2010
Living Springs Family,
Rather than writing a monthly letter, I have decided to start a blog. My brain and heart is always oozing out thoughts, so I decided to share the oozing with you on a random basis. Some months you may get one thougtht and some months you may hit the jackpot! Keep tuning in to see what comes out!
We have such a blessed church. Your faithfulness to the Lord and your love for each other is one of the reasons for the depth of this church. May the Lord bless you! And thank you all so very much for your love and friendhsip!
In Christ,Pastor Rene "...each one of you is a Living Spring that God uses to restore and to refresh many lives."
'Those who fight in the fire are refined, those who run away from the fire keep running."
Living Springs Community Church
Hesperia, California
December 22, 2008 - 12:53pm
Yesterday I did everything I could to hold back tears of joy. A hard core group of people braved snow, ice, cold, road closures, detours and nasty weather to come together to worship the Lord, at the 10am service. That took dedication and resolve. It would have been so easy to just sit by the fire in jammies, drinking hot chocolate and to just "phone it in." Thank you all for being hard core! --Rene
Dec. 25th 2008 10:03pm
You can put Jesus Back in the Box now...
...and that is what the unsaved world will be doing in the next couple of weeks. They will take down the Christmas lights, the Christmas tree, the ornaments, the holly, the wreathes, the candles and all the Christmas decorations. They will go into the garage and find the appropriate box for all their things, and they will put it all away, until next December. And yes, they will even put "plastic nativity Jesus" away too.
For the true born again, Spirit filled believer, Christmas is every day. We celebrate the purpose for His birth, His life, His death and His resurrection every day of our lives. We celebrate our salvation and our dedication to Jesus when we forgive our neighbors in April, when we give to the poor in July, when we share the gospel in September, when we feed the hungry in October, when we say no to pornography, doing drugs, cheating, lying, hating and gossip every day.
You see, in December the unsaved world pulls out their plastic Jesus, and they "play" Christianity right up until Jesus goes back in the box again.
That warmth you feel in your heart in December is usually not the true essence of Christmas, it is either the hot apple cider or grandma's tamales still being digested.
It's OK to celebrate, just don't confuse our true faith with the world's toys.
Pastor Rene
Rene's Random Blog
JJanuary 4th 2009
A New Day or a New Calender?
Happy New Year! Time and time again I have read the statment,"I'm so glad 2009 is here, 2008 was so bad. " I really hate to throw Gatorade on your fire, but the only thing that really changed at midnight was the calender, and now we need to write 09 instead of 08 on our checks. Let us fix our hope on Jesus Christ, His word and the Power of the Holy Spirit. These are the only things that remain the same and can truly change the events of 2009 and the years to come. Let us be a people of agreesive faith, were we fast,prayer, worship and fellowship with intentionality. We can change 2009 by the leading of the Holy Spirit, rather than trusting in 2009 to change us.
--Pastor Rene
Nov/Dec 2008 Letter
Living Springs Family,
This year is coming to a quick conclusion. And 2009 will be a year of mystery for all of us. Everything seems to be on shakey ground. The economy is taking a major dive, foreclosures are at an all time high, church attendance nationally is plummeting, Biblical truth has been twisted to suit people's fancy, friendships have been tossed aside like yesterday's newspaper and fear is running rampant. But God is on the throne and as long as we build our foundation on Him, nothing in this world can shake us.
I want to encourage you to press into your relationship with God and with each other. We need His strength daily and we need the encouragement of our church family as we all face these hard times. Fight the fight, stay in the fire. And as Kirk Cameron said, in the movie Fire Proof, "You never leave your partner in a fire!:
We have such a blessed church. Your faithfulness to the Lord and your love for each other is one of the reasons for the depth of this church. May the Lord bless you! And thank you all so very much for your love and friendhsip!
In Christ,Pastor Rene "...each one of you is a Living Spring that God uses to restore and to refresh many lives."
'Those who fight in the fire are refined, those who run away from the fire keep running."
January 24, 2009
"Stop the World, I want to get off now..."
With each passing day I see well established businesses closing their doors, people losing jobs and homes. Families fighting over this financial storm and people abandoning church nationally. Now is the time to band together and to encourage one another. As a corporate church we will be making a major change in the next few weeks and months. Are we closing our doors? Let me answer you with a very loud, "NO!" The body of Christ is not a Mervyn's or a Circuit City. We are the heart and hands of Christ and we will function as a family, an army and a hospital as long as we are on this planet.
Now where we function may change. As you know, the economy has hit our church family and with that, our giving is way down. It's not about attendance, because that is still good, its about employment and the economy. People are not working and cannot give, or people are afraid and that has hindered their giving. Bottom line, giving is between you and God, and we will NOT manipulate you to give more than what the Lord has settled in your heart.
But as a family we will need to stick together in order to anchor this ship, to weather out the storm, or to pull up anchor and move. Either way, Jesus Christ is at the helm and I like that! God is already moving and He has orchestrated some events that look very promising. I will be sharing that with you very soon. God bless you all.
- Pastor Rene
March 25, 2009
"Childlike faith or childish faith"
A few weeks ago my wife handed me two pieces of folded paper and said, "Here are a couple of tithe checks." My personal policy is that I do not want to know who gives and who does not give to the church. So I gave my wife my typical dazed look and she said, 'Trust me..." As I unfolded the pieces of paper I found two hand written checks from two little girls in our Sunday School Class. Both checks were written out for $600. A big ear to ear Kool Aid smile came across my face. And I thought about the passage -
Mark 10:14-16
"Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all." NAS
If I tried to deposit these checks at the bank, they'd probably call security. But I think the Lord looks at the heart of these little ones, and He glady places them into their bank accounts in Heaven.
- Pastor Rene
June 28, 2009
"Make the World Go Away!"
I think the title to this blog is an old country song. Sometimes my heart does cry out - "Take away all this madness! This wackiness! This crazy world!" There are days when I just want to call time out and ask for a 20 year injury time out. It seems like friends, family, business and everything that we have put our trust in, is being shaken. It is times like this that we cry out for help and ask God to rescue us from this peril. But according to James, these trials are tests and refining agents, in order for us to be more like Jesus! Hang tough in the fire!
- Pastor Rene
August 30th 2009
If it can be shaken, it has been. Does it feel good? Absolutely not! In the 48 years of my life, I have never been in this situation before. I find myself in a place where all I can do is cry out and rely on God. The fire has become more intense and just when I thought I could not take anymore, A MIRACLE happened. A couple of financial MIRACLES have manifested and God may be getting ready to move us into a building. Can we afford a building? No. But somehow God is ready to move. I don't know what is going to happen, but I'm so glad that Jesus is in control! Keep praying and please don't abandon ship.
- Pastor Rene
November 24th 2009
The fiancial blessing surprise has come, and we are now weeks away from moving into our own building, Lord willing we should be in by Chrsitmas, if not earlier. Check back regularly for updates.
I also want to wish you all a very blessed Thanksgivng Season. I pray that you are all filled with the Love of the Lord, the Power of the Holy Spirit and the strength to keep running the race. I love you all
-Pastor Rene
February 7, 2010
In the midst of this fire, I have learned to draw near to God. I have also had to face some serious fears. Yes, my wife had cancer. There, I said it. I hate the "C' word! But like the doctors said, 'If you had to get cancer, this is the best one to have, because it has an astronomically high surival rate. Like almost 100%" Ok, I'll take it! She is on the road to major recovery.
We should be in our new building soon. I know I have said that before, but I will say it again., We should be in our building soon. Keep praying, keep fighting, keep loving, keep believing, and don't ever give up. I love you all!
-Pastor Rene
Recent Church Phone Message
"Hey this is Mr. ----- with ----- Web Design Company.
I've noticed that your website is looking pretty shabby
and not very attractive. Call us today and we'll give that
old tired looking site a fresh new design. We're friendly
and professional! Have a great day!"
April 5th 2010
It finally happened. After months of prayer, fasting, believing and trusting, God opened the door for us to be in for our Good Friday and Easter Service. It all seems like a dream. Both services were so sweet and the sense of God's presence was apparent. Thank you all so much for staying in the fire with us! I appreciate you all so very much.
-Pastor Rene
