The Refuge Cenla

We just wanted everyone to know that Heidi and I will be stepping away from pastoring. During this season of our lives, we are unable to give the church the attention everyone deserves. So we will no longer be meeting on Sundays. However, we are still committed to our community and will continue to serve Forest Hill and the surrounding areas. We love you and thank you.

Psalm 145:8 — You’re kind and tenderhearted to those who don’t deserve it and very patient with people who fail You. Your love is like a flooding river overflowing its banks with kindness (TPT).

Titus 2:11-12 — God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone. This same grace teaches us how to live each day as we turn our backs on ungodliness and indulgent lifestyles, and it equips us to live self-controlled, upright, godly lives in this present age (TPT).

“Exposing sin relinquishes the power that sin had over you. Then, it allows you to repent and turn away from sin. I think many believers won’t confess or expose the sin in their lives because they do not have the right revelation of who God is and His redemption through Jesus. People also fear the opinions of others too much, but I’ve learned I would rather be in right standing with God than have the approval of man. We all sin and mess up. Let’s be quick to repent and move forward.” — Heidi Jonker

God was thinking of you and planning for you well before you were born.

Proverbs 18:2 — Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions (NIV).

“You can still receive joy. You are not dependent on anyone or anything other than God and yourself to know joy.”

This is a hard reality to grasp because we’ve trained ourselves to believe that our moods are determined by other people and our circumstances. But joy is not a mood or an emotion. It is a state of being. Joy originates with God but is chosen by us. He provides it; we walk in it. External things don’t slow down production, but they do alter our dependency on Him sometimes. That’s why it can seem like joy is lost. Even so, we can choose joy again at any time.