Tony French Speaks

Jesus has made you a child of the light. Be very careful then how you live. Live like you are wise, because you are.

The gospel changes everything. We are now Children of The Light. And that changes things.

The gospel changes our hearts. We must put off all cursing and hate.

The gospel does not leave us alone. It changes us. We must put off the old stuff.

One of the reasons that the good news is good news is that it changes us. God changes us, by the work of Jesus, from the inside out. One of the results of that is that God gives us a life of true righteousness and holiness. And man, what a relief that is, such good news...

The reason God is at work in our lives and in the lives of others is because of His love for us (everyone).In love, we are being made humble and gentle.In love, we bear with one another.In love, because God is one, we are being made one (unity)In love, God's grace gives us gifts. Gifts that are unique to us and needed in the kingdom.The gifts are given to build up the body of Christ, to help us all mature, until we attain the whole measure of the fullness of Jesus.Bring it on Jesus, what a life we can live in the fullness of Jesus!

There is a very powerful prayer in Ephesians. A prayer that we can pray over each other.This prayer addresses the things that we really need to do life.Strength.Power.Established in love.Power to grasp the love of JesusLove that surpasses knowledgeWe pray this to the God who is able to do immeasurably more that we can ask or imagine.Oh, the love of God is the greatest change agent in this creation.

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.This is the plan of God, that through Jesus, through our faith in him, we may approach God. We can be in the presence of God. Think of that!We can approach God with freedom, because He loves us.We can approach God with confidence, because He loves us.Please, approach God...

Jesus changed everything. He set aside the Hebrew Law so that all of humanity could be joined together as one people. His people. Jesus created one new humanity. One where we have direct access to God. We are a holy temple of people, all of us being built together to be a dwelling place for God.Think about that!

God has given us a really good thing. Because of His great love for us, he wants us to talk with him. he wants us to pray.Do you pray? The answer to that question will reveal a lot about what you believe about prayer.

A bit of the back story, each one of us has lived according to our sinful nature, the ways of this world, and have followed the Prince of the Rule of the Air (satan). Those things, and the people that live that way are living in direct contradiction of God's love. BUTBecause God loves us so much, he saved us from that. It is beyond belief, but God, expresses His grace for us and toward us.And he raised us from the dead and seated us with Jesus at His throne. wow...

Our prayers really matter. Our brothers and sisters in Christ need us to pray for them. It is very important. Paul shows us how to pray for each other, to give us what we need.One, we need The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation to reveal God to us, so that we can know Him better. We really need this.Two, we need the eyes of our heart to be opened so that we can live with hope. With authority and power. 

God has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing. For most of us, this is more than we can comprehend.But it is still true. God loves you so.

As we continue to talk about what kind of church we want to be, the topic of what it looks like to be in an authentic community comes up. Jesus has clear instructions for us on this. We are to love God, love ourselves and love each other. Love must cover all.This includes our words. We are to forgive and bless, not judge and curse. 

We have an enemy. He has schemes and plans to destroy you and your life. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus, and He tells us to take our stand against our enemy. We have armor, we have power, we have authority. We submit to God and resist the devil. And then devil flees.Let's roll....

I wish life were easier. Don't you?Many of us were taught that if we believed in Jesus that our lives would be good. No more problems. Part of me still wishes that were true. But it is not. You will have trouble. The Kingdom Life is not one that is free of problems. But Jesus does have much to offer us in our troubles. We can have life to the full, even in the pain and trauma of this world.

When we speak about the heart, we are not talking about the blood pumping organ that is in your chest. We are talking about the central part of your being, your soul, your will, the essential thing that makes you, you.As a follower of Jesus, you have been given a new heart. That heart is good and can be trusted. God has written himself on your new heart, it makes you part of the family. Living from the new heart is an essential thing for living in the new kingdom. 

Celebrate Easter Sunday with us

Forgiving is hard. Forgiving someone for very traumatic episodes is even harder. Forgiving from the heart can feel like an unattainable thing.God forgives you for every sin you have ever committed, if you are in Christ. Every one.His instructions for us are to forgive as he forgives.That is the only way to life and freedom. Not forgiving others will kill you. Please forgive.

Would you rather be in the stands, or be on the field?The story begins long before you were born. The story begins before any thing was created. The story begins with the great fellowship of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They lived in intimate relationship with each other in the beginning. The evil enters the picture which resulted in war in heaven. Then the creation of our world began. God created an amazing, beautiful, over-whelming world for us. Beautiful sunsets and oceans. Incredible mountains and water falls. Birds! What colors. The range of sizes and shapes. But what about fish? What kind of creator would create all of those fish? Again with the color and size. From a guppy to a whale.And then the land animals. All of the kinds of animals, lions, tigers and bears! Horses. Dogs. and on and on.The creation tells us a lot about the creator. And then finally, God created man in his image. Male and female he created them. The crowning jewel of all creation. Evil came and began the doubt abou