We Believe in the Eternal Triune God

August 21, 2026

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV)

We believe in the Eternal Triune God. In this short statement, we have two concepts that present challenges to understand, and even more so, to explain. Everything within our experience has a beginning and an end. We must accept eternity by faith.

Doctrine Matters

Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who lives in us. 2 Timothy 1:13–14 (CSB)   Hello Everyone,   For anyone who missed my email and blog post last week, I apologize. I was preparing to preach three times last weekend, and there wasn’t enough time to get everything accomplished. Denise and I went up to the central valley of California.   On Friday night, I had the privilege of bringing the Word to the men of Teen Challenge. These men who are being set free from addiction, worship with joy and receive the Word of God eagerly. On Saturday morning, we gathered for breakfast with pastors and leaders to encourage one another. The fellowship was sweet as we met with old and new friends. If you would like to host a minister’s fellowship in your area, please let me know.   On Sunday morning, I preached at The Vine, pastored by my friend, and E4 board member, Gregg Bennett. Pastor Gregg has been going through the Gospel of John, and I continued with John 16:25-33. I focused on verse thirty-one where Jesus asked the disciples, “Do you now believe?” Here is a link to the sermon.   The preparation for that sermon led me to think about what churchgoers believe today, and what factors go into choosing which church they attend. Sadly, I’ve concluded that what people believe is less important to them than many other factors in deciding where to go to church. People are likely to look at what a church has to offer them by way of programs and conveniences above the statement of faith. This prompted a new article on the website: “Doctrine Matters.” What we believe will have a crucial impact on not only our own lives, but on everyone around us. Jesus said:  You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 (CSB)   Blessings,   Steve Ekeroth

We are Pentecostals and Charismatics

 And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose. Hebrews 2:4 (NLT)
 
We are Pentecostals and Charismatics. We are continuationists and not cessationists. Doctrinally, we believe that the work of the Holy Spirit continues in our day. However, do we approach each day and every time the church gathers with an expectation that we will see God move in power and might?

I would never advocate that we chase after signs and wonders, but neither should we be content in believing that signs and wonders are possible without actually experiencing the power of God in our churches. We cannot force God to show signs and wonders, but we can live with expectancy, even a sense of urgency. Our skeptical, postmodern society needs to see a demonstration, a confirmation, if you will, of God’s power and might.
 
Paul knew that great preaching was not enough. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:4–5 (NLT). Today’s new article on the website, “Preaching Confirmed,” explores the importance of demonstrating God’s power in confirming what we preach.
 
Blessings, Steve Ekeroth

Look, God is my deliverer!

Look, God is my deliverer! I will trust in him and not fear. For the Lord gives me strength and protects me; he has become my deliverer.” Joyfully you will draw water from the springs of deliverance. Isaiah 12:2–3 (NET)
 
Hello everyone,
 
Sometimes, an idea takes on a life of its own. Several months ago, I wrote a post reflecting on the word Reconciled. I continued with Satisfied, Rescued, Determined, Loved, Sanctified, Redeemed, and last week, Restored! I did not start off with the intention of writing on a series of words, but one thing led to another.

Today, I explored the word Delivered

. It has similarities to Rescued, but to my way of thinking, it goes further and encompasses more territory. I see rescue as the extraction from a difficult or dangerous situation. Still, deliverance not only extricates us from harm’s way but also brings us into a place of promise and abundance. However, the journey itself will bring more challenges and character-building.
 
My pastor, Ben Brinkman, also on the E4 board of elders, has been preaching a series on the Sermon on the Mount. He had done a masterful job of presenting the truth of God’s word, especially on some difficult passages. I believe that it will be beneficial to some of you to view his messages on “Sexual Sins” and “Divorce.” Pastor Ben handles these subjects with grace and love, yet without compromising the truth. I encourage you to take the time to view these timely messages.
 
I am looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with my family next week, but I also plan on sharing with you a short video Thanksgiving greeting and completing this series of one-word posts with some thoughts on what it means to be “Blessed.”
 
Blessings, Steve Ekeroth

Restored!

 

So be careful how you live

 

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Ephesians 5:15–16 (NLT)   Hello everyone,   Distractions are a part of life and, in many cases, unavoidable. We must be aware of distractions and deal with them wisely. We make our plans, create our to-do lists, and allot time for various activities, but interruptions will inevitably occur. When we have vocations that involve people, we must expect the unexpected.   My reason for bringing this to your attention is my failure last week to write an article and send an email. I freely admit that I am a deadline-oriented individual. I am not making excuses, but when things come up at the last moment, unexpectedly, it catches me unprepared. Some of you may be like me, while others are prepared well in advance or somewhere in between. We must have enough self-awareness to make the necessary adjustments to accomplish the most important things. We do not want to miss an opportunity to encourage, bless, or strengthen one another.   Several weeks ago, I started thinking about reconciliation. It was the article that I intended to write last week. Your experience may differ, but I think that that doctrine and teaching regarding reconciliation have not been given enough attention. Just thinking about the books in my library that have salvation, justification, or sanctification in the title far outstrips titles containing reconcile or reconciliation.   To my way of thinking, salvation, justification, and sanctification lead to the goal of reconciliation. The new article on the website is “Reconciled.” As always, I appreciate your thoughts and comments. We remember that we are empowered by the Holy Spirit so that we can be encouraged and equipped to fulfill our purpose of being engaged in the work and ministry that God has for us.   Blessings,   Steve Ekeroth

Is it time to Speak Up?

 

Beloved friends, if life gets extremely difficult, with many tests, don’t be bewildered as though something strange were overwhelming you. 1 Peter 4:12 (TPT) Dear Friends,   Perhaps I should begin with a mea culpa. You did not receive an email from me last week, and I did not have a new article on the website. My excuse is that I ran out of time. God is good, and a lot of good things are happening. Lives are being transformed through Jesus Christ, and the kingdom of God is growing. Nevertheless, we face many challenges.   I want to bring to your attention some news out of Australia: CEO forced to resign after one day because of his church membership. Here is the key paragraph:   Andrew Thorburn was chief executive of the Australian Football League club Essendon only a day before reports emerged that he was also the lay board chairman of an Anglican church called City on a Hill. In 2013, the church published an article urging people with “same-sex attraction” to seek help from senior Christians to “survive these temptations.”   We live in a world that is increasingly hostile to the truth of the gospel and anyone who dares to identify as a Christ-follower. We have seen it here in the United States, where some have voiced the opinion that holding to Christian beliefs should disqualify someone from holding public office for an appointment to the Supreme Court.   It is no secret that some want to silence us. In my continuing series on speaking, today I posted an article, “Speak up,” that challenges us to speak up on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves. Many groups of people are left without a voice, the unborn, those being trafficked, the powerless and abused, and many others. Will we Speak up on their behalf?   Finally, we do not make many endorsements, but Logos Bible Software is one of my essential tools. I have used it for many years, and frankly, I’m not sure what I would do without it. They released a new version this week with some excellent new features. I wrote a short review if you are interested.   Blessings,   Steve Ekeroth

A Thirst for God

A Thirst for God

July 26, 2022

O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1 (NLT)

David wrote Psalm 63 out of his experience in the wilderness. The wilderness was a barren, desolate place where he was deprived of the comforts of home and exposed to bad weather and hostile enemies. He focused on the things that matter. Or should I say, he focused on God, the only thing that matters.

God is not afraid of the desert or wilderness, nor should we be afraid. In fact, when we are in the desert, we may be right where God wants us to be. In the desert, only the essential matters. In a way, life is made simple. When God uses the illustration of hunger and thirst to represent how we should be pursuing him, it is more than an analogy or parable. Like fasting, life in the wilderness has a way of stripping away less critical things, and if we are open, we can realign our priorities.

I object to those who would claim that the child of God should never go through a spiritual wilderness, that he should never feel barren and desolate spiritually. But most of us know that it is inevitable for us to have such times. Even though David was one of God’s most favored and blessed, he was not exempt from the wilderness experience he describes in this psalm.

The question is not whether we, as God’s people, will have to go through wilderness experiences but how to face them.

What is thirst?

The Bible uses the ordinary bodily functions of hunger and thirst as an analogy for spiritual need and desire. Psychologists classify thirst as a drive, a basic compelling urge that motivates action.

Living in arid lands without modern water systems, the people of the Bible were acutely aware of the pains and perils of being without water. In biblical literature, thirst is often frightening and life-threatening, as opposed to the modern experience of temporary discomfort. The Israelites in the wilderness complain to Moses, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” (Ex 17:3 NIV).

In the New Testament, particularly in John’s writings, it is Jesus who can quench our soul thirst. Jesus proclaims to the woman at the well, “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4:14 NIV).

What are you hungering and thirsting after?

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8 (NIV)

To those who love the Lord, we would undoubtedly say that we are hungering and thirsting after God. It is our desire, but how often do we settle for less? The urgency of the immediate will often lead us to compromise.

We have good intentions, but the desire to hold out for the good things of the Lord is just not strong enough within us when other things come along to entice us.

Imagine for a moment that I have invited you out to a fine dinner. Perhaps a Michelin-rated 5-star chef at an upscale restaurant, or better yet, I invite you into my home for a meal my wife prepares.

You do not have far to travel, but you feel a little bit hungry along the way. You stop at McDonald’s, and not only do you order a full meal, but you also ask them to supersize it. By the time you arrive, you are no longer hungry. Because you were not willing to wait, you cannot appreciate the delicious meal.

That is the way it can be with spiritual hunger and thirst. We know that the Lord is good and has good things in store for us, but we indulge in things that this world has to offer, and by the time we get to Jesus, we have reached our capacity.

To hunger and thirst after righteousness sometimes means delayed gratification. We must deny ourselves, and often that is the last thing we want to do, so we miss out on the blessing.

How do you invigorate thirst?

In the natural realm, the best way to encourage hunger and thirst is to exert yourself. Exercising or working hard at physical labor creates a hunger and thirst within us demanding to be satisfied. The reason that some people lose their hunger and thirst for God is that they are effectively sponges. They absorb until they are saturated.

I remember hearing someone say God wants us to be leaky vessels for him. Now, this is different than not being able to retain teaching or sound doctrine. As a pastor, it is frustrating to experience people who are “always learning, yet never coming to the knowledge of the truth.” No, what I am referring to is that when God fills us with living water, water will leak all out over everyone. We recall that Jesus said, “out of our innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” Whether or not it is because we are leaky or simply because God continually fills us to overflowing, we are to be vessels that are continuously refreshed and refilled.

God’s rivers must flow through us. As we empty ourselves offering the life-giving water of the Holy Spirit along with nourishment from God’s Word, we will be hungry and thirsty for more. That is how we increase our thirst.

Satisfied, yet not satisfied

The Lord can satisfy us, but we still want more. Satisfied, but wanting more is not a contradiction. There is nothing more satisfactory than to be in God’s presence. After all, “In his presence, his fullness of joy.” He satisfies my soul with good things, but it is not greedy or selfish to desire more. However, the only way we can receive more is to continuously give what he has given to us.

I leave you with this quote from Oswald Chambers. (May 15 in My Utmost for His Highest)

The only proper goal of life is that we manifest the Son of God; and when this occurs, all of our dictating of our demands to God disappears. Our Lord never dictated demands to His Father, and neither are we to make demands on God. We are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us what He wants. Once we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured-out wine with which to feed and nourish others.^[1]

God satisfies us not so that we can sit back and live on what we have stored up but so that we can be nourishment to those around us. Remember what Jesus said:

As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. Matthew 10:7–8 (NIV)

Steve Ekeroth

^[1] Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest: An Updated Edition in Today’s Language, ed. James Reimann (WORDsearch, 1992), 136.