Overcoming Evil With Good by Daniel Williams

Evil has become overwhelming….

I don’t like to watch the news anymore because it is everywhere….EVIL. It seems like every week now in the national news there is something to be discouraged about in this broken world. So I tend to want to ignore it all, run away from it all and just turn off the tv, but evil still affects me and my life. We all know that evil and sin doesn’t just express itself in the national news but also in our own communities and personal lives. It causes us pain even when we try to run and ignore it. It seems like we can’t escape evil, and it has become overwhelming. 

And I don’t think that I am alone in struggling with all of this pain in the world. As I talk with people in my community, I get the sense that evil has become overwhelming to all of us, and many are losing hope. We all are dealing with sin, pain, suffering and evil every day whether we want to or not. But there is something we can do about it…turn to Jesus! We don’t have to hide or ignore the pain we are going through. We can turn to the God of comfort and receive His grace, peace, love and hope. 

Jesus tells us in John 16:33, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” We can trust that Jesus will make every wrong right and has conquered sin and death on the cross! His grace is available to bring hope to all who receive Him as Lord and Savior. “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” -1 John 5:4. Many people are asking what am I to do with all of this evil around me? The answer is have faith in Jesus! To receive His grace and love. Not to ignore evil but overcome it with good.

A verse that has been encouraging me during this season of tragedies throughout the world has been Romans 12:21 which says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

I have been reminded that even during the darkest hours of this world, I can actually do something that will make a difference in my life and in the lives of others. I can put my hope in Jesus and have His Spirit help me bring hope to this world by doing good. The Bible reminds us that we can do something in these evil times…we can LOVE. We can love God and love others.

We are told as followers of Jesus not to run away from darkness but to do good and be His light. Jesus prayed for us to make a difference in the world and told us do good works. He told us as we to do good works before men that they will glorify our Father in Heaven (Matt 5:16). Jesus doesn’t want us to be overwhelmed with evil or just simply to ignore the evil in the world but to face it head on with love. Jesus taught us to love all people, all the time…and this love really does make a difference.

So what good can we practically do today when we are overwhelmed by all of the pain and tragedy around us? I think the answer is to LOVE. Love is the good work we are to do as followers of Jesus (1 Cor 13:1-3). 

So, ask God how you can love others around you right where you are. Who can you be praying for? One of the greatest ways we can impact those we love and those we struggle to love is through prayer. We need to be on our knees interceding for people daily, allowing the love of Jesus to change our hearts and move in our world. Remember to be sharing the Gospel with those around you! More than ever, people are searching for HOPE, and as followers of Jesus, we can share His love by spreading the victory He gives us in a broken world and the love He has for the lost and hurting. And search for opportunities to love people practically by serving them. No matter who you are or where you live, there are people around you in need of someone to show them the love of Jesus by serving them. We have the opportunity to BE the hands and feet of Jesus to people in a very distressing time.

As evil increases throughout the world, our practice of simply loving God and people will shine brighter than ever. Don’t underestimate these simple ways to express love to people. May we be sensitive to listening to Jesus as He guides and directs us. May we love God and one another well and not become overwhelmed because we know the One who OVERCOMES. 

Forward and More by Alesha Sinks

I’ve noticed a pattern in my heart and in my prayers.

A reaching back.

A trying to recapture the past.

A spiritual discontent that glamorizes the past.

That time when I was reading God’s Word everyday.

Those months where I prayed faithfully every morning.

The season when I read God’s Word in little chunks all day.

That point in time when I was always singing and worshiping.

Those times when it was better…when I was better.

And over again I find myself reaching into the past to shame my present. Whatever I’m doing now to seek God and know Him, isn’t good enough, because I could be, should be, doing this too and that as well…after all, I did them then.

But in the midst of one of these self-deprecating internal monologs, I realized…

I DON’T WANT TO GO BACK.

I don’t want to go back to those days. Because in those days I was immature in that one way and God hadn’t yet started working on me in that other way and I was so naive in those areas too...

I DON’T WANT TO GO BACKWARD SPIRITUALLY.

And I shouldn’t want to go backwards spiritually! Because however glorious that time and season was, however rich my devotional or prayer life, God has grown me so much since then.

I don’t want to go back to that season, I want to go forward into a new season. 

I WANT TO GROW FORWARD AND I WANT GROW MORE.

I want to go forward into the new seasons and times God has for me.

I want to grow more in my discipline to seek relationship with God.

I want to go forward with God.

I want more of God's Spirit in me.

I want to strain ahead into the things God has for me, deepening my love for Him as I go. 

I don't want to go back to how things were, I want to to go forward into more. I want to go forward into deeper with God. I want to go forward into new and settled and deeper and higher and hard and good.

Because if moving into the future is not drawing me closer to God, is not drawing me deeper into relationship with Him, and is not pushing me forward in serving and loving His people, then something is seriously wrong.

I want the days and years of my life to add up to growth and forward motion. But that will never happen if I spend my time pining for the past.

I want to go forward in my walk with God. I want more of Him working and in through me. And that will never be found by reaching back.

So I'm learning to be thankful for what has passed in my life, to learn from it, the good and the bad, and yet to point my eyes and heart forward. 

I'M HEADING FORWARD AND COMING FOR MORE.

Be blessed.

Serve Sunday | An Interview with Itzy

Ministry For The Long Haul by Travis Sinks

To minister to someone literally means to “attend to the needs of [a person]”. It’s not an office held by the few, but rather a call for Christian’s everywhere to serve and love as Jesus has loved us.

Sometimes we get a glorified version of what being a “minister of the Gospel” really is. We can imagine it as having great status or power. Or we can imagine getting a great response from people: that they’ll change tomorrow, turn over a new leaf, follow God with all their heart and never turn back.

But this is often not how it works.

Instead, it's a process. There’s a timetable of events in God’s plan and allowance, that doesn’t match up with ours. We desire to see outward change TODAY, while God desires change in people from the INSIDE out - which usually takes time. God’s time table works as those we minister to continue to grow, oftentimes slowly, and with set-backs along the way. But eventually we look back and see a great distance of change.

We are called to “ministry” not to a “change factory”. We are called to love people like Jesus did and to offer them the life giving power of His Gospel and Spirit, but it’s up to them to accept it. That acceptance is usually built up over time.

We can get discouraged when we haven’t seen someone for 6 months and wonder where they are. We can sometimes get even more discouraged when we see them again, because we wonder if they’ll actually stay this time. We can get discouraged as we wonder if God will ever truly change their heart and bring them into a steady relationship with Himself. But this isn’t our position of authority or responsibility. We are called to love, not to save. Only Jesus is Savior, and it’s best for us to remember this.

People will come and go in our lives, for good and bad reasons, but know that your job, as a Christian, is simple: “attend to the needs of… whoever.”

Whoever is around.

Whoever God brings.

Whoever crosses your path.

We have a holy calling as Christians to love everyone we can with the love God has given us: regardless of how they respond, and regardless of where they end up.

So let us not forget, lest we give up: We are in this for the long haul.

What Does It Look Like To Serve Our City? by Bryan Henderson

Gospel Communities are the heart of Anchor Church as we share our lives together throughout the week. In this post, Bryan Henderson explores what it looks like to serve our city as a family of missionaries.

As we seek to live as a family of missionaries, it is essential to have clarity about who we are reaching out to. We need gospel vision to see the opportunities God has put before us.

To help us identify this, we have asked each of our Gospel Communities to ask two questions.

1. Who are the people that God has placed before us?
God has already put people in our lives—friends, family, coworkers, that are part of the everyday rhythms of our lives.

How can we be more intentional in these relationships to move people from friends to disciples?

One way is by serving them. As we practically bless our friends, we demonstrate the love of God and live such phenomenal lives that it demands an explanation.

2. What are the needs of our local community?
When God sent Israel into exile in Babylon, he instructed them to seek the welfare of that city, because in its welfare they too would find their own welfare (Jeremiah 29:7).

As we bless the local communities that God has placed us in, we are displaying the same generous, reckless love that God first showed to us. We are praying that people will see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven (1 Peter 2:12).

Serving in Summer Hill
Last year, the Summer Hill Gospel Community asked shoppers entering IGA to consider buying a few extra items to bless refugees through our partnership with Simple Love. These groceries were then taken to the local asylum seeker centre to provide for the basic necessities of refugees who are unable to work and provide for themselves.

This is just one example from many of a living church that is seeking the welfare of our city!

Pray for Sydney
As we serve our city, we must continue to pray! A gospel awakening can only happen in Sydney by God’s power. Jesus promises to build his church and offers us the privilege of co-labouring with our God to this end!

Lord revive. Lord restore. Lord awaken our hearts and the hearts of people in our city to see the beauty of the gospel!

Kids and The Word of God by Laura Williams

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105

This is the verse we learned on Kids Sunday last month. As I was preparing the lesson for the 1st-8th graders last month, I was reminded again and again of the importance of our kids knowing God’s Word—not just the stories in the Bible, but the PROMISES of God, the TRUTHS we know and believe about who God is, and the WORDS of Jesus about Himself.

So, this summer, the kids were challenged to learn 10 different Bible verses about the character of God and His love for them! I have been blown away by their eagerness to memorize these verses and say them—it’s only a few weeks in, and there have already been a few kids who have come close to memorizing all 10 verses already! 

I love knowing that as they take these scriptures and hide them in their hearts, the Lord will use them to reassure them of His goodness and character throughout their lives. Many of the scriptures that have become very close to my heart through the years were taught to me at a very young age, and I know that as we continue to pour into these kids, we will see God do many great things in their hearts. 

If you’d like to join in on the Memory Verse Challenge, here are the verses we are learning:

The GOODNESS of God

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! Psalm 34:8

What God is LIKE

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Psalm 103:8 

The GREATNESS of God

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. Isaiah 40:28

The WISDOM of God

Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand His decisions and His ways! Romans 11:33

The LOVE of God

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8

The LIGHT God gives us

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5

God will NEVER CHANGE

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

The MERCY and FORGIVENESS of God

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. Psalm 116:5

God is our SHIELD and PROTECTOR

Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Proverbs 30:5

God is HOLY and POWERFUL

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory! Isaiah 6:3

Father's Day Video

Sin Is Great, But Jesus' Grace Is Stronger

In Numbers 32:23, Moses reminds the children of Israel (as they begin preparing to enter the promise land across the Jordan) that sin is not taken lightly. He sternly reminds them that “your sin WILL find you out.”

And it’s true.

So often we think we can hide our sin.
Or that it wasn’t a big deal.
It was so small...
We shouldn’t need to repent over that.
Should we?

Moses reminds them that God’s standard is perfection. Jesus echoes these truths when He tells us that:

"Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.” -Luke 12:1-3

Sin is a big deal.

But the story doesn’t end there.
Our failure is all too obvious.
Our need is extremely great.
But so is God’s grace.

In the end of the next chapter Moses then reminds them of the punishment for sin:

“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.” -Numbers 33:55

Sin does find us out, and there is a punishment for it. Romans 3:23 tells us that the wages (payment) of our sin is death.

Moses has clearly laid out our natural reality:

We sin.
Our sin will find us out.
We will be punished justly for our sin.

But as Billy Graham has put it:

“You’re born. You suffer. You die. Fortunately, there’s a loophole."

This “loophole” is God’s payment for our sin.

Our sin is great. And our punishment HAS to be paid, or else God is unjust. But rather than us paying it ourselves, God Himself (Jesus) offers to pay our debt instead.

So rather than us receiving the “barbs in our eyes” and the “thorns in our sides” as our rightful punishment, Jesus instead has chosen to take the crown of thorns upon His head, and to have His side pierced for our transgressions.

"But he (Jesus) was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5

Every sin requires penalty.
Requires justice.

But now, you and I can celebrate that Jesus’ death has not only brought us a clean slate, but renewed life! Our sin separated us from God and now we can come before Him, not only justified, but to ask for abundant life! The penalty of our sin has been paid for, so now we can come to God for His Spirit and for the strength to break the power of sin over our lives. We can come to Him for hope that every “sin and weight that entangles us” can be overcome by His grace.

So may you not only have a paid bill, a clean slate, and a “free ticket” to heaven, but may you take ahold of this new relationship with God that brings you freedom! May you no longer be a “slave to sin” but a “slave to righteousness”, and may you enjoy the abounding love, grace, and relationship with God that comes with it.

My Story | Chris Travaglino

The V Tribe | on mission for Jesus

We’d like to introduce you to ESTEBAN & TIFINY

From Pastor Daniel…

Laura and I first met Esteban and his wife Tifiny at the Calvary Bible College in Murrieta, California in 2011. We spent one month living on the Bible College campus with 12 other church planters and their families. We were preparing to come and plant in Florida, and Esteban was feeling called to plant a church in Spain. It is now 5 years later, and he and his wife and 3 beautiful children have seen the Lord provide and move them to Madrid, Spain where they are now living. They are at the beginning stages of planting a church, and we could not be happier to be supporting them as a church in our prayers, encouragement, and our finances. We hope you will take the time to read a little bit of their story and begin to pray with us for them as they are following Jesus in Spain.

From Esteban…

In 2011, about a year and a half after God began to stir our hearts toward Spain, during a month long Church Planting intensive at the CC Bible College in Murrieta God began to carve out and communicate a clear and simple vision. This intensive was abundantly rich in content and encouragement provided by the Spirit of God and experienced pastors. The vision God spoke at that time was clear – CHURCH PLANTS PLANTING OTHER CHURCHES. Prior to this I had never heard such an idea. Church planting wasn’t on my radar, so needless to say neither was this simple vision. Over time God has stirred my heart beyond simple discipleship toward raising up leaders and laborers for the harvest. I am passionate about it before having ever really done it. That seems to be the pattern in my life.

Over time the vision has been brought slightly into greater focus, as God has put the urban center of the country of Spain on the map and on our hearts….Madrid. The phrase “start at the heart” has echoed and resounded in my heart and mind. With Madrid being the heart of the country of Spain, we’ve discerned God’s continued revelation to be instruction for planting a church in Madrid and a hub to train and equip saints for the work of the ministry, and then send them out to other cities and beyond, to plant other Jesus centered, Bible teaching churches.

We had the amazing opportunity to serve the Lord in Mallorca Spain, at the Santa Ponsa Community Church and extension campus of the CC Bible College under an experienced pastor who is a Spanish national that has been faithful to serve Jesus in Spain for over a decade. 

As of early 2016 we've been in Madrid getting acquainted with the lay of the land, adopting to both the city and suburban life that are so closely woven together in Madrid, and taking care of all sorts of practical matters that have taken a boatload of paperwork to get through.

As we wait for the Lord to open the door for a Bible Study we are setting our sights on getting the Spanish language down as a family. We've recently enrolled all our kids into Spanish school with the hope they can learn Spanish and we can connect with the community and other families. We are making it a priority to connect with locals by meeting them where they go, such as parks and other family gathering spots. I've been working with an amazing evangelism ministry called "on the Redbox" in central Madrid. They take their work amazingly serious, training and equipping their volunteers, praying without ceasing for the work God has called them, and teaching others to do the same. They are out in the city center six nights a week. I am going through their evangelism certification process now, and hope to work with them for years to come. 

We are eager to plant a church and start a Bible study, though we realize that it's the Lord who opens doors and build his church. So in the meantime we want to be faithful to his calling by cultivating relationships all around us, connecting with him sharing life with those we have an open door with. We have recently spoken with a few people that have expressed interest in joining us in the work the Lord has called us to here in Madrid. A future volunteer/intern program is not beyond the realm of possibility.

It is our prayer and hope that the Lord will call more servants and labors alongside of us here in Madrid. I am no apostle Paul. However as we see in scripture that the city of Ephesus was a hub for the gospel and for people getting trained and equipped for the work of the ministry. If I summarized all the call and vision I believe the Lord has spoken and communicated, I would say Ephesus. That one day there would be a hub in the central city of Madrid where a Jesus centered, gospel preaching, Bible teaching church would greatly contribute to all who dwell in the region hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

His word - His Spirit - His glory!