By-His-Stripes.com

10/23/2024

09/02/2024

Here is a quick overview of What God has been doing through By His Stripes at Martin Correctional Institution.
Feel free to share.

06/03/2024

Sanctification is God’s process of cleansing and purifying from unrighteousness. According to 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Too often we settle for forgiveness of sin without entering in to the cleansing and purifying process. This leaves us with hurts, spiritual bo***ge, and defilement that become footholds for the enemy -which can become strongholds. This often leads to a continuous cycle of sin and confession.

Repentance in the Old Testament (teshuva) means to turn away from or to change direction. Repentance in the New Testament (metanoia) means to change one’s thinking. Combining these two thoughts gives us a fuller understanding of what it means to repent: We must have a change of thinking that leads to a change of direction.

To seek forgiveness of sin without a change of thinking or a turning away from it is not full repentance. We cannot truly turn away from sin, however, without dealing with the roots and internal issues that drive it.

Full repentance, then, must involve inner-healing which deals with internal issues like hurts and wrong thinking; deliverance which deals with areas of bo***ge and addiction; and Lordship which involves submission and obedience to God.

05/15/2024

If we do not accept the love of people we will find it impossible to actually accept the love of God.

And since only God is perfect and His love is the only perfect love, accepting the love of people means accepting imperfect love, which is risky.

Imperfect people loving us imperfectly will sometimes include betrayal and breaches of trust and feeling let down.

On the other hand, choosing to trust someone to love us even knowing that there will be moments of let down, opens us up to actually receiving love –both the love of people and the love of God. And as we receive the perfect love of God, we now are able to begin (imperfectly) to love others.

We love (imperfectly) because He loves us (perfectly). Receiving precedes giving.

05/10/2024

When hurting, sinful people come into our churches, we often put pressure on them to change their behaviors and conform to the expected church behavior. And if they cooperate, they are rewarded with being accepted and loved by the congregation. Underneath the new and better behavior, however, they have all kinds of hidden areas of unreconciled sin and guilt. But we’ve taught them to cover it up so that they will be loved and accepted. We’ve taught them to cover the sin issues they are dealing with instead of encouraging them to be transparent and honest in a loving environment where God can reconcile their sins and heal their hearts. We can judge and manipulate people into changing outward behaviors, but only God fixes the deeper problems. When we judge and manipulate instead of loving unconditionally, we by-pass God’s plan for the church.

12/21/2023

Please share this with any friends you think might be interested. Thanks.

07/08/2022

July 2022 Newsletter

https://mailchi.mp/e294a6b3fc7d/steve-pennell-updateby-his-stripes

05/17/2022

My latest email ministry letter:

04/18/2022

Important ministry update:

12/08/2021

BHS e-letter:

11/19/2021

Year-End Donor Match for By His Stripes