Crossroads Newlife Fellowship Church

09/10/2026

Hold The Door Please!
By Pastor Doug Cox

Today we will learn about longsuffering and patience. I know this is not a popular subject but please read to the end. This article might help you especially if you are like me. It seems that almost every time I hear a message about patience, it isn’t long until there is a test of my patience. Could it be that some powerful spiritual things can happen when we display the fruit of patience?

In Galatians 5:22-23 we find a list of the fruit of the Spirit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control… (NKJV).” Notice the word longsuffering. Many translations use the word patience instead. It is because they are interchangeable, but to me longsuffering better describes how I feel sometimes when it comes time to exercising patience.

There are two Greek words translated patience in the New Testament. One is hupomonē. It means to bear up under a burden, to be steadfast in difficult circumstances. The second word is makrothumia, and is the one used in Galatians 5:22 for longsuffering. It is a compound word made up of makros which means long and thumos which is passion or temper meaning to hold your temper and passions for a long time.

Controlling your temper especially in what seems to be explosive situations is a wonderful example of Christ working in you. Losing it is a sign of weakness. It is an act of yielding to self. Being longsuffering is not always ‘a fun thing to do’ but it is always the right thing to do. Being a person of long suffering is a sign that you are walking by faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, “without faith it is impossible to please God.”

The apostle Paul in Romans 2:4 talks about God’s longsuffering. He says “… do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” Think about that. It is because of God’s willingness to have patience with us that we have opportunity to receive mercy and partake of His riches and goodness. I’m embarrassed to think that over the years more times than I can count, God has had to wait on me to get in line with His will. I’m so thankful for His patience and willingness to hold the door.

The apostle Peter highlights the Lord’s patience and longsuffering in the days of Noah. His call was for everyone to repent and “… the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.” (1 Peter 3:20)

How sad is it that people (even us) can easily ignore God. The population of the earth during Noah’s time is said to have been anywhere from 20 million to 10 billion people. That’s a lot of people either way and the Lord gave them all 120 years to repent. That’s a long time to hold the door of salvation open. Sadly, only eight souls realized the goodness of God and were saved.

In closing here are some things to think about next time you are challenged to be longsuffering. First remember that God has been longsuffering with you. Be thankful He was.

Second. Remember that in that situation where longsuffering is needed, God is at work doing something. It could be that He’s working on you. And He could be working on someone else. Don’t mess it up by complaining and getting out of sorts. James 5:8 tells us to “… be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!”

Prayer - Holy Spirit, help me be good door holder.

09/06/2026

Today's message will be about how Christians are to labor together with God. We are to live our life and walk in unity with the Holy Spirit and the word of God and each other.

08/30/2026

Today's message will be on the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Speaker - Keith Gifford

08/23/2026

What it means to call God Father and how it is possible.

08/16/2026

The apostle Peter's message on the day of Pentecost is a good one for us to revisit. Be saved from this perverse generation.

05/27/2026

If You Are Wondering Why

For a small fee we rescued my yellow lab Samson from the animal shelter. My family had decided it was time to get another dog, so we checked the animal shelter and there he was and we took him home. Once there I discovered he had a problem. If I happened to raise my hand around him, he ducked thinking I was going to hit him. Eventually he learned I wasn’t like the cruel master he had experienced during the first months of his life. Thankfully, his mind and heart became convinced that he could trust me and for the last 13 or so years he’s been right there at my side, faithful and true.

My dog had to learn that I was for him not against him. His mind and heart had to connect with the fact that I loved him. This connection problem is the same between God and man. Many humans let their minds keep God’s love and grace from entering their hearts. They think - why should I let God close and get nervous when He does.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus lived His life the way He did and experience the things He did? Of course, we know He had to die for our sins, but why was He willing to put up with the harshness of life? The sunburns, the sore feet and long dusty roads with short tempered people. Why did He put up with hatred and rejection, cold nights and hard ground when they could have been avoided. Wouldn’t one donkey ride on the last week and then the cruel cross have been enough? The answer is No. The question is Why? The reason is, He knew it would take more than that to win your trust.

Doesn’t thinking about how He spent His last earthly hours with parched dry cracked lips when He didn’t have to make you wonder why? According to Mark’s gospel “… they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.” (Mark 15:22-23) Can you see that? Before any nails were pounded into His flesh, a drink of relief was offered and He refused. Why? Because He didn’t want any kind of relief from His God ordained suffering and because He was earning our trust.

He had already proven His power. He had gone about doing good and healing those who were oppressed by the devil. (See Acts 10:38) He could turn water into wine and He could walk on water. He promised that He will pour water on him who is thirsty. But why did He endure thirst? The same reason He was tempted in the wilderness, grew weary in Samaria, got sleepy in a boat, sad at the tomb of Lazurus and hungry in the wilderness. He was experiencing life like we do and earning our trust. He was proving He is capable of helping us and taking care of us.

The writer of Hebrews tells us in speaking about Jesus as our High Priest. “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:15-16 NLT

Surely Jesus has proven why we can trust Him, the question is are you?

05/08/2026

Taking Cover in God’s Word
By Pastor Doug Cox

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He told His disciples many times that He was going to die. The disciples couldn’t wrap their head around the idea. One day Peter literally rebuked Him for saying it. “Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, far be it from You, Lord, this shall not happen to You!”

Peter was probably proud of himself at first, that is until Jesus turned to him and said "…Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." Matthew 16:21-23 NKJV -

Wow! That had to have been awkward. Have you ever wished you could melt away and not be seen because of some stupid thing you said. I have, and that’s probably how Peter felt. One minute he is called blessed by the Lord and the next he is called Satan. I wonder how long it took for him to live that one down?

The reality is this same thing could happen to any of us. But, if we will learn from Peter’s mistake we can make it less likely. Jesus told Peter he was “… not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." Can you see it? We must keep our mind full of the things of God and not so much the things of men.

It is vital that we cover ourselves in the Word of God because we are living in a world full of voices that are coming at us from almost every direction. These voices come at us even when we aren’t looking for them. Everyone with a social media account like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc. knows what I am talking about. AI tracks us, listens to us and then feeds us things that pique our interests. Some of it is good but a lot of it is a distraction. Sound familiar?

Today, the voices are louder, faster, and more accessible than ever. Culture wants to indoctrinate us. Algorithms and entertainment want to evangelize and disciple us. What happens next is they subtly shape our lives without us realizing it. Many are getting wrong ideas about manhood, womanhood, marriage, sexuality, success, and identity that are completely detached from truth because they haven’t ducked for cover in the Word of God.

Read your Bible every day so you can be “renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:23-24 NKJV

05/01/2026

The Truth About Truth
By Pastor Doug

One day Jesus said to certain Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32) In these verses Jesus gives us the key that does two things, one it produces disciples and two it produces spiritual freedom. That key is truth.

Jesus says His word is truth and we are to abide in it. To abide means to be continuously connected to it, holding on not letting go. In John chapter 15 Jesus uses a metaphor comparing Himself to a Vine and His followers to branches that need to stay connected to Him, to abide in Him. Obviously, a branch detached from the vine will wither and die and believers who detach from a steady intake of His word will wither spiritually. This should make us all realize how important it is to stay connected to God’s Word. It is truth that can make us free and keep us free.

One big problem is we can be deceived about what the truth is. There are all kinds of divides between people based on what they believe to be true or want to be true. Adolf Hi**er said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." Millions believed Hi**er’s lies, and many more millions died because of it.

In Luke 21 Jesus gave His followers a major sign of what would precede His second coming. In Luke 21 Jesus’ disciples asked Him “…when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place? And He said: Take heed that you not be deceived, for many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He’… do not go after them.” In another place He said beware of false Christs for many will come in His name.

I grew up watching black and white television. There was a program called “To Tell The Truth.” A panel of 4 people were to decide based on answers given by 3 people, which one was telling the truth. At the end of each segment the host said, “will the real person stand up.” Many times, both the audience and panel were surprised to see they were wrong. They had been deceived. And so it will be at the end of the age. Billions of people who are following false Christs will find out they have been deceived. That day will come when the real Jesus descends from heaven to rule and reign on earth.

You don’t have to wait that long to find out. I have no doubt Who the real Christ is. It is He Who was born of a virgin, Who turned water to wine and walked on water. It is He who was tempted in every way and yet without sin. He is the One who died on a cross with stripes on His back, a crown of thorns on His head, and nails through His hands and feet. He was dead and buried and then on the third day rose again.

It will be this Christ who will reveal Himself at the end of the age. Not the brother of Lucifer. Not Budha or any other so called Savior. Not the Mahdi that millions of faithful Shia Muslims are looking for. The Shia Muslims believe their Mahdi will come forth in a world filled with chaos. They are willing to die to help the Mahdi come.

So what’s the truth? Well, the truth about the truth is – finding it can be hard, because you have to fight sometimes against the current of family traditions and religion. And there are politics and peer pressure and even arguments in your own head and feelings in your own heart. I suggest trusting what Jesus said. “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." When you experience freedom from guilt and shame because Jesus has washed it away, you know you are on the right track.

04/29/2026

Love this.

04/29/2026