"From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force." Matthew 11:12

Dear Friends and Family,

The span of time between the death of John the Baptist and when Jesus originally spoke these words was probably about 18 months.  However, the span of time between the author's inspired canonical work and now is close to a couple millennia, and yet, the truth of God's immutable Word remains!

The Christian life is not a calm, serene existence that flows into the Kingdom of God as one would "go with the flow" down a meandering stream during the dog-days of summer.  One cannot sleep his way into heaven.  On the contrary, the obedient Christian life is a brutal, bloody battle that is fought with earnest sweat and tears, unyielding energy, pain, and the utmost exertion.  It takes uncompromising men and women who are willing to fight and conquer our satanic enemy and take more than a few shots themselves for the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom is not for spiritual weaklings, waverers, or wimps.  It is not for Balaam, the rich young ruler, Pilate, Judas, or Demas.  It is not won through lack of prayer, unfulfilled promises, self exaltation, independence, or wide-road travelers.  It is for enduring men and women who are willing to deny themselves, pick up the cross of Christ, and fight the good fight of faith.  It’s for men like Joseph, Elijah, Nathan, Daniel, Timothy, the Peter of Acts, Stephen, and Paul.  Oh, and let's not forget our rich history of strong, valiant women as well such as Ruth, Deborah, Esther, and Lydia.  Yes, for the Kingdom of God to press forward, it must be done with vigor and with an attitude of violence against our foes.  "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Comfort and serenity are not for the Christian...at least not in this life.  There are too many hills called Difficulty awaiting our summiting energies.  At the same time, there are too many Giants of Despair and Apollyons waiting to kill and dismember (the) Christian and (the) Hopeful for us to take shortcuts through By-Pass Meadow or to remain still and unconscious on the Enchanted Ground.  Intensifying the fight are the ever-present voices from Vanity Fair calling out to us with an alluring enticement:  "Abandon your Calling, put down your weapons of war and enjoy the pleasures of this world…eat, drink be merry!"  Can you hear them?  Tempting aren't they?  When our zeal wavers and conviction begins to wander, what do we do?  We must flee these temptations and cling to the cross of Calvary once again.  "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." 1 Peter 3:18 Will we travel the King's Highway as He has commanded us?  Will we reside with the hedonistic pleasure-seekers and unrepentant sinners after all He has done for us?  How could we possibly betray Him in such a manner and say that we love Him?  "If you love me, you will obey what I command."  John 14:15

The Call is ever-upward...further up and further in (sorry...mixing stories there)...until we at last reach the dark but sting-less River of Death, shallow or deep depending upon our faith, we will cross over it by the Grace of God and appear before the gates of that Celestial City…the city not made with human hands.  Names written in the Lambs Book of Life before the foundation of the world will be read and heard.  Entrance will be attained (only) for those redeemed through the finishing work of Jesus Christ.

So where are you today, Christian reader?  Are you bogged down in the muck and mire of the Slough of Despond?  Are you tired and paralyzed on the Enchanted Ground?  Have you lost your way, fighting discouragement and confusion in Doubting Castle, or perhaps you are succumbing to the lustful and idolatrous environment of a Vanity Fair?  If so, I would encourage you to return to the narrow road that Christ originally called you to.  Let's retrace our tracks back to where we lost our way and then continue forward and upward.  In so doing, let's pray that the Lord finds us just like Mr. Valiant-For-Truth was found...faithful and bloodied, on the road to the Celestial City, with sword and scroll firmly in hand.  Heaven awaits the progressing pilgrim!

BCCO Conference Report

The Biblical Counseling Center of Okanogan held its second annual conference on January 28th and 29th at the Tonasket Free Methodist Church.  Overall the conference went very well as we had an excellent team of plenary speakers who delivered Biblically sound, passionate, and relevant messages:  Pastor Jeff Moorehead, Senior Pastor of Christ's Church in Federal Way, spoke on the importance of having a Biblically accurate theology and how that theology trickles off onto everything else in life including Biblical counseling and discipleship.  Pastor Jim Low, Counseling Pastor of Christ's Church in Federal Way, spoke on the eight "I's" of Biblical counseling as he laid out for us a practical and applicable model and methodology for true and effective counseling.  Pastor Ben Marshal, Counseling Pastor of Canyon Hills Community Church in Bothell, spoke on the importance and function of avoiding sexual sin and how destructive sexual sin truly is in the life of a Believer.  Pastor Gene Hunt, Pastor of Men's Ministry at Christ's Church in Federal Way, spoke on how vital it is to be enthusiastically engaged in the process of progressive sanctification as we are being prepared for an eternity with Christ.  These men did an excellent job, and we would consider ourselves blessed to have them back again next year.

We had pastors, elders, and laymen come from as far away as Spokane and Wenatchee as we all enjoyed a profitable time of teaching and fellowship.  It took many hands to push on this plow and to get the job done, and we are thankful for them all.  We are prayerfully considering a third annual conference next year at this same time.  As always and with everything…Deo Volente.

Ministry News

In our previous newsletter we asked for help and prayer in regards to some of our physical needs that we were facing as a ministry.  We have a wonderful report to share with you now.  First, by the time you receive this newsletter around the 1st of March, we should have received a large, portable generator sufficient to meet all of our backup electrical needs here.  The provision for this generator came in late January/early February, and we are very thankful to be able to have an adequate means of providing backup power for our water supply.  As you all know, heat is a relatively easy thing to generate with firewood and stoves.  Light is fairly easy to provide with lanterns and flashlights.  In a pinch, cooking can be done on wood stoves or propane BBQ's, but not having water flowing gets really old, really quick.  When the power goes out for any serious length of time we find out just how hearty the pioneers of old really were!

This next bit of news is very exciting.  By God’s Grace, we were able to pay off TFR's mortgage debt in total.  That's right, TFR is now debt free.  We received a gift right at the end of the year that enabled us to pay off the remaining $8,500.00 mortgage balance.  Again, by the time that you receive this newsletter, we should have received our mortgage title marked "paid in full"!

What this means is that, Lord willing, we can now start moving towards ministry expansion.  More housing means more staffing and a greater ability to serve the wounded and the hurting.  Throughout this first decade of TFR's existence it has been a difficult thing to try and pay down a debt and also invest in the growth and maturation of TFR's facility simultaneously.  As the need for TFR's services pressed in, we've borrowed houses and did everything we could to try and facilitate greater ministry capacity.  We were tempted on more than one occasion to grab all of our equity and reinvest it in the ministry for facility expansion.  With the current economic conditions of our country, we are glad we didn't although we did disappoint some by not expanding quickly enough.

Nevertheless, we are now going to attempt to build...one step at a time.  When we are able to save the first 5k, we will drill our next needed well.  When we can save up our next 5k, we will put in our electricity.  Excavation for the building will be next, followed by foundations, framing, etc.  There will be no huge fundraisers and no strategic solicitation plans.  We will build as we have the provision to build.  We will pray for the provision for this expansion and will keep you all up to date with the progress so that you can also pray for this provision.

Our goal has never been a rippin’ fast start but rather a very long stay.  The needs that TFR is meeting with the Gospel of Jesus Christ are only going to be increasing as we progress deeper into these last days.  If provision comes quickly, then we will be able to build quickly.  If it comes slowly, then our building process will move slowly, but our commitment will remain the same as it has always been:  We will continue to be as faithful with what the Lord has entrusted to our care as we possibly can be.

Valley of Vision

So, what's the vision for TFR over the next decade or so?  Well, again, the Lord willing, we would like to see TFR expand it's ministry services.  It seems that no faithful ministry can ever meet all of the need that it faces.  So, our goal is to do the best with what we have while still trying to expand to meet more.  We are doing that right now.

Next, taking a proactive approach to Biblical counseling is high on our priority list.  We would like to be able to form alliances with those colleges and churches that are offering Biblical counseling training/courses/degrees for their congregants and/or students.  Unfortunately, there aren't as many out there as one would think.  We believe that one of the major challenges that these churches and academic institutions face is providing relevant, hands on internship experiences for their students and graduate students.  One of the major challenges that we face is finding likeminded, young adults with Biblical counseling convictions, who want to learn and engage themselves in front lines, real world, counseling situations.  We have more opportunity for Biblical counseling experience than you can shake a bible at!

Therefore, our hope is that we will be able to cooperate together to be able to meet more needs while at the same time facilitate the training of more Biblical counselors.  Our lack of facility space has been the greatest hindrance to this cooperation so far.  We've had a number of "Christian" colleges with "Christian" counseling programs inquire into this kind of relationship with TFR, but when they learn of our Biblical/nouthetic counseling stance/practice, they are reluctant to go that route and lose the funding that is often associated with providing a program of study that facilitates state licensure for their students.  Yes, there is a large and significant difference between typical Christian counseling and Biblical or nouthetic counseling.  The former uses secular psychology and mingles/integrates it with Biblical principles, the latter does not, believing that the use of the Scriptures are alone sufficient.  Sola Scriptura!

Because of the integrative approach of many Christian counseling programs, colleges bowing the knee to secular psychology can still qualify their students and even their programs for state licensing and funding.  In my opinion, this is yet another example of how money is polluting and compromising so-called "Christian" colleges and moving them away from their Bibles.  It is an unequally yoked partnership that will inevitably injure and destroy the Biblical efficacy of the institution.  The words of the English Puritan preacher Thomas Watson, ring out today just as clearly as they rang out from him in the middle of 17th century:  "The blood of Christ will not wash if it is mingled with anything.  Let Christ's blood be pure and unmixed--and then there is no spot which it cannot wash away!" The issue that faces the counseling community that professes Christ as Lord and Savior is one of Scriptural sufficiency.  How does a person truly change?  What is the process?  Who or what is the change agent?  For the non-organic, non-physiological issues of life that plague each and every one of us, there is only one answer, and we as Christians must not compromise or bend to the bribes and whisperings of the world.  Lives truly are on the line.  "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD." Isaiah 31:1

Your prayers and participation in this work of the Lord are truly solicited.  Here is a list of our 3 most urgent prayer requests:

• That the Lord would bring likeminded and Biblically minded people and churches to lock arms with TFR for service, encouragement, and support.
• That the Lord would bring increase to our limited ability to house and accommodate hurting people.
• That the Lord would continue to protect and provide for all serving at TFR, in whatever capacity or role they may be in.

We are simply not equipped to do the work of the Lord without the Lord of the Work enabling us.

Your faithful participation, in whatever capacity the Lord may lead, is of utmost value to us.  Thank you for your participation and sacrificial love.  You are greatly appreciated.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Craig Lofthus