Refuge – What is it?

The Church today is under enormous attack from the enemy in the area of sexual purity, however, this is not something new. The early Church dealt with the same issues that we are dealing with today in the Church.  We at Refuge desire to see the bride of Christ purified. Christ didn’t die on the cross for us to manage our pain, He died so we can be healed. We believe this healing can happen on this side of Heaven.  If men are losing the battles with their purity we lose families, and if we lose families, we lose the church.  We want to point men to freedom so we can build the Church.  We also want to help families to be able to bridge the gap with their children; to help them understand God’s gift of sex and for them to be able to live pure lives. 

Refuge is a safe atmosphere where men can come as they are to receive the healing power of Jesus Christ through the Gospel in the area of sexual purity, and to walk in the freedom of Christ. We focus on growth in the following areas:

Confession of sin –  Dealing with accountability, identifying our red flags, and our cycles of sin.

Our Identity in Christ –  Understanding our identity we have with Christ to be able to receive His healing and freedom.

Healing – We look at the hurts and wounds we have received and where they have come from in order to bring about God’s healing.

Forgiveness – Understanding what forgiveness is, so we can forgive ourselves, others and to be able to ask for forgiveness from those we have hurt.

Prayer – Speaking to God and listening to what He has to say to us about the lies and wounds we have received throughout our lives so He can heal them.

What services do we provide?

• We provide one-on-one or small group discipleship for men or parents.
• Training for church leaders so they can provide the discipleship needed for their church in the area of purity.
• Resources for parents –We have many useful resources for parents to bridge the purity conversation with their children. We also offer a half a day parents conference teaching on the dangers of pornography and how the Gospel can protect your children

For more information go to our website: http://refugenortheast.weebly.com

Rejoice in the Lord!

In his letter to the Philippian church Paul says, (Philippians 4: 4) “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.”  Paul is writing this letter from prison and despite his situation he is still encouraging the believers in Philippi and is continuing to teach them.  Paul is moving past his own situation to look at others.  “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice” Last week I quit my job, it became a very toxic environment for me, so I had to walk.  After I confessed my sins to the Lord with my dear friends, because how I left was sinful, in the fact I did not tell my wife I was leaving, I went to church and sat down before the Lord and this is the first verse the Lord brought me to. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say Rejoice.”  I was mad, hurt, and angry over my job situation.  The Lord has been dealing with my heart for the past year about job, career, and ministry, my purpose in work and in life.  This last year has been a painful walk with the Lord but He needed to reset my thinking. So I am sitting down at church confused about all that is going on, and the Lord tells me to Rejoice in Him because He is still good, I am still His child, He knew when I woke up I would be quitting my job so it was no shock to Him.   What did I do? I rejoiced in the Lord, and I rejoiced in the Lord over the weekend and continued to seek His face.  The evening I quit my job the Lord had already started to open some doors with employment.  God tells us that He takes care of His own, and He does. 

I am still without a job and I am trusting the Lord to provide for my family’s needs.  This verse in Philippians has really challenged me even in my journey of healing.  No matter what we are going through we need to continue to rejoice in the Lord for He is good. No matter how bad we hurt (remember, God using pain to bring about our healing) rejoice in Him.  Then look to see how you can be an encouragement to others.  Paul was in jail, and he was still reaching out to others.  Helping others can in fact help take your eyes off your current situation and allow you to help others who may be hurting as well.  Helping others helps you in your journey of healing.

No matter what we are going through, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice.”

“Let Your Sins be Strong”

 

The other day I came across a letter Martin Luther wrote to Melanchthon (However you say his name) in 1521. At the end of the letter Luther says, ” If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We, however, says Peter (2. Peter 3:13) are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign. It suffices that through God’s glory we have recognized the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to kill or commit adultery thousands of times each day. Do you think such an exalted Lamb paid merely a small price with a meager sacrifice for our sins? Pray hard for you are quite a sinner. ” This is a great reminder of God’s grace. Every day we need to be preaching the gospel to ourselves. When is the last time you preached the Gospel to yourself?