Pastor Mike Bitter Speaks

This post is not about God, but about His adversary and our enemy. In this vain “him” is our enemy. Being “at his best” is when he unknowingly gets under your skin, causing you to snap at people when you least expect it.

Its not that he’s good at what he does, it’s that he’s been doing it for so long, he knows what he is doing and has many ways of encroaching on God’s territory.

You will know it is happening when you feel something welling up inside you. This is the first indication your enemy enters your camp. You have feelings, but somehow they don’t feel right and they are contrary to what you know about God.

Your enemy knows those that are washed by the blood are free from slavery and that you have a tool, a sword, that will penetrate even the strongest defenses. Your enemy knows he can be defeated….unless you allow your faith to indicate otherwise.

Today my enemy has been running rampant in me and my wife’s life. It started as cancellations for an important family dinner, then escalated to church issues, then to me being noticeably irritated with an elder in the church.

This is not me. This is not who I am nor whose I am. As a child of the most High God, my enemy wants to take me out. Since my first breathe, he’s wanted me knocked down and out of the game so he could roar with victory; victory over our heavenly father. We can’t let that happen. We have to be brave and courageous.

Is your sword sharp? Are you doing God’s will? The only way to beat and defeat your enemy is to stay sharp, not get rusty, and stay in fellowship with our Lord and Savior, through the Word, the church, prayer and circumstances . The better our relationship with the Lord, the stronger you will become.

This week read your Bible more than you read it last week. Read it more next week than you did this week and so on. Spend time listening and doing His will. Through these actions you will overcome. Above all, as you feel the attacks starting, have patience for our God to do His work in the background. Keep your voice steady and without undue volume. Don’t let the things of this world interfere with your relationships, especially relational fellowships. Be protective of your heart and all that goes into it.

GB. M

Fellowship and relational fellowship are close in meaning, but are at different levels of a relationship. When people get together with a common purpose it is called fellowship. Relational fellowship is when two people or a group of people within the fellowship have a relationship deeper and more relational with other, rather than just being part of the group.

In the Christian faith (I speak solely from a Christian point of view and I do not intentionally demean or call out any other person, religion or group. I am most familiar with being a Christian.) fellowship is with believers who want fellowship with one another, but also with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The one thing we have in common, is we are fellowshipping with each other in Christ. That is our fellowship.

Hopefully that helps explain fellowship. Now let’s take a look at relational fellowship.

Relational fellowship goes deeper and beyond a normal once a week or once a month fellowship. Relational fellowship is someone cares more about someone, or someone within the group cares more about you and your wellbeing, than they feel about the purpose for which they came together in fellowship.

These are the people within the believers who fellowship together with Christ and they find things in common that bring them together (their spirits connect) allowing the fellowship to become more personal and more one on one; therefore it is a relational fellowship.

This article is meant to help explain the difference between fellowship and relational fellowship that I talked about in my last article on this site. Most of what I just shared with you comes from years of trying to figure out what’s what in a church setting. This article is not meant to demean, hurt or otherwise cause any negativity to any person, religion or group. Information contained herein is the sole responsibility of the author.

Do you ever wonder why bad feelings happen with people whom you love and care about? We sometimes have thoughts that aren’t true or real, but they seem so real our mind races on with the intensity that it is the most important thing you have to think about, even though in reality those thoughts are just trouble waiting to happen.

So is this your mind, or is it another force moving you in a direction counter to your beliefs and values? If those thoughts move you counter to your beliefs and values, then you must consider the validity and source of those thoughts.

If you are being moved by something counter to what you believe, take a close look at the source of what is moving you. Is it a positive force enabling you to build relationships, or is is negative force trying to move you away from your beliefs and values?

Sources could be something as nebulous as the news; CNN, FOX, NBC, CBS or any other number of three letter identifiers, something you hear from another family member, or something you overheard at work. Be sure of the source before you move on your thoughts. Ask yourself if these thoughts are friend or foe.

For instance when you help someone and give them a “temporary” place to stay and they end up with you for a longer time than anticipated. You might start getting ancie. You might start wondering if your life will ever get back to normal

The person or people you are helping might think things are not so good and may even engage in retaliation or a power struggle, but are they the real problem or is there another force working to destroy or control your life, your moods and most of all, your relationships with others?

There’s a reason the Bible states church is so important; fellowship holds each other responsible. Satan wants to destroy fellowship so it will not flourish and he does a pretty good job of destroying relational fellowship.

For example, there’s a new person helping in the kitchen. They have a heart of gold and a heart to serve, BUT, they put the dishes in the wrong place, maybe on the wrong shelf. Who cares? Satan cares, because he knows that putting dishes in the wrong place, is a big issue for some people, so he tempts them to hurt the relational fellowship that was built upon fellowship principles.

This is an overview of the identification phase whereby we identify the actual cause or reason the negative feelings about someone or something. GB.

Coming soon

The difference between fellowship and relational fellowship and what it means to each of us

How to guard against relational fellowship attacks

As you already know, I have decided not to host Sunday service any longer at Martinwood Christian Church.  With all the crazy things going on in my life, I need time to decompress and figure out what God wants me to do.  So far it has been great.

The church has stepped up, and they are keeping Sunday doors open, and it is going good.  I met with the pastors and they are on board with stepping up and leading.  There are eight ordained pastors at our church and they are the best group of people.  They know when to step up and lead.  Or should I say they are allowing more of the Holy Spirit to work within them giving them courage to lead. 

Becoming God’s hands and feet are the greatest thing one could achieve.  He wants to do great things through people like you, but we must let Him. 

At one of my meetings someone said it is hard to be a Christian.  That statement bothered me.  It bothered me from many different directions so I took time to investigate the idea of it being hard to be a Christian.  As my wife and I are talking I said:

It’s not hard being a Christian

It’s hard letting go of the world:

It’s hard letting go of the world we’ve become so accustomed to following and living in.

It’s hard letting go of anger, hurt, and “those” types of memories.  It’s hard to let go of politics or religion as the world sees it.  It’s hard not following the masses, especially when not doing what they do considers you an outcast.  We all want to belong. 

We long to be part of something, but sometimes we must let go of what we have, to become something bigger, better, and that brings you closer to God.

It’s not hard being a Christian

It’s hard letting go of the world

GB.  M

The two week notice is in and we’re off and running.  As you may already know, my two week notice was to a congregation of about 50 people.  Yup, I’m a pastor. 

The difference is we own the church building, lock, stock and barrel as they say.  We’ve become overwhelmed with caregiving responsibilities, personal responsibilities and retirement age issues.  Our biggest challenge is taking care of my mother and father, who are 85 and 90 respectively.

Our mission is to Love God – Build Relationships – Change Lives.  Part of this mission is to maintain the current events at the church, yet not host Sunday service.

I’ve found as a pastor, your next Sunday’s sermon starts as soon as you walk out of the church on the Sunday after you’ve preached.  The next sermon seems to be a haunting, nagging feeling pastors must deal with as the week goes on.  What to say.  How to say it.  Who are we talking to, and so on. 

I admire pastors who have all this under control, but right now my wife and I are totally overwhelmed, so we are taking a break from Sunday service. We will continue hosting support and fellowship events; Ladies Group twice each month, Circle of Hope support group, Pastor’s Lunch and the Mens’ Group.

That will be the extent of our involvement with the church for now.  We don’t want to close the church; we need to step back from the Sunday goings on.  Additionally, I’ve ordained six men and two women to be pastors, and we’ve grown several people to be church leaders.  This way the congregation can decide if Sunday service continues.

When I gave my notice, people in the church stepped up to take over pastoring and running the church which made me feel wonderful.  I can’t wait to see how the church will flourish in the coming months without me at the helm.  God is so good!  ALL the time.  He will ultimately decide what happens with the church.  Your comments are greatly appreciated. GB    

This morning I woke up next to a lake in Missouri.  No worries, no cares, just sitting on the southern deck watching the fish jump.  As the sun starts warming this July summer day I had to retreat to the air conditioning while still sitting facing the water surrounding our small cabin on the lake. 

Is this retirement?  It surely feels good.  No worries, other than how soon to return to civilization, which is only a few hours away.  For me retirement is not having to rush to the next thing and having and having time to watch the fish, or the next flock of birds fly over without saying “gotta get ready to go.” 

There are so many things God puts in front of us that I feel we are in such a hurry or so preoccupied that we miss His beauty.  His beauty is all around us and He tries to show His beauty as other things fight for our attention.  Some of those things make us upset and keep us from His glory. 

Sure, there are compelling reasons to be upset and not like something that is going on the world, but we cannot let it get into our bubble; the space where our thoughts and emotions lie. That is your space and something you can control. 

In my last post I talked about “When Do We Know”. When DO we know its time to move out, move on, go toward something different by walking away from what you are currently doing.

One way is to test the waters you will be going into. Put a toe in or spend a bit of time researching your passion and looking into what it is you are thinking about doing.

It’s not always about the money. If it was meant to be, the money will be there. First look at your passion. What is your passion in life? What makes you get up in the morning and what do you look forward to in life?

Are you doing it? Are you following your passion, or following the money? There is one more element. The spiritual element. The element you can’t see or touch, but you can feel. It is a feeling you get inside when you think about what you want to do. God will guide you toward your destiny, when you let Him. You have to be ready to act. He will give you the tools you need to get to your divine destiny, but it takes courage; something God told many people in the Bible to have. God said “be bold and courageous.”

If something continues to nag at you, especially a life change, that could be God trying to move you. His blessings are numerous when you walk in His will and His ways. You may never know when the time is right, but He knows. When we put our care in His hands, we will receive things we’ve never thought possible. GB.