Fran Trascritti culture, gospel, Jesus

The Time is Now: Wake Up

Romans 13:11–12, Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

The feeds on my social media platform are filled with news of violence and shootings: another school shooting, a young girl brutally murdered on a train, a frame-by-frame video of Charlie Kirk getting shot, and all of it coming at once. It’s an information overload, and when you add in the many wars, political conflicts, and endless vitriol that exist in the world today, it’s overwhelming.

And we must admit one truth that sums up all that we see and hear: Evil exists in our world, and it has permeated everything. We are in darkness and in the night.

Life is fragile, and evil is real, and an existence can be ended by a virus or by an assassin’s knife or bullet. Despite many being desensitized by the media we consume, there is still a reality that life is precious and tenuous. The world is not some virtual place. Instead, it’s real, and it’s a dark, often chaotic place, with injustices and intolerable pain all around. And in this reality of the world we live in, no justification, no drama, no snarky politicizing matters.

We are in the same state: we live in a world where death, destruction, and chaos reign for the present time, and, unfortunately, no new laws, no new movements will change that significantly. And why is that? Because, to borrow a phrase from history, “We have met the enemy and the enemy is us.” No man-made action or reaction can cure the enemy of sin within us.

Sin reigns in the world, and it breeds chaos, killings, and a sea of violence. No one is immune from its power, no one is free of its influence. We sin because we are sinful, and though we pick our own pet sins to lobby against, the truth is all sin is vile, horrific, and endlessly destructive. Left to our own, we maim, injure, and hurt ourselves and others. And along the way, we justify it, doing mental gymnastics to excuse it, and even normalize it. We feel so enlightened and proud, and yet we are participants in the common destruction around us because of our sin. Our pride leads us to our doom. This is the way of the world and of the evil one, and this has been the way since the Garden.

But don’t miss the point that there is hope. While no law, movement, or politician can ever save us from ourselves, the eternal God-man, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, can. He did not come to condemn the world, but to save it. He came to restore what is the will of God, bringing a reconciliation between God and man, changing the future of each individual in a corrupted and decaying world.

It is this Jesus who snatched life from death, eternity from the temporal, and has brought hope to the despondent. This Jesus, who lived, died, and rose again, was witnessed by many who refused to deny it even under the threat of death. This Jesus, who many mock, came to save the world, and He is available for anyone to receive Him as Lord and Savior. This Jesus, who stands against evil and the chaos of its effects, brings peace, life, and hope to a lost and dying world.

Yes, this Jesus. And He calls you to wake from your sleep and become one of His own.

You don’t have to be alone in your sins, alone in the fear of the world’s random acts of violence. You don’t have to be a slave to the anxiety that rages within you or the depression that covers over you. Jesus is here and takes you through what you experience as a broken human in a broken world. He made a way for you to change your life and direction for the future. He made a way for your forgiveness, your restoration, and your eternal future with Him.

Receive or rededicate yourself to Him. It’s a life change you will never regret, a change that affects the world now and heaven tomorrow. A life change for eternity.

Pastor Fran

Fran Trascritti bible, discipleship, gospel, Jesus, ministry

It’s Just Not the Same…

A few years ago during the time of Covid, Major League Baseball, like any other professional sports, had a problem. They wanted to resume playing, but they viewed that having fans in the stands was a risk to spreading the virus further. Their solution was to put cutouts of smiling fans, simulating a crowd, complete with a crowd noise, in an attempt to make it all feel “normal.”

Yet it was, of course, far from normal. It just wasn’t the same thing and might have been a bitter reminder of the daily environment the world had been experiencing. The stands remained lifeless: there was no participation and no human interaction. In fact, the games felt empty, contrived, and cold.

This was an admirable attempt, but like it or not, fans are a part of the game. And nothing would ever replace the human element of a baseball fan. Fans change the game in a variety of ways.

As believers, we are not just cardboard spectators on the sideline. We are part of God’s work, His workmanship designed to do His work once we come to Christ. We take the gospel and bring it to the masses, changing hearts, lives, and eternity.

John the Baptist said as much when He confronted the Pharisees, who pridefully boasted about their supposed top tier place in the Kingdom:

Matthew 3:9 ESV, “And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”

In other words, don’t think so highly of yourselves, because after all, God can make replacements who do what you do out of rocks! Pedigrees mean nothing concerning the Kingdom. Instead, repent and bear fruit in accordance with your newfound faith.

Continuing this thought, then, just sitting in the crowd means nothing. Isaiah 40:15 ESV says,

“Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.”

Get off the sideline, because just being in the crowd might feel safe and secure for the moment, but it really is empty. Anyone and everyone can be in the crowd (after all, it is a crowd). Jesus called this state following  the wide path that leads to destruction, while He offers a more narrow way that leads to life. Being a part of Jesus means stepping out of what feels comfortable and secure and going to what is truly safe and secure.

God is calling His people to an active, vibrant life in Him. Is this life going to be perfect? Nope. Uncomplicated? Of course not. But as God calls you to a life with hope and peace and you follow Him, your life will change forever. After all, it’s only through Jesus Christ’s work on the cross and His grace that leads to everlasting life. And it’s available to all who call on Him.

Let this encourage you to step and stretch yourself in Him like never before. Step out of the crowd. Step into an abundant life in Christ. Step into bearing fruit from your repentant heart and soul.

To God be the glory!

Pastor Fran

Fran Trascritti Devotional, discipline, intimacy, Seeking God

Conquering the spirit

Proverbs 16:32 ESV‬ [32] Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

There are many conquerors of cities, states, and nations, but it is a rare few who can conquer the heart. The best of men are men at best, and even the greatest of kings were deeply, tragically flawed. The world is never enough, and the temporal things of this planet never satisfy for long. And when men pursue nothing but the temporary, they will leave this world empty, lost, and miserable.

This is why this proverb is so fitting. The world can see and count successes and failures, measured by their own standard. Yet God looks at the heart, and what might appear weak to the natural spirit is first in the Kingdom.

So how do your conquer your lawless spirit? It might seem easy to say that it’s about discipline. Yet self-control is impossible if not for God’s sanctifying work. In fact, self-control is the last fruit of the Spirit, a life long effort of focus, submission, and finally, surrender. Your spirit must submit to the Spirit.

Our loss of self-control is directly tied to our distance from God. When we draw hear to Him, He brings us close, but when we shut our eyes and ears to His workings, He keeps us at a distance, free to be disciplined by the fallen world, pressed until we return to His goodness, grace, and mercy.

You are more than a conqueror, turn to the Master of Your soul. Draw close to Him as you let go of the things of this world. Let God do His work as You seek first His Kingdom.

In Him,

Pastor Fran

Fran Trascritti Pastors, Seeking God

Why I’m taking a break…

All of us should know how important it is to take time to think, to pray, and to refresh in order to be effective in their daily life. Days off are important. Vacations are important. A period of reset is incredibly important.

At key points in my life, I have been blessed to have taken time to reflect and seek the Lord, and He has always spoken in one direction or another. Time away from the grind and towards the Spirit’s leading is essential, and these past ten days have been especially fruitful.

I’m coming off of a much needed vacation, and God has spoken to me that I need to confess and adjust. What do I need to confess? Here it is: I’m confessing my over-scheduled life, my addiction to screen time, and my lack of deep, meaningful, and worshipful prayer time with the Lord.

My daily grind has been more secular than spiritual, more world than the Word, and though I have taken great steps to not fall into the “flesh trap” of doing ministry apart from the Spirit, I fear that I have been heading there. What’s worse is that after a year and a half of a daily grind to revitalize a church and turn our focus to gospel centeredness, I realize now that the greatest tragedy is the lack of the power of the Spirit of Christ in the work. And apart from Him, we can do nothing.

That’s why I am taking a break. Not from ministry and not from my church, but I’m deemphasizing activities in my life that take me away from the two greatest loves: God and people. This means less screen time, less social media, less TV, and yes, less email, text, and FB messenger. I’m instead replacing it with other things: more activities that involve me seeking to read, pray, reflect, care, share, and love life and those around me. I’ll focus less on postings and more on people. Less on “efficiency.” Less quantity, more quality. More on life. More on eternal life.

My hope is to be better, to be ever more focused on Christ and His abundant life rather than getting sucked into an inferior substitute that the world offers. This is why for the summer at least and possibly longer, I’m disengaging from social media. I’m removing it from my phone, even in some cases, deactivating some accounts.

I ask you to pray for me as I begin again at Beacon Church this week to renew our call to the gospel. Pray for a new focus, for renewed faithfulness, and for a proclaimed future in Christ, both in me and through me.

Blessings,

Pastor Fran

Fran Trascritti bible, culture, gospel, Jesus, Missions

Building on the Foundation at Beacon Church

Years ago, Teresa and I found out some horrible news. The house that we were living in had been renovated a few years before by the prior owner, and for some reason, we began to see stains that popped up on the kitchen floor. The stains grew bigger and bigger, and eventually, we started to see moisture from a wall. Because it looked like it might have been a water leak, I called the plumber and he quickly determined the cause of the problem: an old ice maker valve that had been attached to a pipe in a wall had begun to leak, and when they did the renovation of the house, the drywall was built around the pipe. What a terrible realization!

The leak that came from that pipe dripped throughout the kitchen, soaking all of the interior structure beneath the floor of the kitchen. In other words, all of the supporting studs were waterlogged, causing damage, destruction, and ultimately, danger for our family. Thankfully, insurance took care of everything, and soon we had workers who literally took apart our kitchen and went to the very foundation of the house to put in a new kitchen. We spent most of the weeks throughout the holidays cooking our meals on hot plates and depending on the microwave- even for our Thanksgiving meal! However, eventually, that section of the house was rebuilt, and we had a safe, beautiful place to live in: in other words, the house was better than ever before!

Now let’s apply this example to our church. When our church first began our revitalization journey years ago, some very important structural things needed to be done at Beacon. And God used Pastor Ron and many of you to make these important changes for the greater good of the gospel. Some very difficult decisions had been made, including a name change, building updates, and all this through a pandemic. It was indeed a hard journey to dig deep, get strategic, and lay foundations in preparation for the next steps as a church.

And that’s where we were when I arrived at Beacon Church one year ago. Since then, we have carefully laid a solid foundation of discipleship and fellowship at our church. In fact, nearly everyone in our church body is either in a Sunday morning small group that studies the Bible, or in our Wednesday night Bible study, or is involved in the Big Bible Challenge—and some of you are in all three! We have been intentional about having more fellowship, bonding with one another in love, supporting and knowing one another intimately, and focusing on having community as a body of Christ. These are all important foundational things in a solid, healthy church.

So what’s next? Clearly, we need to build on our foundation of discipleship: evangelism and missions. We currently are thankful that we have guests almost every week at our church, and many return to visit again. Yet there’s a need for our community that we cannot ignore: within a ten-minute drive of our church, at least 100,000 people do not worship anywhere, and many of whom do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And because we now have the ability to disciple and receive people, we need to shift to focus on creating a culture of missions and evangelism to reach our neighbors. This means that there will be training on how to share your faith, we will be improving our greeter/welcome ministry, our process for guest follow-up will be updated, and we will offer opportunities for you to serve and to share Christ in local, national, and international mission efforts. This includes a planned international missions trip in late summer/early fall (details coming soon).

Church, the West Side of Cincinnati and beyond needs Jesus, and the time is now. We’ve already laid a foundation through God and His Word, and it’s time to continue the build on this as we welcome people into our home. It’s exciting to see this happening before our eyes! I believe that we can be better than ever before as a church, but it will take your intentional effort to fulfill God’s potential in you. I believe that we can see lives transformed, families changed, and the continued presence of God’s Spirit seen among us. Please pray, seek God, and ask him how he will involve you in such a great task as to reach the West side and beyond with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Together, we can do this!

In love and faith,

Pastor Fran

Fran Trascritti bible, discipline, Jesus, Seeking God

Need to make a Decision? Wait.

It’s so easy to choose the easy way.

We live in a world of choices, and often, we want to take the most reasonable one, a way that causes the least amount of pain, a way that brings comfort, prosperity, and even a feeling of peace for the moment.

Yet this temptation is deceiving, the pleasure temporary. We shouldn’t envy the world or the men who are taken by the world’s definition of success, and we certainly shouldn’t emulate them as believers. In fact, the very definition of success within the Kingdom is different, and proclaims a better way:

‭‭‭‭‭‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3:31‭-‬32‬ ‭ESV‬‬, “Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways, for the devious person is an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are in his confidence.“

Man’s ways may seem right, but God’s ways are well above them. When we prioritize listening to God, we will see His righteousness reign in and through us. God the Spirit leads, His wisdom guides, and His uprightness becomes our confidence as He leads us to choose His way, even when our smallest decisions seem mundane or meaningless. Choices matter, and our micro actions match our priorities as deceit is cast aside, violence is abhorrent, and holiness is upheld. And yes, God is glorified.

So do you need to make a decision? Get in His Word, pray for guidance, and seek godly counsel. Look at each choice, not from a human-centered, cerebral and emotional standpoint, but from God’s perspective. Be deliberate, not hurried when thinking about what to do.

And especially keep in mind that when you are tempted to drift and take another way, He often calls you to the road less traveled instead, a way that advances the gospel way of life.

Praying for you,

Pastor Fran

Fran Trascritti gospel, Jesus

Did Jesus Have a Crisis of Faith?

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭27:46‬ ‭ESV‬‬, And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

As a young Christian, I came across this passage and for a long time struggled over its meaning. What was Jesus saying here? Did He give up, overwhelmed at the pain on the cross? Was He done with it all? Even more, was He having a crisis of faith?

Not knowing my Bible, I wrestled with this passage, especially reading it out of context. But as I grew in my faith and read my Bible more and more, I began to connect the Old Testament with the New. I would also dig deeper to research passages like this one. One thing that I realized is about how people in Jesus’s day would quote Scripture: they would recite the first few words of the text as a reminder of the rest of the message. For example, the Shema (hear) was a reference to Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”

And as we go to what Jesus said on the cross, we see this same statement as the first line of Psalm‬ ‭22, “[1] My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” Going further into this psalm, we can see that this text points to Christ and his cross. He was the One who bore our sins, and He did it with unbearable pain. And in case there was a doubt of what He was doing, while in the middle of His pain and suffering, Jesus referred to this psalm. He wasn’t having a crisis of faith, He was reciting this psalm, clearly making a declaration of faith!

The result is miraculous. His death gave us life. His life gave us eternity. His righteousness was placed on a people, even those not yet born. And for those who believe, they have the right to be called children of God (John 1:12). Surely He has done this!

As a result of His magnificent work, we are faced with a choice whether or not to respond, and our response should be nothing but faith in Him. We are saved, not automatically, not universally, but particularly, by the power of grace and the conduit of faith. Believe and be saved, trust and live forever.

Jesus, the One and Only, did this for you. He died, was buried, and rose again, verified by many witnesses. May you see His glorious sacrifice, respond to His offer of forgiveness, repent and be changed forever.

Pastor Fran

Fran Trascritti ministry, Pastors

Stop Trying to be Famous!

Years ago at a gathering of church leaders, I ran across a young man and immediately could see that he was a guy who was trying to climb the “ladder.” He entered the large lobby, chewing on a piece of gum, hair done perfectly right, clothing in style, and spoke to no one. No one, except those who in his mind, mattered. He quickly climbed that so-called ladder, rose to more influential, higher paying, and well known positions, and appeared to be set. At least from a fleshly perspective.

Years later, this young man would fail morally, losing his ministry position, and falling into relative obscurity. His fall was faster than his rise.

In the Book of Genesis, there is an interesting description of the people post-flood and how they reacted to God’s commands to multiply and fill the earth: Genesis 11:4 (ESV), “4 Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.'”

The people were commanded to fill the earth, but they intended to do the opposite. They were to be a world that would praise YHWH’s name, but they sought to elevate their own. In other words, the Kingdom of God would have to wait, because, after all, they were out for themselves.

Ministry is no place for names to be made. It’s no place for famous people. In fact, it should be the opposite. For a church leader, there’s only one name that needs to be elevated, and that is the saving name of Jesus. People don’t go to my church but Christ’s church, people don’t need to worship their pastor, but Jesus and only Jesus.

Brother, sister, stop trying to be famous. Vanity is vapid and the praise of man is folly. God will not share His glory with you or any other, so move on. Instead, join with me as we seek to go deeper in our walk, loving people who may not always love us, and share what it means to serve a holy God in a whole hearted way.

Pastor Fran

Fran Trascritti ministry

What is revitalization, anyway?

A few years ago, my wife and I did something crazy. We bought a house, gutted a good chunk of it, and started over. What we realized was that the basic foundation was good—the walls, the subfloor, the electrical even, but most everything else needed to be changed. With the help of some handymen, we removed walls, replaced plumbing, built cabinets, and changed the house into a home. It was tough work, but a labor of love, so much that when we moved back to Cincinnati, we bought a house that needed the same work, even more!

When it comes to the church, pastors and leaders are often in a labor of love. And yet, because the conditions of the church, the approach to transforming a church to health can look much, much different. In other words, there’s no one size fits all.

That said, there’s a difference between the terms restart (or replant) and revitalization. The term restart, for example, is just that: it is a process of completely removing existing structures in the church and starting over. The founding documents are redrawn, new leadership is brought in, the building is transferred, and the church reexists, yet completely different than the existing one. Often, the new church is considered a plant or a replant, with the exception being that the new church has ownership and possession of the existing building and assets.

Revitalization is much, much different. It is the process of keeping much of the existing church, making major changes in the structure, focus, and methodologies, and clearing a pathway so that disciplemaking can begin again. It’s plowing the field to allow the scattered seeds of the gospel to flourish and grow. This is painful, and church leaders need to know that revitalization is not a matter of rebranding…it’s a return to gospel centeredness.

Philippians 2:3–4 (ESV), “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

When we are talking about making such major changes, the passage above is so appropriate. Both methods, whether replanting and revitalization, have their challenges, but humility is key. With the right heart, breakthroughs in the attitudes and motivations can be made within the congregation. Honest conversations can occur. And with these breakthroughs and conversations, a spirit of deference such as in Phil 2:3-4 can permeate in the church!

After working with churches to grow in their leader and disciplemaking efforts, I’m now pastoring a small church that has been going through the process of revitalization. Like our work in renovating our houses, church revitalization is truly a labor of love. Our breakthroughs have come and more are to come. Yet, we are seeing progress in the gospel! In just a little under three months, people are coming to Jesus, lives are being changed, and gospel centeredness is ruling the day. The church feels alive, the members are encouraged and active, and though we have far to go, we can see our church being a light for the community through the lives of real people. May God use us to reach the West Side of Cincinnati and beyond!

Pastor Fran

Fran Trascritti Devotional, Jesus, Judgment Day

Be Encouraged. Get Busy.

For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; Psalm 94:14 ESV

In Psalm 94, there is a simple question being asked, “How long would the wicked prevail?” After all, injustice is everywhere, pain rules the day, and man has inflicted evil on man each and every day.

The immediate answer is also shown in this psalm: God knows all about the injustice. Don’t forget that He was the one who made the ear and created the eye, and He sees, hears, and knows it all. He hasn’t forgotten us or forsaken us. Instead, it is a matter of His perfect timing, because one day, His full righteousness will prevail and His judgment will take place as evil is destroyed. And at that time, His people will see that He has been with them all along, guiding them until His day of redemption. So we must wait.

Yet this waiting is not easy, because this fallen world has continued to exist for a very long time! Even today, we can easily see confusion, mayhem, destruction, and death in our culture. People are getting even horribly creative with committing sin, seeking pleasure and not purpose, seeking self love and not love for God and others. They are literally doing what is right in their own eyes, and even having the audacity and lack of shame to call it good. Sweet. Perfect.

But we know better, because Christ is better. We run to Him and His Word to stay encouraged and resilient. We look to His Spirit to strengthen us, to hold on to His promises, to look for Christ’s return. We stay focused on the truth that God will have the ultimate triumph over evil, over Satan, over sin. We embrace the fact that God will restore the earth to align with His will, and we hold on to that without wavering.

Christian, remain steadfast, remember that Christ will return one day to initiate the Day of the Lord. In the meantime, be encouraged and be busy: get out there, sowing and planting, working and harvesting, waiting for the final trumpet call and the glory of Christ to appear. Don’t be inactive but be active in your faith and life. Don’t be discouraged, but be encouraged. Jesus is coming, and we have much to do until He comes. And He alone will prevail with all of His glory. Amen.