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 culture, Devotional, discipleship, discipline

Men without Chests

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭16:13‬ ‭ESV‬‬, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”

C.S. Lewis wrote that we are stuck in a tragi-comedy, a world where morals and virtue are not taught but expected, where ethics are relative to the eye of the beholder. What was true in his day is even more true today.

He wrote:

In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful. —Lewis, The Abolition of Man, pp. 35-37.

Our world is in need of men. Real men. Men who know the Word and step out to change the world. Men who stand for life, for their families, who think not about themselves but the ones they are called to care for. Men who are men indeed, who lead with love and love those they lead. Men with chests.

This is where the church needs to step up. Men who are being discipled to disciple others. Men who are developed, who serve Jesus well, who stand for truth and express love in a balance that is seen in Jesus. Men who become our pastors, deacons, husband’s, and fathers. Men who change lives.

This is the cornerstone of our ministry at Beacon. We have opportunities to grow, to study in the Word personally and collectively. We have shifted to be all about making disciples of men and of women and to be a light to the community around us. As we grow more, we serve more, reach more, and teach more. We can change the world when we do this faithfully and with patience.

I’m excited to be at Beacon Church, yet we’re only getting started. Pray for us as we seek to make men with chests who live and love unselfishly, as we reach Cincinnati and beyond with the gospel.

—Pastor Fran

Fran Trascritti Devotional

Help is Here (a devotional for the heart)

Romans‬ ‭8:26‬ ‭ESV‬‬, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

Too deep from words.

The one who desires Christ but constantly suffers from the sins of the flesh is not beyond saving. The powers of sin over the individual is not sealed. It’s not permanent. The human is not beyond despair. There is no sin greater than His grace.

When a person sees the sinfulness of the flesh, the work of Christ, and the power of the Spirit, that individual has to only step out to submit. The Spirit at work inside him takes over, praying, groaning, convicting, and working in the heart to bring victory to a dark place. O, wretched soul, it is the Lord who saves you, who changes you: nothing else!

Yet we must submit. Our heart, our mind, our soul, should all be ready to let God be sovereign, let Christ be Savior, and let the Spirit work. It is the Trinitarian God that does the saving and more. It is the sanctifying work of the Spirit which makes us to be more and more like Jesus.

O God, You are King. Make us to live for You, in You. Amen.

Pastor Fran

Fran Trascritti bible, Devotional, gospel

Who are you trying to please, anyway?

Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@gunnarro

It was a normal day in the life of King Herod, who was known as a consummate politician. But when he gave the command to slay James, the leader of the newest Jewish sect, The Way, by the sword, he didn’t expect was such a special reaction from his former critics, the Jewish leaders. As a result, he did more to please them even more:

...and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread.
Acts 12:3, ESV


What do we make of this? First, Herod was a slave to adulation from the people. He did anything that he could to earn this admiration, and killing James gave him extra points with the Jewish leaders who opposed Christ. As a result, he arrested Peter to earn more loyalty. He even did it during an important festival, the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

In contrast, Peter had a different view and result: his preaching and ministry was met with vile hatred by the leaders, and he was jailed multiple times for this, including this time. Yet he did not quit preaching Christ.

Ultimately, each man lived radically different and had different outcomes. Peter was freed, able to preach the gospel and share the story of Jesus to many people. Herod, well, he was quickly destroyed, eaten up by worms for accepting the false worship of his followers. This egotistical, power hungry false god fell short, destroyed by the God of the universe that he opposed.

Today, there are many temptations to please people and follow the crowd. It’s common to want to be well liked by people, even to be popular. This is true for anyone, no matter how old or how young the person may be. This can cause people to do things that are man centered instead of being God centered, including compromising truth. And while truth should be shared in love, truth should not be compromised, and truth cannot be changed to avoid hurting a relationship or worse, to be vainly admired by people.

Let’s remember the lesson of Herod: Our goal is to live, love, and walk in a way that pleases God, and sometimes in a fallen world that conflicts with the way of people. Yet we must be faithful, being careful to love and to speak truth. Because above all, God is the One that we please, and God is the One to glorify.

May God be honored with our lives, words, and actions!

Pastor Fran

Fran Trascritti Devotional

No Fear

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
Psalm 118:6, ESV

Photo credit: Valim Bogulov
on Unsplash

No power in the universe can ever overcome the power of God Himself. God’s work to accomplish His will can move mountains and change eternity. This is why no weapon can stand against Him, no barrier can prevent His will from occurring, and no force can overcome the one who trusts in Him.

If you are struggling with fear in your life, also remember this truth: in Christ, we are more than conquerors. We are coheirs of a land that we already own, because of God has given His eternal destination to His own as a rich blessing. Our future is secure when we in Christ are secure in Him.

The fact is that when we worry, it’s more a matter of being about us than being about Him. For example, when we fear, we obsess over our own insecurities rather than focus on the secure mercy of the God over all. When we are in anguish over the things of this world, we forget and cease thinking of the heavenly, uplifting, and edifying things.

Instead, the key to overcoming your fear is to refocus your heart and vision on Him. God gave you His Spirit, so listen to Him. God gave you His perfect love, so rest in it. After all, if perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18), run to God’s amazing love! Dig into His Word, spend time alone with Him, draw near to Him, make God your priority in your heart and mind. And as you do these things, the peace, the encouragement, and the glory of God’s grace will be revealed to you, no matter what the challenge may be in your life at this moment.

Do not fear, for He is with you.

Pastor Fran

Fran Trascritti Devotional, Thirsty Thursdays

Trust God. Even Now.

He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.” Mark 12:27 ESV

God lives. He’s not a dead idol carved out of wood or stone, covered with gold or silver. He’s not a far off ethereal substance that never existed, so there’s no further interaction with the universe.

No. Instead, God is alive. He exists in three persons. He’s the creator and sustainer of all things. He is outside of time (transcendent) and is within time (immanent). And through Him, man received His breath of life.

And because of God’s unique nature, He is involved in our lives. He changes the course of history. He advances His Kingdom. And yes, He affects us. Deeply. Personally. Eternally.

So when we worry about the immediate, we forget about His attributes, His nature, His love for us. We fail to grasp that He is for us, that He knows the outcome of where we are in life, and that has already worked even these things for His glory.

Don’t miss this. God is the God of the living. He is alive. He is active. He is changing you to be more like His Son. No matter what you are feeling, thinking, and struggling with, He is here, present, ready to walk with you as you face whatever challenge is before you.

Trust God. Even Now.

Pastor Fran

Fran Trascritti Devotional, God's Goodness, gospel, Jesus, salvation, Thirsty Thursdays

The Great Rescue Story

Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and he will provide me here and now with more than twelve legions of angels? Matthew 26:53, ESV

It could have been a great rescue story of the Son. He could have called 35,000, 45,000, even 50,000 or more angels to remove Himself from the grasp of His accusers. Jesus could have avoided all of this pain, the mockery, the beatings, the crown of thorns. He could have been rescued from it all.

But this was not the rescue story of Jesus. It was the rescue story of the world.

Jesus made it clear that He was saving us willingly, righteously, and zealously. He willingly endured the hatred, strife, pain, mockery, and even torture at the hands of the Jewish and Roman leaders. He willingly exchanged His sinlessness for our sin, His punishment for our benefit, His death for our life. Jesus did it for us, we who were the ones who placed Him on the cross, we who rebelled against God, sinned against Him, He did it for us. Willingly.

But why? Because of His great love for us. He loved us, so He willingly went to the cross to save us.

He died. We lived.

He suffered. We triumphed.

He was held captive. We became more than conquerors.

Because of Jesus, you have been rescued.

And through faith in Him comes no condemnation, no death, no loss of life.

In Christ, you are rescued. Freedom. Forever.

Pastor Fran

Fran Trascritti Daily Reading, Devotional

This is How We Fight Our Battles

With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. 2 Chronicles 32:8 ESV

When Sennacharib attempted to invade Jerusalem, Hezekiah made ready his defenses. He stopped up the springs, he repaired the wall and built an extra wall, and he mustered the men of the city. Yet, ultimately, in the face of an overwhelming enemy, Hezekiah trusted in the Lord through prayer and supplication.

What happened next was nothing short of miraculous. An angel went into the camp of the Assyrian army and destroyed hundreds of thousands of men. In disgrace, Sennacharib returned to Assyria, and was soon killed by his own sons. The threat was removed and Hezekiah and the people of Judah got to watch God do it all, and He did it for His glory.

What Hezekiah realized and what we can see now is that the battles of earth go beyond the physical. The enemies of God, after all, only see and fight in the physical world, while God does battle in a much greater realm. And no earthly power would ever overtake the armies of the Lord.

Even more, our battles are not just in the flesh. The enemies of God in the spiritual world are on the attack as well. This is why we must fight a spiritual battle with a spiritual army, putting on the armor of God and relying on the Spirit of God to fight for us. The battle, after all, belongs to the Lord!

Praise God, that though we are weak, God is strong. Though we fail, God never fails. Though we get weary and tired, God remains ever vigilant.

Trust in God in complete faith. Let Him be your shield, your plate of armor, and your sword for battle. Abide in Him and His Word of truth. He will be your shield and strength.

This is how we fight our battles.

Pastor Fran

Fran Trascritti bible, Devotional, ministry

Got Wolves?

This morning while reading God’s Word, I came across this passage about the opposition that Nehemiah had when trying to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem:

And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.
Nehemiah 3:5 ESV

Here’s the background behind this text: God gave Nehemiah a clear vision to rebuild the walls, and the Lord even made a way for Nehemiah to have favor and blessings from the king to do this task. So once he came to Jerusalem, the favor continued as the people as a whole followed him. However, not all were on board.

Along with the two riff-raff opponents, Sanballat and Tobiah, the Tekoite nobles didn’t want to be a part of this work. Whether it was pride or fear as the reason for their passive aggressive behavior, we don’t know for sure, but their opposition was big enough of an issue to be mentioned here in Scripture. We can guess, however, that the nobles (who lived in Jerusalem) probably benefited in some way from the exile. These “wolves within the gates” must have thrived on the instability around them and stood much to lose if the rebuilding failed. In other words, they favored the status quo in order to be in the best position to benefit themselves. Of course, the walls and gates were completed in a short period of time, the city was secure, and Nehemiah began to reform the city spiritually and morally once the city was secured physically.

Just as wolves were among the people, we can also see this taking place at times in the church of today. These sort of wolves are named in the New Testament as “waterless clouds” (Jude 12) or even “waterless springs” (2 Peter 2:17). Jesus, of course warned of those “who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15, ESV). People like this are not of the Spirit but of the flesh, and they see the world through the lens of the physical and the political. They seek to place themselves first, and worst of all, they look at God’s work in the church from a worldly, fleshly perspective. Such people harm and destroy ministries and lives. And yes, they are frustrating and discouraging for these leaders, and for good reason: many a leader has fallen victim to attacks by these sort of wolves, even causing some to leave their God given calling. This should not be so.

So, what should you do? Look at Nehemiah’s example. First, he sought the Lord and His vision. Second, he sought help, brining resources and godly people to implement the plan. He ignored critics, focusing on the work in front of him and praying in the Spirit for protection. When he discerned that there were evil people trying to distract them, he moved forward, knowing that a few fleshly opponents of God’s vision cannot be allowed to hijack God’s work before them. Instead, he prayed, focused, and brought entire families to help complete the work.

And complete it they did. His laser like focus remained until the work was finished. His dependence on God led him to further reforms after the walls were completed. And most of all, Nehemiah finished well.

Finish well. Stay in the Word. Bring others with you. Stay encouraged.

Blessings,

Pastor Fran