Pastor Steve Holder

Advancing under Attack!

steve.holder — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:24:08 +0000

The Adversary
I know this is hard to believe epespecially when you are under attack but God uses enemies for your promotion. Look at Mordecai, Haman was Mordecai’s enemy who was out to kill him but Haman, the enemy was used for Mordecai’s promotion. Look at David, Goliath the enemy was used for David’s promotion. Look at Jesus, Judas the internal enemy was used for Jesus’s promotion. Remember when your Judas is revealed, there will be the pain and the rejection of the CROSS but you are only three days away from your resurrection, your purpose, and your destiny (Come on Somebody, shout AMEN!). Don’t allow your enemy to control you by controlling your emotions thru confrontation and attacks. Self control is a fruit of the spirit. Remember most crimes are crimes of uncontrolled passion. Jesus stayed focused on His assignment and His purpose through all of the attacks and hate mail, and abuse of His enemies. Certainly in all of this, the enemy uses people but! Did you read me, BUT, we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and wickedness in high places. Stay focused, no matter what is being said about you. Refuse to stoop to the enemies level and engage in revengeful response. Judas will hang himself when the enemy is finished using him. Isn’t that sad to say when Judas could have been so different. Refuse to be an instrument of the adversary and don’t be ignorant of his devices.

Joy for the Job!

steve.holder — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 02:25:41 +0000

Nehemiah says that the Joy of the Lord is our strength. Strength enables us to accomplish the assignment. Nehemiah had a job to do, to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and while he faced great opposition it was the Joy of the Lord that motivated him to finish the job in 52 days. To me this proves that if you do your job with the Joy of the Lord, you will get the job done in a timely fashion that brings honor to God. The workers on the wall had a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other but their was the Joy of the Lord in their Heart. The Joy of Lord is the source we need to get the job done. When we lose our Joy, we lose our strength and the job is left unfinished. If you are tempted to quit before the job is finished then check your Joy meter. Jesus endured the cross despising the shame but for the Joy that was set before Him. Joy gave Him the strength to finish the work of the Cross and complete for all eternity the work of salvation. Get your Joy back and you can get the job done. When Joy is missing there is struggle but when Joy is present there is strength.

7 Deadly Sins of Easter Outreach!

steve.holder — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:37:02 +0000

So I thought I’d share the 7 deadly sins of Easter outreach…

1. Pride – Don’t simply expect people to show up to your church on Easter. Humble yourself enough to use every means available to invite them.

2. Lust – Don’t simply desire to make people just another “butt in the seat”. These are people with hurts, hangups, problems, and addictions. Love them by sharing an Easter message that connects with them.

3. Envy – Don’t be upset because another church is doing something you can’t do. Focus on what you can do with excellence. Celebrate that we’re all on the same team and all seeking to reach people for the kingdom!

4. Greed – When a church isn’t honest about who they can and cannot reach, they get greedy. They think they’re going to reach everyone and all they end up doing is wasting money.

5. Gluttony – Focus on who you’re most equipped to reach and those most likely to stay. If you do, your church will be healthier and

6. Anger – Don’t be mad at people for being sinners. They don’t know any better. Instead, share a message of hope for sinners. That’s the beauty of the Gospel.

7. Sloth – Don’t be lazy! The time to get up and start planning to reach your community is now! Don’t delay one more second!
Article by Bob Franquiz

Love Revolution-God’s Unconditional Love for You!

steve.holder — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:38:54 +0000

“A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started going up.

He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first let me do this. He proceeded to crumple the $20 dollar bill up. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still the hands were up in the air.

Well, he replied, “What if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now, who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air.

“My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what was done to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

“Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless.

“But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO love you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE. God’s love for you will not change, you are loved unconditional. You will always be valued and loved in the eyes of God.

Leadership Points!

steve.holder — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:42:48 +0000

Leadership points to ponder and apply. Lead like Jesus!

Leadership is a journey
Fix your eyes on your current responsibilities
Finish what your start
Delayed action creates discouragement and loss of production
Be a marathon leader and not a sprinter leader
A leaders attitude will determine the atmosphere
Win people not arguments
Your work ethic will speak for itself
CARE, it does matter
Your leadership can outlive you and keep on making a difference
Measuring matters because growth matters
Get a Way so you can hear from God how to get HIS WAY!
Character is more important than Charisma but you can have both
What are you doing to develop yourself?
Beware of the idolatry of dependency upon others
Revelation is not a revelation until it is your revelation

Thanks for reading and please share these and return for more Leadership Points to Lead Like Jesus!

Subtle Danger!

steve.holder — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:41:37 +0000

The dangerous assumption in today’s culture is that we unknowingly accept that our greatest asset is our own ability. Please do not misunderstand me, I believe Philippians 4:13 but the key is through Christ. Often we are tempted to take credit for our accomplishments but the truth is we cannot accomplish anything of value apart from God. I have found that God puts me intentionally in situations where I come face to face with my desperate need for him. According to scripture God actually delights in exalting our inability. In this process God makes it clear that with man this is impossible so in the end when it is accomplished God makes known the glory of His name. Herod blew it when he tried to steal God’s glory and the worms came and ate his flesh. Nobody takes God’s glory and gets by with it! Our greatest asset is the ability of God in us!

Amazing Christmas!

steve.holder — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 03:13:08 +0000

I am so in awe of my God and I love bragging on Jesus, so here it goes. This past Christmas Day was so priceless for me. First of all, I had the privilege to preach God’s word on Christmas Day and to look and see God’s house full of worshippers who were more interested in His Presence than in their presents. Secondly to have four hands raised during the invitation to pray the sinners prayer. God ceases not to amaze me with His love and mercy for His created image! Thirdly, I was blessed to hold my six week old little great niece, Laney. She is so precious and loves her g uncle Steve! Jesus my Savior, my BC family and my domestic family have made a three fold cord that are responsible for another Amazing Christmas! Thank you and I love you all!

Christmas is Jesus!

steve.holder — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:13:06 +0000

The true meaning of Christmas is the birth of Jesus, the Savior of the world. Our greatest need as humans is salvation from our sins and there is only one who qualifies to satisfy the justice of God in regard to our sins. The one and only is Jesus. Jesus is the center of it all. He is the main event from the cradle, the crowd, the cross and the crown. It is all about Jesus! He is the alpha and the omega and everything in between. Make sure you don’t put Jesus out in the cold like the inn keeper, who had no room. Put Jesus in the center of your life everyday and let everything revolve around him.
A father wanted to read the paper, but was being bothered by his little daughter, Vanessa. Finally, he tore a sheet out of his magazine, on which was printed the map of the world. Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to Vanessa, and said, “Go into the other room and see if you can
put this together.” After a few minutes, Vanessa returned and handed him the map correctly fitted together. The father was surprised and asked how she had
finished so quickly.
“Oh,” she said, “on the other side of the paper was a picture of Jesus.
When I got Jesus in His place, then the world came out all right.”
Christmas is only right when we get Jesus right, at the center of it all!
Merry Christmas to all!

For or Against!

steve.holder — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 02:44:44 +0000

Every organization has its negative stress points. What do you mean by negative stress points? I am so glad you asked. Negative stress points are matters you consider so important that they are always stressed at any opportunity given! For example a political party would always take advantage of stressing the negative of their opponent. Salesmen sometimes use this approach, stress tearing down their competition to promote and sale their product. Sadly some ministries are only being built on the negative of what they are against and NEVER on what they are FOR. When this approach is used, you are only gathering bitter people whose only common interest is tearing down others. This is a strategy of Satan to promote an unhealthy competitive spirit that causes ministries to attack one another publicly which in turn gives the lost and unsaved another excuse to reject our message. If Satan can get you caught up in the great competition of negative mud-slinging then you will never focus on the great commission. Time is too short and there are too many lost souls in need of the Savior for ministries to be only stressing other ministries faults and differences. My point is this, the Word of God stresses using our time, talents,energy and resources to reach the lost. Go into all the world and preach the gospel (good news)! The gospel(good news) is the power of God unto salvation! God bless you as you read this blog and let’s work together FOR the great commission.

Have you been “Burned”?

steve.holder — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:38:16 +0000

Have you been ‘burned’ by people? You are not alone, we all have. But instead of being consumed by it, God tells you to forgive it and let it go. Let it go means you do not deny your feelings but you do not let your feelings control you. You don’t stew over it and relive it and talk about it to everybody you see at Wal Mart. Hebrews 12:15 NLT says to “Watch out that no (bitter) root…grows up (among) you”. If you are struggling with bitterness, do these three things:

Forgive-forgiveness that is not based on emotion. Don’t wait until you feel like it, decide today to let that offense go!
Pray about it. The moment that you begin to pray about it, is the moment you begin to overcome the temptation to retaliate.
Think scripturally-Look up every possible verse you can find on showing forgiveness and meditate on them.

Remember, each time you choose to do the right thing, a little more of the old you dies and the new you develops. That’s how God prepares you for greater blessing. But you must be in position to receive it. So decide now that although you’ve been “burned,” you won’t become bitter but you will become BETTER!