“Asking With Confidence”

This week’s Pastor to Person is written by Pastor Franklin Garcia.


“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ” Matthew 7:7-8
God has committed Himself to answer our prayers and Jesus encourages us to continually ask, seek and look for Him in prayer. Now, is this a blanket promise to everyone? It means that anybody can ask for anything and be assured that they will receive answers from God. We must look at this passage within it’s larger context, this passage is within a passage part of called the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus shows how the citizens of His kingdom must live. So, this promise is for those who want to live a life that pleases God.
Now, what is this a promise of? Does it mean that if we ask God for something He will give it to us? This promise is about God giving us in His perfect wisdom what is best, God will only give what is best to those who live a life that pleases Him and lay their requests before him.
So, what should we do with this promise? We should come to Him as our Father in heaven and let’s trust Him with our requests this 2023 year, because He will not give us something that will hurt us. Instead, if what we ask is good, be assured that He will give it to us.

-Pastor Franklin

“The Return of the King”

This week’s Pastor to Person is written by Pastor Caleb Beller.

[Zec 14:9 NKJV] 9 And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be–“The LORD [is] one,” And His name one.
Here Zechariah’s prophecy moves from the first coming in the manger to His return on the Mount of Olives. This is the same place where Jesus ascended (Acts 1:11-13) and it was promised that He would return!
A few things that we learn from this chapter about His return. It will be a time of great distress for Jerusalem (14:2) just when it seems victory is out of grasp Jesus will return to fight (:3) for Israel! His return will change the geography as the Mount of Olives will split in two (:4) to make a way of escape for His people (:5). His return will be a signal to the whole earth (:9) that He is the “I AM” that He and His Father are one! Upon the establishment of His Kingdom everyone will come to recognize and honor Jesus as the true King (:16)
As we consider the words of Zechariah may our hearts stir at the realization that He who was faithful to complete His promise the first time will be faithful to complete the rest of His promises. Are we ready for the return of the King? Let us remember and recommit ourselves to these words from Jesus just before He ascended on the Mount of Olives.
[Act 1:7-8 NIV] 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

-Pastor Caleb

“It’s Time”

This week’s Pastor to Person is written by Pastor Caleb Beller.

[Hag 1:4 ESV] 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?
It’s Christmas season and we have all been in that moment where the timer on the oven goes off and you spring into action. The loud sound of the alarm and the aroma let us know that it is time to make a move!
For the Jews that had returned it had been nearly 15 years of waiting in the rubble. They had started with great enthusiasm at the rebuilding of the temple. First came the opposition and then the distraction and soon the passion for rebuilding had gone out like an unattended fire.
Ezra chapter 5 says that God sent Haggai and Zechariah with a message. Like a timer going off they were to signal to the people that it was time to get back to rebuilding and restoring the temple. There was so much God wanted to do for His people, but they had become distracted by work, and finances, life (Hag 1:4-6).
[Hag 2:15 ESV] 15 Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the LORD, God tells them to mark the calendar. To consider from this day forward the impact that their obedience brings! God reminds them of His promises and His presence! He has so much He wants to do through them and for them.
As we prepare this weekend for Christmas and the new year, take some time to ask the Lord is there any area in my life that you are wanting to do greater work? I believe the timer of prophecy is once again going off and God is saying it is time to build His house. Let us hear the word of encouragement for ourselves, and be like Haggai and Zechariah who encouraged the people of God to respond to the promises of God!

-Pastor Caleb

“Scandalous Grace”

This week’s Pastor to Person is written by Pastor Caleb Beller.

[Jon 4:11 ESV] 11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”
Jonah struggled to wrap his mind around this scandalous grace.
A little digging into Nineveh’s history and you might better understand Jonah’s frustration. The birth of the city goes back to Nimrod and Babel. The empire was famous for bloodlust and cruelty. Isis, Nazis, North Korea, Khmer Rouge, the Assyrian empire ranks with the worst of the worst of today.
The most radical lesson we can learn from this book is that YHWH’s invitation of grace through repentance is the most powerful truth in the world. Despite Jonah’s one-sentence warning of the coming destruction; the people of Nineveh responded, and repented and God relented.
This story reveals this important insight into the heart and character of God, God values souls. He speaks of the city the citizens even the cattle! If Jonah could get so emotional over a plant how much more does God care about the souls even in a dark and wicked place like Nineveh?
As we wrestle today with the forces of evil, darkness and wickedness let us be reminded that like Jonah we are called to warn even the worst sinners & cities about the coming judgment. May we do it with the heart of Jesus and the hope Jesus, knowing that even gates of hell cannot prevail against the power of the gospel!

-Pastor Caleb

“The Attitude & Discipline of Repentance”

This week’s Pastor to Person is written by Pastor Daniel Grant.

Repentance is not a once off moment in our lives but a constant attitude that we are to assume. In the Book of Joel we are told about the judgement of God and how important it is that the people of God turn to God and return to God and his ways… Joel 2:13 “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.”
I adore that Joel reminds us that God is slow to anger. We should ask Holy Spirit to make us gracious, compassionate and slow to anger just like our LORD. We are to be contrite in heart, recognizing our desperate need of God and His grace. In that way we can point people to HIM, the author of life and the source of all goodness! Keep your eyes focused on HIM!!

Sending BIG hugs,

Daniel Grant

“Rewards For The Overcomer”

This week’s Pastor to Person is written by Pastor Franklin Garcia.


I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. Revelation 21:3

The holy city, the new Jerusalem, will come to earth, God will pitch his tent and dwell among his people. His people will have access to him and there will be no more pain, no more tears, and no more death. God will make everything new. He will be with us. His new creation will be free from pain and sorrow. The first state (world) was corrupted by sin, so the eternal state will be without sin. God will make all things new and His presence will fill the earth with peace, joy. There will be no more worry or concern for our health and life, a perfect state, because the former world would have passed away.

Now, this is an assurance from God Himself. He is allowing us to see what’s coming ahead. God is putting His signature on this vision. These things already took place in His eyes, but these promises, and blessings are guaranteed to those who overcome the challenges of this world. This is why we should continue to overcome the challenges of this world, because God guarantees us a paradise, a new world without trouble and pain, a paradise where His presence will be among us. He guarantees all these blessings to the overcomers.

-Pastor Franklin

“New Jerusalem”

This week’s Pastor to Person is written by Pastor Caleb Beller.

[Eze 48:35 NIV] 35 “The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits. “And the name of the city from that time on will be: the Lord is there.”

Fourteen years after the destruction of Jerusalem (Ezek 40:1) God gives Ezekiel this vision of the “New Jerusalem.” Chapters 40-46 unfold numerous details about the size and shape, the interior & exterior, the priests, and most importantly the return of the Presence of God. Chapters 47-78 speak of a river of healing, and future inheritance. This ember of hope reminded them that God is not done with His people or His promises.

We too have an exceedingly gracious promise. A coming Kingdom & a coming King! Like Ezekiel, John saw a glimpse of this eternal city! Magnificent and awesome, overwhelming, and inviting.

Two great similarities that should warm our hearts! One is the return of the presence of God! God is there! Second is the idea that there is a place for us as well! An inheritance prepared for us! How overwhelming this must have been for those captives. To consider that God would forgive their sin. Rescue them from captivity and bring them into a future inheritance far greater than they could imagine before!

Two quick lessons, we also have a heavenly inheritance. An eternal city where we will experience the fulfillment of this promise. This is what John saw in the book of Revelation (Rev 21:2). The second is that God’s design for the rebuilt Jerusalem far exceeded what they rebuilt (Ezra 3:12) As we consider the history of the promises of God (promise land, return to Jerusalem; the Christian life) let us not fall short in realizing the fullness of what desires to do in and through us! Let us seek and pursue the fullness of what He desires for us as we await the eternal fulfillment to come.

-Pastor Caleb

“Peacemakers and Kingdom Builders”

This week’s Pastor to Person is written by Pastor Daniel Grant.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the counter culture nature of the Sermon on the mount… It is a cool byproduct of getting to teach on Thursday nights. One particular characteristic I feel is sorely missing in our modern World and that is of the peace-maker… “9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
In our social media it is so tempting to PILE ON the guilt trips, the shame-game and the cancel-culture. In our families it is so much easier to write off difficult people rather than try to love them, be merciful to them and NOT fight with them. It’s NOT the Scriptures or my point of view that we are NEVER to be confrontational, but the Scriptures certainly put a HIGH emphasis on those who make peace: Romans 14:19 “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” This holiday season make room for people who think differently than you, who live differently than you, and you just might get the privilege of being the hands and feet of Jesus!!

Love and HUGE hugs,

Pastor Daniel

“His Plans Are Always Good”

This week’s Pastor to Person is written by Pastor Franklin Garcia.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13
The nation of Israel has been sent into exile to Babylon and God announces through the prophet Jeremiah that they will be in exile for a long time, 70 years to be exact. God promises to be with them while they are in captivity, yet they were also to settle and pray for the welfare of the city. The efforts and anxiety to return faster were in vain because the 70 years in captivity were part of God’s plans for His people. Meanwhile, He promised to be with them and to help them prosper while they were in captivity. God wanted to bring them back into a close relationship with Him. Once this relationship was restored, He promised that He would listen if they wholeheartedly sought after Him. Captivity was within God’s plan; even though this situation was very difficult for His people, it was a plan of good and not evil. Many times, we wonder why God allows difficult situations in our lives, but if we look at these situations from His perspective, we will learn that His plans are good and not evil, plans that are only intended to bring us closer to him.

-Pastor Franklin

“Laying Down Our Lives”

This week’s Pastor to Person is written by Pastor Caleb Beller.

[1Jo 3:16 NKJV] 16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for
us. And we also ought to lay down [our] lives for the brethren.


With Veterans Day next week and having a daughter serving in the Navy
(thank you Charis) this verse jumped out at me. Her service has brought me a deeper respect for those that have served and for their families. While most think about this verse (and our military) in the light of the greatest sacrifice (Jesus’ substitutionary death for us) There is more to this verse than the idea of dying for someone else. I would say it is not about how we die but how we live!

You could make a case for John pointing to Jesus’ death on the cross, but
a command that we must be willing to die for our brothers however noble is most likely not the point. When Paul describes Jesus’ sacrifice in Phil 2:5-11 the cross is the apex of long series of actions that demonstrate Christ’s love.
The word for “life” is more than being alive it involves our will & our soul.
When Jesus “laid down” his “life” it was an intentional act of daily choices to make others’ needs greater than His own. I think John and Paul are highlighting the life and lifestyle of Jesus as an example of a life on mission, a life of service. Jesus’ prayer in the garden, “not will but Thy will be done” perfectly encapsulates this. John’s challenge to us is one of how we live. The daily choices of setting my needs, wants, and desires (my life) below the opportunities that God is giving me to be His hands and feet. Jesus showed us His love not just in how He died but in how He lived. We too are called to demonstrate this selfless love in our service to others. This is my prayer this week for me and our church!

-Pastor Caleb