Stronger than our enemy

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A healthy Church 2 - Pastor Matthew K. Elliott

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A healthy Church - Pastor Matthew K. Elliott

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Help before Passover

Before the Passover, our Church organized a humanitarian action, intended to help families with difficult financial situations, around the village of Tureni. We were able to provide 35 families from 5 different villages (Tureni, Comșești, Mărtinești, Ceanul Mic and Micești) with food supplies .

We were supported in this action by the mayor or Tureni, which pointed us towards the poor families, that had limited income or in some cases, none.

People were really surprised to see us at their gate carrying these packages, because some of them have never been helped before.

Our Church is working with people from the villages for 10 years now, having our ministry base in Micesti, and this humanitarian action has opened many doors for us to be able and show God's love in a more practical way. We met a lot of new people and established a relationship with them, which will help us in the future because we intend to go back and be a support for these people, both material and spiritual.

In the village of Ceanul Mic we found many people that were open to the word of God and we want to go back this summer and spend more time with these people.

On Thursday, we went to the Emergency Hospital for Children, Department of Clinical Pneumofitiziology where we gave the children hospitalized there sweets, so that we may bring at least a smile on their faces.

We really appreciate all the help we got from those that chose to give for the Kingdom of God. All praises be to Him that blessed us to be a blessing.

The story of a young man that used to be a priest in a Christian Monastery

Eugen is a 26 year old young man, that chose to run away from home when he was only 18, and found refuge in a Christian Monastery, in Moldavia. For 3 years he served there and made progresses very quickly ending up by being called a priest. Every day he performed a 'divine service', without ever feeling any closeness towards God. In fact in all these years he never read the Bible. He never had a personal relationship with Jesus, neither was he concerned with this, because nobody ever encouraged him to do so. After these 3 years he ended up disappointed, because of those around him that were supposed to serve God and they were not living what they were preaching. After living this experience things started to go really bad for Eugen because his father didn't receive him back home and disinherited him. He ended up living on the streets, earning his living from selling drugs and doing all sorts of illegal stuff. I don't want to emphasize how bad things got for this young man but rather to tell you what God did in his life in 2 years, starting with an encounter Eugen had with a young Evangelist from our Church, Cristi Istrate. Cristi found Eugen on the street and invited him to a Church meeting. Eugen answered 'no, you have no idea who I am. I am an evil man ...' Cristi told him 'you are exactly the person Jesus is looking for'. He ended up going to that meeting and then Cristi spent a lot of time with him leading him to The Lord. Eugen didn't honor his decision but God didn't give up on him. For 2 years Cristi kept in touch with Eugen and has been a constant support for him. Two months ago, after wondering around the entire country, Eugen came back to Cluj, where he started to look for Cristi. He was ready to let go to his past and change everything. He started attending Church services every Sunday, constantly being discipeled by Cristi, that spent many, many hours trying to build up the Kingdom of heaven in Eugen. His heart became really sensitive to the things of God and he understood that he must fulfill what the Scripture is commanding and so he asked to be baptized. Sunday afternoon, together with all the Church and people from the village, we were honored to perform his baptism. After 2 days, Eugen said that now he feels really reconciled with God. His desire is to stay in Cluj (because he's from another city) find a job here and start a normal life, serving The Lord. He is aware that God will use all his past to reach other young people that are struggling and he already started to tell people around him abut the miracles that God did in his life.

Jesus said that we should go into all the world and make disciples, baptize them and equip them so that they may start bringing fruits of their own. This is our desire, to form disciples not to indoctrinate people and converting them to a religion.

We want to thank all those that have been close to us and supported us in everything we do. I want to thank the people from 'Way of Faith' Church that pray for this vision and believe for this vision. I want to thank my Pastors, Matt and Denise Elliott, for all their trust and faithfulness towards us. We all build the Church of Christ and His Kingdom, that will be revealed soon, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

May God Bless you all
Servants of Jesus:

Pastor Călugăr Rareş şi Nicoleta

From darkness to light

The night always leaves people with a feeling of insecurity, especially when there is no source of light, when you can't see anything but darkness.
In moments like that you have o idea where you're stepping, what you're heading towards - you trust only what you can touch and fear covers you.

Imagine what would it be like to live like that, not only for one night, but covered in thick darkness years and maybe even forever...
Most certainly those would be some terrible years, having no purpose.

Did you know that is life without Christ?

When you don't have Him, you're confused, you live in fear, you hurt yourself with the things you bump in to because you can't see.

Something else that you must realize is that this darkness is brought about by Satan, because he wants to destroy you, to make you feel paralysed and in the end, end your life, because you lack the ability to find purpose and meaning in life.
The only way you can escape this situation is by realizing you need Light so that you can see clearly, to know where you're going, to feel the safety and the warmth that the Light brings.
Jesus is the Light that you need in your life.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." - John 8:12

You don't have to live in darkness anymore, now you can step in to the Light! The apostle Paul got this calling from Jesus:
I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' Acts 26:17-18

Jesus wants to forgive your sins and set you free from the devil's grip, so that you may become a child of God, enjoying freedom and Light.
All you must do is pray a prayer like the following:
Lord Jesus, I confess that I've lived in darkness and in sin, I proclaim that I want to be Yours and to let You be my Savior, my Lord, and the Light that will light my life. From now on I will pray knowing that you can light me and lead me through this life.
Please forgive me for every mistake and bad deed that I've made in darkness.
From now on I want to be only Yours and follow only You. Amen.

Now that you've prayed this prayer, Jesus Christ has come in to your life and forgave your sins. From today on your life will have purpose and you will have the Light you were begging for together with the inheritance of eternal life.
Whatever your circumstances will be from now on try not to forget what the book of Psalms says about God:
"even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. " Psalm 139:12

From today on you don't have to live in fear, dare to step firmly, to keep going on this Way filled with Light.

Cristian Istrate - Evangelist

The Baptism of a born again Orthodox Christian

Sunday, the 10th of January 2010, I had the privilege to baptize a born again Orthodox Christian. Rareș Rus, is a 26 year old young man that has been seeking The Lord having a relationship with Him ever since he was a child, his father being a deacon in an Orthodox Church in a quarter of Cluj. This inclination towards the spiritual things made it so that Satan stepped into his life fully aware that God has a plan with this man. Evil spirits began to manifest in his life through nightmares during the night, suicidal thoughts, sleepless nights, many days of torment and depression. All that didn’t happen by itself, but it was brought about by people that spoke many curses over his life, and Satan, having found an open door, went in and tried to destroy him, as he did with most of us before we chose to follow Christ. But when God has a plan with someone nothing and nobody can stand against it.

Three months ago, we organized in our Church a concert together with a Christian Band called Acces. Corneliu, a member of our Church and a friend since childhood with Rares, invited him, and starting with that point began a time of restoration for Rares. Every Sunday morning Rares was attending the services with a strong desire to be helped to fight against the spirits that were trying to control him. After many prayers and fasting, Rares has been set free. He accepted Christ’s dominion over his life and decided to fulfill everything that is written by accepting the New Testament baptism as well. As you probably know, our Church’s vision is to see born again Orthodox believers that come to know all the truth and are in need of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, being baptized and equipped so that in time they can witness to their family, friends and people around them.

In Romania there are millions of Orthodox believers that need to be born again and our desire is to get to their hearts by creating a bridge between us and them. We believe that love can break doctrines, religiosity and pride on both sides. We all have sinned and fall short of His glory in the eyes of God, but Christ has paid the price for that. We all need His grace and a fresh revelation of what He represents for our lives.

If you are an orthodox believer and you are looking for a place where to worship together with other Christians, a place where you wouldn’t feel judged because your way of worshiping is different, or that your payers are not spiritual enough, or that you still struggle with sin in your life, then please join us Sunday mornings starting with 10:00, to experience God’s acceptance through Jesus Christ and acceptance from the people that you’ll find here. Don’t be embarrassed if you feel in your heart that you are not convinced whether to believe in God or not, if you are still searching, just know that we are here to help you. We are not here to change you so that you become like us, but we want to help you to become like Christ.

Pastor Rareș Călugăr

Acces - Romanian Christian Band needs help to record their first album

Hello dear friends,

We are posting this entry as a support for a Romanian Christian Band that needs all the help it can get to record their first album. The reason we are behind this project 100% is because we saw God changing people through their music in our Church.
Last year we organized a concert together and as a result God changed a young man's life. His name is Rares Rus, and we baptized him last Sunday. We really believe that he is a result of this band's effort to touch people's lives through music, and they are an amazing blessing to us. That is why we encourage you to bless them and help them record this album. You will be rewarded in heaven for every teenager that will be off the streets because of this band that uses music as an evangelistic tool, a tool that we've seen working.
Thank you!

2009-2010

We are truly happy to say that God was so good to the believers of ”Way of Faith” Church, in 2009. We saw many analysis about this past year, but all we can say is that God did amazing things in us and through us in 2009. We have been rebuked, we have been encouraged, we have been dazzled and blessed by God through His Word, through prayers, through, unity, through music, through each brother and sister in our Church.
We really don't want to overspiritualise when we say all these things,, all we want is that the people who are interested in this blog and in what God is doing in our Church, should know that He started a work in us and He is the One that will finish it. We just can't wait to see what God will do in 2010 in our midst.

Before the end of 2009 we had a french brother that had a really good message that blessed us a lot and we want to share that with you. Be blessed!


Jean Francois Gotte - Needing the Holy Spirit / Nevoia de Duh Sfant
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Are you sharing the Gospel?

It is sometimes hard to talk to strangers and even harder to talk to members of the family about our faith. It truly can be a difficult thing but I want to ask this question,
Are you sharing the Gospel? Or…..are you making excuses? We do often make excuses about why we cannot live up to our expectations or the expectations of others, but I want to clear up some things, mainly, that we are called to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

One enormous problem is in our misunderstanding of exactly what we are supposed to do as Christians. We either have such high expectations of ourselves that we never do anything because we know we will fail. Who gives us these high expectations? Sometimes we get these unreasonable expectations from priests, pastors or teachers. Sometimes we get these expectations from parents or other relatives and it causes us to live in fear of always failing God and other people. We can withdraw and resign ourselves to simply living the bare minimum life so we won’t let people down. The worst part of this is that we believe these things and so we have unreasonable expectations of ourselves and we can constantly condemn ourselves. Anytime we fail, we simply say, “see, it is true, I cannot succeed as a good Christian, I cannot please God with a holy life.”
Let me tell you that these super high expectations are not from God. We cannot live perfect lives and HE knows this. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us and to judge us but we often choose to judge ourselves and to punish ourselves. It is wrong for us to try and prove that we are sinners and worthy of suffering and judgment. Christ came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly, John 10:10. Christ came to seek and to SAVE the lost, Luke 19:10. Christ came that we might be free from sin, Romans 6:18, 22. The spirit of Jesus is with us to lead us to truth, John 15:16-18 & 16:13 We are sealed with His spirit unto the day of salvation , Ephesians 4:13. It is God at work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure, Philippians 2:13
If we depend on our strength, we will not succeed. If we trust in the Lord, then we can succeed. God expects us to grow, day by day, little by little, and to work on the weak areas of our lives.
Let me tell you that Biserica Calea Credintei is a safe place for you to grow and mature. You will make mistakes, as we all do, but as we work together, you will see that our expectations are not unreasonable for you but we believe that with God all things are possible and it is He that is at work in each of His disciples. We cannot form you into our image, but we all work together to be more like Christ and to live in His image.
There is another danger to have unreasonable expectations, and that is to strive so hard that you begin to believe you have earned special rights or privileges with God and His people. You may feel worthy to condemn others and to preach a hard, mean Gospel (which is NOT the good news of Jesus Christ). Some say, “My church is the best, we have the best music, best preaching, etc.”. This is not our jobs as Christians.
Just as we are not supposed to live in fear, condemnation and constant punishment of ourselves, we are not supposed to live in pride, condemning others and trying to punish them for not working as hard as we feel we have worked. Life is hard for everyone and we need to work together, help each other, and to live in peace and love.
At “Calea Credintei” Church, we are not about condemning others or trying to find fault and blame, but to seriously work at being better disciples of Christ.
My question then is, are you sharing the Gospel? Or…..are you making excuses? Maybe you are saying, I am not good enough (not true, Christ makes us good enough by His goodness). You do not have to keep living to prove you are a Christian, if you just know that you are and live to please God. His goodness becomes our goodness, even when we do not do things that are good and right.

Maybe you say, I don’t know enough (not true, if you know that Christ forgave your sins, washed you clean and made you a new person, then you know enough). You do not have to preach every time you share the love of God, just gently let people know where you stand in your relationship with the Lord. You can do this in public, at work, in school, on the bus, or wherever you are. You can smile and say kind words, say thank the Lord, and so on. When the time is right, open a discussion on how Jesus has changed your life.

Maybe you say, I cannot speak well, I get tongue-tied (probably not true, because we talk about anything we WANT to talk about – the weather, sports, gossip, politics, problems, and complaints). Do we want to talk about Jesus? We should WANT to talk about Him. If your attitude is one of the main problems, then work on changing your attitude toward people and ask the Lord to give you a love for them.

Sharing the Gospel is as easy as talking about anything else. Sometimes you share by living right and speaking about God when the time is right. Sometimes you share by doing a good thing for someone. Sometimes by inviting them to church or sending them a link to this blog via e-mail. And, sometimes you need to share the full gospel and Christ’s love and redemption and the need to escape from the wrath of God and eternal punishment.

Please understand, Biserica “Calea Credintei” is a safe place for you to learn truth, grow and mature and to learn how to help others in need.
God bless you richly and continue to grow into His likeness.

Pastor Matt Elliott

Bruce Koen - Called to serve

Bruce Koen - Called to serve - Chemat sa slujesti
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Thanksgiving

Sunday, the 30Th of October, our Church celebrated a sort of a Thanksgiving day, in Micesti. On Thursday we went through the village to invite people to come to the Church and we challenged them to bring a vegetable or a fruit that they are really proud of and then we awarded them on Sunday.
People in the village really understand what it means to depend on God's goodness in order to have a harvest, that is why we chose to celebrate this day in Micesti and thank God together for everything and acknowledge that all we have is from Him.

Dream!

Do you come from a dysfunctional family? One of the most famous characters from the Bible came from a very unhappy family.

Joseph was the 11^Th son of the 12 sons of Jacob. No one in this family was happy. Jacob’s wives Leah, Rachel and the maidservants Zilpah and Bilhah were always disputing with one another.

Furthermore Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son and his brothers hated him. Jacob gave him a colored coat which just to make matters worse – Joseph wore.

When he was 17 years old, he had two dreams you can find in Gen. 37:7 and 9.

The brothers could not bear the thought that one day they would bow down to Joseph. But God had a purpose in these dreams.

The important dreams that we have are not dreams about riches, fast cars, beautiful cloths, etc. The important dreams are the dreams of destiny – Dreams about life as it was intended to be lived – Dreams about fulfilling God’s purpose in our life. Dreams about making the world a better place through God’s love.

These dreams cannot be pushed aside or destroyed. The enemy has no power to push aside your dream. The enemy may try to persuade you but he cannot destroy a dream of destiny.

The enemy can interfere with the circumstances of your life, but he cannot shape you. Although people may die dreams of destiny will be fulfilled. Martin Luther King, the American civil rights campaigner, had a dream. He died but the dream lives on.

Joseph’s brothers grabbed him when he came to see them at Dothan, they put him in a pit in order to sell him.

But Joseph although he did not understand his dreams, at the time, knew he had heard God.

The question arises what do you do when you heard God but nothing is happening. What do you do when you are in a ‘pit’ – your brothers are having a meal and about to sell you?

1. When you are in the pit, throw away the shovel! Be holly surrendered to God. Trust God, do not panic. Submit to Him. Give everything over to Him.

2. Joseph heard his brothers arranging a sale price with the Midianite traders. Do not let the culture of the day, establish your value. You are worth more than anything the world has to offer. Jesus gave everything for you – He paid the full price for you.

3. Even though you are in the pit and what God said is not happening – believe that you have a future!

In Chapter 39 when Joseph was a slave in Potiphar’s house, he knew that although he was a slave, he was also a man of destiny. He determined to live like that. He would have nothing to do with Potiphar’s wife when she tried to seduce him – he was a man with a dream and a vision and the enemy was not going to destroy him. Joseph although living in Potiphar's house lived in a place of grace. Potiphar’s house was blessed because of Joseph. By our presence we can make the office, factory, university, be a better place. Whether in the pit, in Potiphar’s house, in prison, or in the palace, Joseph reigned in life.

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17

We too, whatever our circumstances , can dream dreams of destiny and reign in life through our Savior Jesus Christ.

Message preached in our Church

Sunday, 20Th of September

By John Patman

Saturday, the 15Th of August, our Church had it's first wedding and it was an honor due to the fact that the bride is a very dear sister of ours so we "adopted" the groom immediately.
Raluca Murăşan and Sandu Petcu united their destinies before The Lord and before us and we blessed them and wish them all the best that a couple can have in this life.
It was a simple and very beautiful wedding and we are really happy for them. May God bless them and keep them close to each other and close to Him.

What is stopping us from using our Talent?

„On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable“ (1 Corinthians 12:22)

(Matthew 25:14-15 -28) "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.“
When God is calling you to serve Him, He gives you a talent and by that He is entrusting to you something that He values. It is up to you how much you will do with the things that He values, and how much you will value it. God gives everyone according to his/her capacity. He doesn't give you more than you can take, but He gives you more than you can imagine.
God doesn't give you a talent considering your current state of being or your abilities. He gives you things due to what you are in the Spirit and what you can accomplish.
When God called Gideon to save the people from the hands of Madianites, he wasn't called because he was something in the natural things.
'But Lord, " Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." - Judges 6:15
'Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon...' - Judges 6:34
Things that can stop us from using our talent:
- we consider ourselves unworthy to be used by God
„Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.“ (Acts 13:46)
- we see ourselves week, and lacking power when we are faced with a challenge
(1 Timothy 1:12) „I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.“
(2 Corinthians 12:9) „But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.“
- we don't try to understand the gift that God has placed in us
- we don't seek to know whether it's true or not the words that other people speak in our lives (we don't ask God to confirm it to us if the prophecies that we receive are right and if so to help us understand the time of those prophetic words) - maybe we just blame prophets for not being accurate, but we never bother to know if it's true or not and if it is to fulfill it
(1 Timothy 1:18)„Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight'
- maybe we end up saying 'I am too young, or too unprepared, or now it's not the right time'
(1 Timothy 4:12) „Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.'
- we are careless when it comes to the call of God for our life
- we don't see the significance and importance of the gift that God gave us
- we can't value correctly the gift of the Spirit
(1 Timothy 4:14)”Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.'
- we take it easy concerning the gifts and due to the fact that we don't value them enough there is a lack of discipline
- we don't evaluate ourselves constantly to see where we stand with God, we can't be open neither to critics or to encouragements
(1Timothy 4:15- 16) „Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.'
- we don't invest our talent (we don't grow in using our gift)
- Lacking enthusiasm
- fear of failure, fear of men
(2 Timothy 1:6-7) „For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.'
- we don't protect these gifts and we allow Satan to steal them from us
- we are not faithful with the things which have been entrusted to us
- we are easily distracted by things that are good in appearance or things that other people think are successful
- we are not careful enough with the way we speak, our attitude isn't always right
(1 Timothy 6:20) „Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge'
(2 Timothy 1:14) „Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you-guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. “
(1 Timothy 6:11-12) „But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Pastor Rareș Călugăr

Sunday we had a concert premiere by a Christian Band called Acces (Access). We were really touched by the meaningful lyrics, the talent and the modesty of these guys. But more than what one could see on the outside, we all felt the presence of God among us. The title of the album is RĂSPUNS (answer).
Those of us that hared it truly believe that God can use these songs to restore the hearts of many young people that struggle.
As a Church, we were really honored to have among us God from within them.
May God bless them and use them to build up The Body of Christ.

Source of Life

(Isaiah 53:11) „After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied ; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. “

(Romans 5:2) „By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

The fact that we are into grace has to do with the source from where we get your life in the Spirit. In Isaiah we are told that Christ will see his offspring and rejoice. When we drink from this eternal spring, which Jesus is, then we are promised water even in the desert places. „And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.“ (Isaiah 58:11)

David was praying in Psalm 63: „O God, thou [art] my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirst for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.“ Does our soul really thirsts for this spring of water, for the freshness of this water that Jesus promised to those that ask for it?

The thing is that we spend too much time in the desert and we allow Satan to steal all our joy and our attitude is always controlled by the circumstances that we're in and it seems like nothing quenches our thirst.

There was a man that found himself lost in the desert and got to the end of his strength. Without any source of water he was quickly fading away. At some point he started hallucinating and couldn't think straight anymore. Then he sees an oasis. He thinks it's just an illusion because he can't think straight anymore. He falls down, almost dead next to the water where he was found and saved.

I hear Christians complaining about being in a spiritual desert and they can't seem to find their way out. Jesus said 'He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.' So my way out of the desert is in Him as well, because He promised that He will be with us through His Spirit. 'The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; To shew that the LORD [is] upright: [he is] my rock, and [there is] no unrighteousness in him. (Psalms 92:12-15)

In John 4, Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman about the source of life, let's see what we can learn from these verses:

- You must know the One that is able to give you the Water of Life and you must ask for it yourself „Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.' (John 4:10)

– Many times unbelief brings in our lives drought, uncertainty, feeling panic and not trusting the very source that gives us the water. 'The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?' (John 4:11)

– Maybe we wonder 'is God greater than my past, my wounds and the mistakes I've made?' We can't seem to trust the fact that God really did wipe away all our sin, our past and that He gave us a new beginning through Christ. „Art thou greater than our father Jacob,....” (John 4:12)

– If you keep drinking from the same source (of unbelief, what you see in the natural) you will have the same result, you'll always be thirsty and unfulfilled, maybe even blame God for the state you're in and because you don't feel refreshed. Search for the true source of the living water. 'Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again' (John4:13)

– If you drink from Him, you will never thirst again and even those around you will benefit from this water. 'But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.' (John 4:14)

- The reason behind our desire to find God can be a wrong one. Do we want His water for our comfort or for itself? Do we want more of Him so that we could have a revelation for ourselves or do we want Him for others as well? Often times we focus all our attention on ourselves (on how hurt we feel, the way we feel in general) . We always look for our own comfort, we feel sorry for ourselves and we forget to just get up and be a blessing for others. 'The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw' (John 4:15)

Jeremiah 15:18-19 says ' Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, [which] refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, [and as] waters [that] fail? Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, [and] thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.'

Is our hope placed in a lie or something that fails us? Is God playing with our feelings, with our future and our emotions? Does God want me to be one day on top of the mountain and the next day down in the pit?

NO. He wants me to have an emotional balance. He wants good things for me, He wants to give me peace and joy through the Holy Spirit, He wants me to be fulfilled and have a sane mind so that I may glorify Him. This is a hope that doesn't fail me, so I can trust Him with all my heart.

Servant of Jesus

Pastor Călugăr Rareş

UNITY AND TEAM WORK Seminary

The "Way of Faith" Church, organized on the 20Th of June, a Seminary about 'Unity and Team Work'. We invited Pastors and leaders from different Churches in Romania, from Cluj, Deva, Turda and Germany.

The speakers focused on the theme of the Seminary, and we believe that both through The Word that was shared as through the fellowship that we had, God brought us even closer in Unity with each other.

Pastor Rareş Călugăr, shared with us what God has revealed to him about this, from 1 Kings 5:5-6. For the building of the Temple, Solomon, has asked for help from the Sidonians because they were more skilled in felling timber. To build The Body of Christ, we also need to recognize when other ministries are more skilled than us in certain areas, and due to that recognition we should humble ourselves and ask for help, because we are building together The Kingdom of God and not our own ministry.

The "Petra" Church, from Cluj, encouraged us to live victorious in The Body of Christ and pray for this nation day and night.

Dirk Weits, a Belgian missionary that serves The Lord in Deva, Romania, shared how he feels that we should focus more on the things that unite us rather than those that separate us. We should stay in the Word of God and trust The Holy Spirit to reveal that Word to us.

Elmar Drossler, German missionary, spoke about the way he feels that Churches should be a standard of morality in the world. He also shared the way he feels that God has called him to build bridges between the different ministries.

Pastor Helmuth Schuller, from "Emanuel" Church in Turda, shared with us what he felt God spoke to him through all the other speakers and encouraged us to walk in the things we have hared.

Finally, Ionel Sauciuc, coordinator of a network of Independent Churches, in our area, talked about the way Christians are like soldiers and if they want to please their commanding officer, they don't get involved with civilian affairs. We should stay pure in an impure world and represent God especially through Unity.

We have been encouraged and built up, ready to move forward, to rejoice in the things that unite us and show love when it comes to the things that separate us.

The key to success

Today we are overwhelmed by all kinds of recipes for success and books about success and how to have success. All these, talk about men and women that are successful in the eyes of people. This kind of success is measured in numbers, in how much money you got, the car you drive or the house you own, the studies and the job you have, or how well known you are to people. Is that the standard according to which a Christian's success should be measured? Or better yet, can you really measure your success here on earth? If this life is all you're living for, then yes, but if you live your life for eternity, then no. Your success will be truly known only when you will be facing your Creator.
The people that don't have a personal relationship with Jesus, they are looking for success in the things that will not last, and likely they will find it, but that's all that their life will be, a chase after things that can't really fulfill you.
We have the recipe that works for a life of fulfillment. Jesus said 'So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' Matthew 6:31-34
Jesus is showing us the right motivation for this life. He is telling us what we should be focusing on. If what we're looking for is to be fulfilled in Christ and have peace with God, then our search should be around one thing alone, which is the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. If my main concern is to know the will of God for my life and where He wants me to be, then all things will work together for my good and He will take care of my every need. All decisions you take should be based on what God wants from you. First of all you have to be committed to a local church, to feel connected to that body and be under a spiritual authority. Then, together with your pastor you should try and find God's call for your life. You must see the gifts that were given to you and you must learn how to use them to bless others. Your entire life must circle around this call. When you are faced with a choice, the first thing you must ask yourself is if the plans you are about to make are according to His word and your call. If you do that then you will be a balanced person, you will not be leaded by your emotions nor your circumstances, but all the decisions you'll take will be blessed by God. More so, you will see God's favor in your life, and His blessing both spiritual and material. You will have peace in your heart and God will lead your every step. My advice to you is seek His face first.
If you're not married yet and maybe you long to have a family, focus on being fulfilled in Christ first. If you are already marred and you want a good future for you and your family, seek to understand what God wants from you first. If you have a specific need (a healing, or financial blessing) don't focus all your attention on the problem or on the need you have, seek His face . Your answer might come from the last place you can imagine, but it won't matter because God will help you due to the fact that you are in His will and you seek His kingdom first. Why should you waste precious time focusing on your need, when you can be used by Him?
When I was 21, I chose to put my life in His hands, and i made a deal with God. I told Him 'God I will do you will and seek your face and kingdom first, but you have to take care of me and my family.' It's bee 8 years since then, and God has been more than faithful. I want to continue to live my life according to this principle. Jesus said 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.' Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus is making a deal with us. He wants us to trade your burden and worries for his peace and rest. All that a man is looking fr in this life is to be happy and fulfilled. But looking for this you end up chasing ghosts our entire life and getting utterly tired of everything. If you will seek His Kingdom first, you will find rest for your soul. Live according to this, and want to be pleasing to God more than you want to be pleasing to people. Success in the eyes of people doesn't compare with success in the eyes of God.

Servant of Jesus
Pastor Călugăr Rareş

Live according to the call God has for your life

Do we live according to the call God has for us through Jesus Christ?

Paul was praying for the Ephesians : 'I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength.' - Ephesians 1:17-19

What is our attitude towards the things we have to go through every day, or the different circumstances that we face? Do we have a living hope in a living God? Or are we just barelly surviving without any hope?

You and I are not alone in this battle. We have a Spirit of wisdom and we have a divine revelation of what every trial and every situation means and does in our life. We are not lead by fear, nor hopelessness, nor bad news, because we know The Light and we tasted God and saw that He's good, so we know that God's strength itself works within us. That is the reason why I want to encourage you to see yourself through the eyes of God and live according to the call you have, meaning to live a holy life. Why should you be satisfied with the scraps that fall off the table of those that live by the Spirit? Why should you just be a spectator to other people's Christianity? Why would you be happy to sit aside and live by your emotions and just listen to nice stories of people that have great experiences with The Lord, when God Himself calls you to all the riches of his grace that you inherited through Jesus?

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

God chose you, paid a price for your life, took you out of the darkness, and He did all that for the sole purpose of enabling you to declare His praises, and the power of His Kingdom. But in order to get there, you must start living with great expectations. Be confident in that which He placed within you through the Holy Spirit, and choose to live as a conqueror not a victim of your circumstances.

2 Peter 1:1-12

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.'

You have received a faith of untold value and you too have all of God's tools, and that's why you too can live a life filled with spiritual riches, at the level that God has called you to live through the Holy Spirit. God did His part. So now, if we realize the great price He paid for our lives, and the wonderful things He prepared for us through Jesus, then we will do our best to do all those things that Peter points out.

Paul, is telling the Ephesians to stop living like pegans do and 'with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.' - Ephesians 4:22-24

That's where God wants us to be. In the place where our minds can be made new and have within itself the mind of Christ. Then we will not be lazy nor lacking fruits. Today I want to dare you to raise up to the level God wants you to live. Not in a mediocre kind of life, not being a Sunday morning Christian, not living someone else's convictions, but having a true relationship with a Holy and Faithful God.

„For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.“ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

Servant of Jesus

Pastor Rares Calugar