants us this hope now but we also have a hope to come. That one day we will be with Jesus and there will be no more weeping, no more pain, and no more suffering.

ONE LORD
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There is only one who can wipe away the sins of mankind. All other gods fall short. There is only one who can raise a spiritually dead person to life. He is the way, truth, and life and no one comes to the Father except by him.

ONE FAITH
We are saved by grace through faith. We have faith, not in ourselves or our good works. We have faith in Jesus. That faith is the faith needed to move mountains of which the greatest was the tombstone laid upon my spiritual grave. But Jesus has revived us and we are able to receive this free gift of faith through faith.

ONE BAPTISM
We are baptized in Jesus name and into his victory. As Jesus was buried in the grave, we were buried with him and risen in him. As Christ conquered the grave, we conquer the grip of Satan and sin over our lives.

ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL
There is only one God. We are not pantheists which believe that is all and in all. This means you are not a god. You cannot worship the universe as god. We are not polytheists which worship many gods and God is just one god among many. There is on one God, one Father, and ne creator of all. He is eternal, all knowing, all powerful, all present, and everlasting.

ABOVE ALL
He is above every kingdom. He is above every government and president and king. He is above every angelic being. He is above all.

THROUGH ALL
He is taking care of us all. He provides for his children. Every good and perfect gift comes from God above. Not only does he grant us forgiveness of sin through Jesus but he also freely shares wisdom, love, grace, mercy, justice, holiness, truth, and faithfulness:

IN ALL
That is that by the power of his Spirit he dwells within the believer guiding, directing, correcting, rebuking, convicting of sin and drawing hearts closer to himself.

By: Danny Torres
A devotional series on the book of Ephesians

One of the most intimate and meaningful moments you can share with someone is prayer. In Ephesians 3 we find this beautiful prayer that Paul prays for the believers in Ephesus. It leads us to believe that the church in Ephesus held a special place in the heart of Paul. So much so that he breaks out into a prayer for them in the middle of his letter.

Among the things he prayed for, he prays for them to be "strengthened with power" in their "inner being through his Spirit." I wonder how many of us could benefit from this very prayer?

​Have you ever experienced a time when you needed inner strength? You see, you can bandage a wound, set a broken bone. But inner wounds aren't so easily repaired.

I bet there have been times when you’ve struggled with a pain deep down inside that no one else knew about, even those closest to you. Do you know what you need in those moments? You need to be, “be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit.”

Perhaps you’re going through financial hardship. An attack on your personhood. Maybe you’re facing relational strife or experiencing hardship within the family. Then for you I pray for inner strength through God’s Spirit.

When all hope seems lost and you feel alone and broken, perhaps God is never more close to you then in that moment.

• The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. {Psalm 34:18 NIV}

This week, let's pray for inner strength through God’s Spirit.