16. He who believes [who adheres to and trusts in and relies on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] and is baptized will be saved [from the penalty of eternal death]; but he who does not believe [who does not adhere to and trust in and rely on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] will be condemned.

17. And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages;

18. They will pick up serpents; and [even] if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well.

19. So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and He sat down at the right hand of God.

20. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord kept working with them and confirming the message by the attesting signs and miracles that closely accompanied [it]. Amen (so be it).
We are firmly convinced that believers are commissioned to go out into the fields of humanity and let people know the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We are embracing the concept that almost 90% of the miracles in the New Testament happened outside the walls of the church.

According to this scripture Jesus said he would confirm his message with signs and miracles.  We believe this truth and are expectant that supernatural miracles will occur as we share His word! Come with us as we challenge one another to get out of our comfort zones and get into spreading the gospel of Jesus.

Please contact us at russellvillechurch@comcast.net or call:
Pastor David Hummel
503-771-4353

God’s word is the very substance of who he is and gives us all direction for our lives.  His word imparts power, life, healing, everything that is necessary for us to function every day.  In conjunction with his presence being released in worship our desire is that God would speak to you individually at each service and impart supernatural revelation from his word for your life.  Come and join us and receive the word you need from him!

Please contact us at russellvillechurch@comcast.net or call:
Pastor David Hummel
503-771-4353

Whether you are going through a dry season in your life or just wanting to celebrate God and spend some time with him, God’s presence is like a rain that moistens and softens the soil of our hearts, heals our emotions, and opens the door for his revelation to come to us.

As we minister to the Lord in song and worship he inhabits our praises and his presence becomes tangible in our services.  If you need direction, encouragement, healing or just a time alone with God we invite you to come and drink in the presence of God for your life.

Please contact us at russellvillechurch@comcast.net or call:
Pastor David Hummel
503-771-4353

As we have carried the cross through the streets and over the bridges of Portland it has been exciting to hold up the banner of God’s victory for us and share it with people we have met.  The response we received on the Halsey Street Bridge was powerful and it does something to your heart as you watch the thousands of people pass below you.  Jesus died for all those people and to feel his heart for them changes your perspective on many things.  How important really are some of the things we put first or allow to take up time in our lives?
The cross is also the symbol of God’s incredible forgiveness for us.  We all were like the Prodigal Son and needed to return to our father, (Luke 15:11-32).  When we did, he welcomed us, no he ran to meet us while we were still quite a way off he did not hold any of the son’s sins over his head.  He was completely reinstated into the family with full privileges. This is the heart of God for us.

Consider 2 Corinthians 5:14-20
14-15 Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.

16-20 Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.

This scripture tells us that we have been commissioned as Christ’s representatives, (in other translations we are called Christ’s Ambassadors) to represent this message to the world.  I am challenged with this because it forces me to look at my own life and deal with unforgiveness in my heart toward others.  How can I successfully spread the message of the cross and his forgiveness when I harbor resentment against others?  The message of hope really is the message of forgiveness to the world!

Who is it that needs your forgiveness?  How long are you not going to talk with your son or daughter, wife, husband, or other family member?  What about your best friend whom you haven’t talked to in 15 years?  Why don’t you take that step of forgiveness and offer to them what Jesus offered to you?  There’s a new freedom for you to experience when you share forgiveness with others.  When you offer hope to someone it returns to you!

2 Corinthians 9
7 Let each one [give] as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, “prompt to do it”) giver [whose heart is in his giving].

8 And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].

Giving is the key that unlocks the abundance of God in your personal finances.  You shouldn’t feel pressured to give but feel a joy and leading from God.  Thank you for praying for us and if you feel led to give we have made it possible for you to give using your credit or debit card in addition to sending us a check.  Your support helps us to continue reach out to the world through this web site.  Our prayer for you is that God will abundantly bless the work of your hand and your finances. God is doing great things in the world thanks for being a part of what he is doing.

You are a blessing!

Pastor David and Kim

Traffic is a little heavier than normal but not a problem.  You are thinking about the project that has yet to be completed, has a dead line and all of a sudden it happens.

“BANG”

the front passenger side tire blows out!  The car lunges to the right and you fight to keep it from swerving into oncoming traffic.  The kids are now screaming and you are trying to get the car to the side of the road without any injury to anyone.
You achieve your goal; get the car safely to the side of the road and you just sit there asking yourself, “Cheese and Crackers, what in the world just happened??”  Now you are faced with a new set of challenges, how am I going to get the tire changed on a freeway emergency lane?  Is there anyone that can help me? If I can’t get the tire fixed how am I going to get home?

This is kind of what happens when people go through a divorce.  Everything was going along fine and now there are a new set of challenges you may or may not be ready to face but you’re forced to.  Where are you going to live?  What about the kids?  What are people going to think about you?

I have never seen a survey on this but divorce has to be in the top 5 most traumatic things that can happen in a person’s life.
The pain related to divorce is significant and people heal at a different rate due primarily to how they respond to the new set of circumstances that has been thrust upon them.

All of a sudden you feel horrible about yourself, depression starts knocking at your front door, people start treating you differently even your friends from church look and treat you differently.  You come home to an empty apartment and turn the lights off and cry yourself to sleep night after night.  As time wears on you had never entertained thoughts of suicide until the pain of this got to be too much to bear.

The good news is that no matter if you initiated the divorce or this was thrust unsuspectingly upon you, recovery is possible and the pain can stop!
Your road to recovery can be successful if you embrace some key principals from the Bible and during the next several months I want to share these insights with you along with some practical measures that you can employ in your life and move on from the painful place you are at now.

There are 5 areas a person needs to deal with to achieve victory over the pain of divorce.  These principals work for any area of pain in your life not just divorce.  To remember these areas best I am going to use the word BLAME as an acronym that stands for:

• Bitterness
• Loneliness
• Anger
• Moving too quickly
• Energy

We are going to deal with each of these areas over the next several months and I know it will be helpful for you because these answers come from God himself.  One of the biggest lessons I have learned in life is, “God is smarter than me!” If you will heed his words and walk in his direction you will receive healing!!  Consider God’s word here:

Jeremiah 29:11-13
11 “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. 12 When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. 13 When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” GOD’s Decree. “I’ll turn things around for you.

It is important to remember that there are at least 3 people in the world that love you unconditionally and hold you in high esteem, God, your mother, and me!  I welcome your comments and prayer requests and would love to hear about what is happening in your life it would be an honor to pray with you.  You can find my contact information on the home page of our web site.

Don’t give up there is healing and recovery for you no matter what has happened in your life. God’s plan for you is not over it is just starting in fact the best days of your life are ahead of you, I’m sure of it!    All you need to do is,

Believe…

I love to hold the baby up and show off the newest member of the church to the rest of the congregation and the sanctuary is filled with ooohs and Awhhs as the child is presented.

Sometimes when I am holding up the new baby I see a couple in the congregation and the wife longingly looks at her husband with eyes that say, com’on honey don’t you want another one?  The husbands loving glance back is usually, there is noooo way that is going to happen!

I remember one such special occasion with a large family on the platform and me in my Sunday best holding the child and praying for him.  When the prayer was over, (and a mighty prayer it was) the baby proceeded to thank me by puking on my suit!  The whole place breaks out in a roar, now Pastor David has baby puke on his suit.  I looked Jr. in the eye and said, “thank you for your amen!”

Life is like that at times, things are just going along fine and someone pukes on you.  You didn’t even do anything to them and they still puked on you.  Now you have a choice:

1. Do I just complain about the puke?
2. Do I clean it up and move on?

I am amazed at how many people settle for the first option.  When we allow wrongs in our lives to go unforgiven bitterness develops.   Bitterness can be quite a nasty little bug that messes with several key areas in our lives.  Let’s look at what the bible says about what happens when we allow a root of bitterness to grow in us.

Hebrews 12

Exercise foresight and be on the watch to look [after one another], to see that no one falls back from and fails to secure God’s grace (His unmerited favor and spiritual blessing), in order that no root of resentment (rancor, bitterness, or hatred) shoots forth and causes trouble and bitter torment, and the many become contaminated and defiled by it–

That no one may become guilty of sexual vice, or become a profane (godless and sacrilegious) person as Esau did, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.

For you understand that later on, when he wanted [to regain title to] his inheritance of the blessing, he was rejected (disqualified and set aside), for he could find no opportunity to repair by repentance [what he had done, no chance to recall the choice he had made], although he sought for it carefully with [bitter] tears.

Esau actually wasn’t tricked by his brother into giving up his birth right, he was taken advantage of in a weak moment and he gave up something precious that God had given him.  Some key things mentioned in this passage describe what happens to us when we allow bitterness to grow.

• Bitterness causes trouble and torment in our lives.  The word for trouble in the Greek means to cause a disturbance or annoy. The word for defile is very interesting; it means to dye with a different color.  It also means to stain, pollute, contaminate or soil. Once we allow bitterness to take over it changes our color and we look different than we did before.  What would we look like if we were dyed a different color?  Would anyone recognize us?  Bitterness has the potential to take over our lives and it is all people see of us.

• Verse 16 also states that it opens the door to sexual sins in our life.  This seems strange but in speaking with others on this subject, when they allowed bitterness to fully develop there can be some kind of sexual sin involved in the mix somewhere.

• Verse 16 goes on to state that the bitterness Esau had in his life led him away from God so he became a Godless person and someone who was sacrilegious.  Do you know someone who has been hurt by a church or church member?  If they have stopped going to church what do they say when you invite them to church now?  “You’re not getting me to go to church with those hypocrites!”  Bitterness takes us away from the very thing that can heal us.

• One of the most dangerous things I see in this scripture was that bitterness affected Esau’s ability to repent.   Repentance is probably the most important gift that God has given us.  Since we are human and make mistakes it is imperative that we are able to repent, and come to the throne of grace to find forgiveness.

• 1 John 1:9, Hebrews 4:16. In verse 17 it states Esau tried to regain his title and repair through repentance what he had done but could not.  Now, I thought that God forgave our sins if we repented?  What did he do wrong here?  The Berkeley Version of the New Testament and the Twentieth Century New Testament shed a little more light on it. Both translations state he was crying because he lost the blessing not because he had he had thrown away something precious God have given him.  He was seeking the blessing not a change of heart.

“Pastor, the only problem is that it hurts so much and what they did to me was so horrible I can’t forgive them!” Trust me I understand that as well as anyone but we have just seen what happens when we don’t forgive a person.  So how do you get past the pain?

It’s pretty obvious when you start talking to someone if they have forgiven the person that has wronged them or not.  All you have to do is mention that person’s name and blagggh up it comes.  You could be talking about the weather and somehow mysteriously the conversation ends on how they were hurt. What are they hoping to accomplish by talking about their hurt to everyone? What do they really want?  I think what we are looking for is someone to confirm that we were wronged and take our side.  It really boils down to; we want justification and vengeance for our wrong that happened to us.  If you really want to be healed from hurts in your life there is a critical step you have to take.

Romans 12: 19
“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for [God's] wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay (requite), says the Lord.”

This scripture expressly tells us that there is only one person who has the right to exercise vengeance in your life, God.  We have to die to the desire for vengeance and justification and give it to God.  Can we trust that to him?

2 Thessalonians 1: 4-6
“And this is a cause of our mentioning you with pride among the churches (assemblies) of God for your steadfastness (your unflinching endurance and patience) and your firm faith in the midst of all the persecutions and crushing distresses and afflictions under which you are holding up.”

5” This is positive proof of the just and right judgment of God to the end that you may be deemed deserving of His kingdom [a plain token of His fair verdict which designs that you should be made and counted worthy of the kingdom of God], for the sake of which you are also suffering.”

6 “[It is a fair decision] since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with distress and affliction those who distress and afflict you,”

The key to healing the pain in your life lies in your ability to give justification and vengeance over to God and let go of your desire to dispense it.  Once this becomes revelation forgiveness will come much easier.

We have a high priest, (modern day terms – a lawyer) who knows how we feel and the weaknesses we deal with.

Hebrews 2:18
For because He Himself [in His humanity] has suffered in being tempted (tested and tried), He is able [immediately] to run to the cry of (assist, relieve) those who are being tempted and tested and tried [and who therefore are being exposed to suffering].

No matter what has happened in your life let God be the one who justifies you.  He has experienced every pain you have and knows how to vindicate you.  Once you take this step the healing process will blossom in your life and your journey toward restoration begins.

At one point in the tour we came to a large room and I noticed there were hand rails attached to the rocks along the path. We were on a level surface so it was curious why the handrails were there. The guide told us he was going to turn off the lights and we would be experiencing complete darkness. The hand rails were there because in complete darkness equilibrium is lost and there is a danger of falling. He told us to hold on to the hand rails and he was going to turn the lights off in 3… 2… 1… off the lights went.

All of a sudden there was a thud followed by an OH #$%^*$. Apparently someone didn’t listen to the guide and didn’t hang on to the hand rail, lost their balance and fell. We all felt such a strong sense of disorientation and anxiety just by being in the dark. We weren’t alone but we felt like we were and fear really tried to take hold.

Going through a divorce can have the same effect as complete darkness did on us in the cave. There is a tendency to lose your balance and anxiety and disorientation develop in this situation. There are a couple common responses to the loneliness and anxiety we feel.

1. Over compensate by getting too involved with people and things to fill the void
2. Run the opposite direction, avoid people all together and hide because we are afraid.

During the healing process after a divorce the right relationships are extremely important. There is a saying, “you are who you hang with”. If you follow the first scenario allowing yourself to get so busy you try to fill the void with stuff and people. It distracts you from important relationships with Godly friends and God himself. You are also at an extremely vulnerable time in your life and the wrong relationship can really set you back. If you find yourself following the second scenario attacked with fear you cut yourself off from the encouragement and strength that comes from godly people who care about you. Running and hiding only leaves you to embrace and deal with those goofy thoughts that creep into your mind during isolation. It’s amazing what a mind left to itself can come up with.

The handrail in the darkness for you is hanging on to God and seeking him. Hebrews 10:25 tells us that we need to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. This means so much more than just going to church it’s about finding those people who will speak the truth to you in love no matter how you feel. There are people who love you and want God’s best for you. Find those people God is putting in your life right now and spend time with them. Be open and honest about where you are and God will use them to keep you in balance during this time in your life.

Have you ever had an issue in your life and asked God for an answer to your quandary?  Did you ever have a challenge in hearing God’s reply to you?  If your answer is yes to either of these questions you are like many of us.  We ask God for an answer, advice, something and at times it seems like the heavens have become silent.  That doesn’t help because we really need an answer!!  Here are a couple of things to remember when you’re listening for an answer from God.

1. You must ask in faith, the first thing when looking for an answer from God is to make sure that you have prayed and asked for it in faith. Many times we ask God but really don’t believe he is going to answer us any way.  “I have asked God before and he never speaks to me why is he going to start now?”

Hebrews 11:6 states: It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

If you ask a question believe he is going to respond according to the word you can expect it. If you have trouble in this area it could indicate that you need to spend some time with God and rebuild your relationship with him.  Come to him he really does want to help you.

Hebrews 4:16 says:

16 “Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].”

2. Are you looking in the wrong place for an answer?

If you have ever watched the 10 Commandments by Cecil B DeMille, God speaks out of the burning bush to Moses; fire rains down from heaven, Moses (Charleston Hesston) stands over the precipice, wind blowing his hair; he lifts his staff and the Red Sea parts.  This type of thinking has us listening for a voice from heaven or some supernatural or out of the ordinary sign giving us the direction we were looking for like a word being spelled in my cheerios.

God is speaking to us every day and we just need to know where to listen. Hebrews 4:12
The most important thing to remember is God is not going to tell you something that is different from his word.  If you feel like God is telling you lie to your boss, sorry not God!  The Bible is always the final authority in listening for an answer from God.

Colossians 3:15 from the amplified version says:
15 “And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ's] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].”

The peace of God in our hearts is the most consistent way he speaks to us.  Have you ever started to do something and all of a sudden you get a real bad feeling about it or you could get a real joy and peace about it.  For Believers this is God speaking to you and giving you the thumbs up or down on what you are doing.  He should be the umpire of your life.

Romans 8:16 says:
16 “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
There will be a witness in your heart about what you are doing if God is in it. When looking for an answer from God, Know what the Word says, follow Peace, and walk with the witness of the Holy Spirit.”

3. Has he already spoken to you? James  has some great insight on this;

James 1:5 “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”

God has promised he will speak to you and he doesn’t lie.  Sometimes he speaks to us but we forget what he said because we weren’t listening or what he said is not what we really wanted to hear.  When you asked did you get quite enough to hear him?  You know slow down, turn off the 52” Plasma screen, get off the computer, (not yet though finish reading this article ) stop whatever you are doing and listen.  Here is an important question I ask myself when I can’t seem to hear God.  “What was the first impression you got after you asked him?”  That’s usually him.

4. He is not going to give you a different answer! OK now I’m going to stop preaching and start meddling in your life.  When you were a kid did you ask your dad for something and he didn’t give you the answer you wanted?  Did you go directly to Mom looking for a different answer?  Don’t say no you know you did!! God is no different he is not going to tell you something else until you do what he already told you to do.

5. Must be obedient to what he has told you. When God speaks to us we must be obedient to what he has said to us before we can move on to something else. Here again is

James 1:6 “Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind.  7For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord,”

6. Is there a blockage?Heb. 12:15 and Mark 11:26 tell us that we must get rid of unforgiveness in our life. Unforgiveness cuts us off from the Grace of God and grieves the Holy Spirit.  Ephesians 4 gives a list of things that grieve the Holy Spirit and these things if allowed to operate in your life have the ability to dampen the voice of God.

Ephesians 4: 29 “Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God’s favor) to those who hear it.”
30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God’s own, secured) for the day of redemption (of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin).”
31 “Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind).”
32 “And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.”

7. Do you have unrealistic expectations? If I could just get God to move on my time table everything would be just grand! Problem is his time table sometimes is much different than ours.  The automatic door at WalMart doesn’t open until we get in front of the sensor and you can’t open your front door until you reach the handle.

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].”

his timetable may be a little different than yours but when you talk with God let him have your cares of the situation, lay it all down at his feet, and remember what he has already said to you about the situation.  Deal with that unforgiveness in your heart, be obedient to what he has told you and most importantly, listen to the umpire in your heart, the Holy Spirit he won’t lead you wrong!

Pastor David Hummel

We would like to invite you to build loving relationships with other women and God.
Please contact us at russellvillechurch@comcast.net or call:
Kim Hummel
503-771-4353 for times and locations.