ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

CAN YOU SEE THEM?  THE FINGERPRINTS OF GOD?  They are all over this earth, more than ever before … if you will just look!  Actually, how can anyone not see that God is writing His story in these days?  His perfect will in heaven, is being carried out on earth in these present days!  Do you see?  God is revealing Himself like never before, and we are witnesses in front-row seats.  Yet, we dare not just sit and look.  God’s plan is that we will be awakened, and stirred to arise.  To be activated to shine as He writes our names into this present-day story, putting us as main characters on the front-lines – or main characters behind the scenes.  To God, each of our parts in His ultimate plan is just as important as the others!  Dear people, do you realize that God could simply with one flourish of His hand write His story without our help?  But He desires to have us be with Him wherever He is at work ~ and so He calls  us to be a part of what He is doing on earth in these days.  Will we answer?

These are perilous, treacherous days filled with evil.  And yet, these are exciting, blessed and favored days!  We could very well be the generation that is physically raptured from this earth and caught up to meet Jesus in the skies as He comes to take us Home!  What a day that will be, children of God!!

God’s Word says that in the last days people will be inventors of evil things (Romans 1:30).  Can you think of anything more evil than just walking up to a child in a crowded, public place and throwing him off a three-story balcony to the floor below?  Just because you decided you want to kill someone that day?  It seemed like a certain death sentence for that little boy.  But … enter GOD!  This evil act took place on a world stage.  The world is well aware of the Mall of America.  And the media streams events live – and instantaneously the world knows what just took place.  As soon as I heard about this horrific act of evil, I pleaded with God for the life of little five year old Landen – that God would spare him and heal him supernaturally and raise him up miraculously for all the world to see that OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!  He has always been – and will always be, the One and only force to be reckoned with at the end of the day.  What Satan meant for evil and harm … was turned around for God’s glory when He showed up!  How I love that this little boy’s church rallied around him and his family and prayed, as well as millions of believers around the world!  Result:  his doctors say that his injuries are typical of those received from falling off a bicycle – not from being hurled three stories off a balcony!  How could the world refute a real live miracle?  GOD’S FINGERPRINTS!!

Just open up your newspaper, or read the news on your phone or watch it on TV … and you will see the marks of God’s fingerprints all over this earth! God is revealing Himself in every walk of life!  Protection in the midst of violent storms and in mass shootings and bombings in public places.  Christian movies in the theatres, like UNPLANNED, forecasted by the world to be a fail … but after viewing it in its opening days, over one hundred employees of abortion clinics sought help as their eyes were opened to the evil of this slaughter of innocent babies.  They now are choosing life over death.  And I am sure those numbers are climbing.  A win for God’s plan to give His creation a hope and a future.  GOD’S FINGERPRINTS!!

Doctor’s diagnoses amongst our own church family:  blood clot in the lung of a husband; mass thought to be cancer in the lung of his wife; major weakness and a pacemaker procedure; tests for tumors and Parkinson’s; cervical cancer surgery; back surgery; torn retina; major injury of fingers in table saw accident; and many more not disclosed, but prayed for as unspoken requests!  And the list of prayer requests constantly streams in – for tests yet coming up and the anxiety of the unknown; the needs for housing and provision; for healing of loved ones; for salvation of loved ones; for strength and the desire to be Christlike in all things.  When we feel fear or hopelessness … God shows up!  What happens?  Doctors cannot find the blood clot; there is no cancerous mass – just an infection; no evidence of tumors or Parkinson’s; miraculous results in the other surgeries and procedures; and as the needs continue to flow in, so does God’s supernatural blessing and favor flow out to those who need His touch.  Is God alive and real at Elevation North?  Ask our church family!  GOD’S FINGERPRINTS are all over us!! 

God IS writing His story all over the earth in these days … and that includes our stories!  Don’t you love having the God of all creation co-author your story?  Yes, we are writing it by our decisions, choices, and actions … and by our obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ who leads us, empowers us, and protects us!  THANK GOD FOR HIS FINGERPRINTS in our lives!!

REMEMBER . . .

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

~Isaiah 41:10  

Joyfully Serving Christ . . .

Pastor Doug & Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEW for YOU!

THE STORY IS TOLD of a true journey that took place many years ago.  It seems the snow was falling as the missionary drove away from the small South Korean village.  His visit with the single pregnant woman was short because he had Christmas Eve services to perform in his own village five miles away.  In the middle of the night her labor pains began.  Being young and afraid, the mother decided to try to walk to the home of the missionary.  As the light snowfall turned into a storm, she found shelter underneath an old bridge, where she gave birth to a son.  The next morning, the missionary rushed to see how the woman was, but his car broke down.  As he continued his journey on foot, he heard a faint cry as he crossed the bridge.  Scrambling below, he found a baby wrapped in his mother’s clothes, and the frozen naked mother beside the child.  The missionary adopted the little boy and every year on Christmas Day they would visit the grave of the brave mother.  On the boy’s 12^th birthday, as they came upon the grave, the boy asked the missionary to remain at a distance.  The missionary, in unbelief, watched as the boy took off all his clothes and sat in the snow of his mother’s grave.  The dear child cried out, “Mother, were you colder than this for me?”  (Daily Readings from Spiritual Classics, Hammerling)

Powerful story, huh?  Powerful lesson!  I cannot help but think of the similarity of God’s deep love for us, His children.  Yet, there were some distinct differences – Jesus’ mother could not shelter her son this time.  All his growing up years, she had been there to care for him. To kiss away the bruises and the hurts, to run her fingers through his curly, tousled hair.  She had watched with joy his special gifts, and yet there were many times she just did not understand the depth of this child – this Child who was more than just her little boy.  Jesus.  Yes, Jesus . . . who would become the Savior.  I think she had some knowledge of the pain she would endure watching her son die.  Needing to be obedient to God’s will for mankind, there was nothing she could do to spare him.  She would have gladly found a bridge to hover beneath and hide him from the inevitable death by crucifixion – if she could have.  But instead, she stood silently by, her lips moving in prayer.  This was the best way she knew how to show her love – and she would stand nearby until the final breath.  This was her son, and she would never desert him – no matter what the high priest and Jewish officials had done.  Soldiers tried to shove her ever further away, but she stood her ground.  “This is my son, and I will not leave him,” she said.  Yet, she gave him to the world.  You see, ultimately, Jesus was God’s Son, God’s gift to all of mankind.  Still, I can’t help but think what a sacrificial gift Mary gave.  Any mother’s heart would agree.

The scenery, the surroundings were different, too.  There was no bridge for shelter . . . but there was a hill – and a rough hewn cross.  There was no snowstorm . . . but the clear skies turned dark in the middle of the afternoon.  There was a loving mother . . . but she could not save him.  There was a Father . . . and He could have saved him, but He turned His back.  When I was small, that seemed so terribly cruel to me.  I couldn’t understand a father actually doing that.  Then as I grasped more and more of the meaning of Christ’s death, I realized that it was truly the ultimate  gift of love.  It was all so necessary if God’s plan for my salvation and yours was to ever become reality.  His Son must die.  Mercilessly.  The cruelest death known to man.  Crucifixion.  Agonizing pain.  Dehydration.  Muscle spasms.  Rejection.  The incomprehensible weight of the sins of the world . . . on his shoulders.  His cries to the Father:  “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”

Do we ever truly think of how painful it was for Christ to save us?  There is merit in remembering, trying to understand, even in part, just what it was that God did for us.  Just as the 12 year old sat naked in the snow of his mother’s grave, crying, “Mother, were you colder than this for me?” – so we need to catch a glimpse of the pain of Calvary, “Jesus, did you suffer more than this for me?”  I encourage you . . . I challenge you . . . to think today of Calvary, of God the Father, of Jesus, God’s Son.  Ask some soul-searching questions.  You will find some life-changing answers.

Though ages have passed since the time of Christ’s crucifixion, still I can almost “see” Him in those days that preceded His death.  He knew it was going to take place; He had made the choice, willingly, after agonizing with sweat-drops of blood.  He could have gone into isolation thinking, “Well, my time here on earth is almost over; there’s not much I can do anymore before my death.”  But instead, he walked those lonesome roads . . . he healed the sick, saved the lost.  He met with friends, he raised the dead, taught the people, and had compassion on the hurting and the poor.  He comforted his disciples, gave them his promises and his peace, and he called them his friends.  So much a part of Christ’s ministry while here on earth was his love and his compassion.  He reached out and touched people where they were at – both the lovely and the unlovely.  The sick and the healthy.  Those who were sad, those who rejoiced.  Those who had nothing and those who were rich.  Those who were alone, and those who had family.  To those who were dying, he gave them a new lease on life.  No wonder people loved him and followed him.  And no wonder there were those who were jealous – jealous enough to have him killed.  It was he who had the power, who did the miracles, who knew the very intent of the heart, who could drive out demons, and who could dry their tears.  It was he who could feed five thousand men plus women and children with just two fish and five loaves.  Who else could do these things?  Sure, He was God’s Son, but He didn’t minister because he had to; he showed compassion because He wanted to.  It was a “heart” thing.  Christ, indeed, made a difference in all those whose lives He touched.  They were never, ever the same.

Are you the same, because of Christ?  We should not be!  How could we be?  I am reminded of the Scripture that tells about being “crucified with Christ”.  I’m not sure we fully understand what that really means.  Paul’s words in Galatians 2:20 make a resounding statement:  “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”   

As we come to celebrate Easter in the next few weeks, just what is it that Christ wants from us?  Do we just take for granted “the cross” or do we intend to offer ourselves as “living sacrifices” to the One who hung on the cross?  Do we think of colorful new clothes for this season, or do our minds focus on the Lord who was laid in the Tomb, wrapped in linen and spices?  Do we demand certain things from God – demanding to “see” every detail; when in fact, we ought to “see” more clearly the nail prints in His hands and His feet?

If a book was written about our lives, would it be filled with incidents of compassion – or did we just “walk on by” on our journey?  Do we stop to lend a helping hand to those in need, or is our time too important?  Do we share with others the things we do have – or do we cling to our possessions and feverishly work for more?  Are we sensitive enough to discern the aching hearts, or do we ignore them and busy ourselves with our best-laid plans?  Hopefully, when others “read” our lives, they will see Christ-like love and compassion lived out through us.

When we finally grasp the agony of the cross – the precious Gift of the Father – and the total Sacrifice of the Son . . . then and only then can we begin to experience the victory, the overcoming power, the ability to be all that Jesus died for us to be.  Out of pain comes victory, release and joy.  Out of agony and hurt comes freedom and strength and peace.  Only Christ can do that!  What does the old hymn say?  “O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world, has a wondrous attraction for me.”  Why?  Because “it was on that old cross, Jesus suffered and died, and pardoned and sanctified me.”  Me!  See, it becomes personal.  The cross was for me – for you!  And because of the Empty Tomb, its power is far-reaching . . . even into Eternity!  Sin cannot bind us, the grave cannot hold us – for He is Risen!

He’s alive!  Make your annual trip back to the cross, to the grave, and to the empty tomb.  And then choose to make it a daily journey.  Suffer with Jesus – rejoice with Jesus.  Remember . . . the Cross!  And rejoice . .  in the Empty Tomb!

REMEMBER . . .

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ

and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”

II Corinthians 2:14-15  

Joyfully Serving Christ . . .

Pastor Doug & Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

ARE YOU EVER TIRED, FATIGUED, EXHAUSTED?  OR SAD, DISCOURAGED, DEPRESSED?  Well, I have an answer for you … and it does not cost even a penny!  All it takes is a decision to accept this invitation and discover the oasis of rest and renewal that your mind, heart, body, and soul are so desperately in need of!  And guess “who” it is from!  It wasn’t an ad I answered.  It did not come to the Inbox in my e-mail account.  It did not pop up on my cell phone.  It was not posted on Facebook.  It was not even delivered in my mailbox covered in snow (except for the lid that is showing!)  So where did I get this invitation from? 

Well, I just opened my Bible … and there it was!  Hand-delivered personally to me from the heart of God.  Here, see for yourself!  And once you check this out, I am sure that you will see the very same invitation personalized just for you ~ with your name on it!

INVITATION:  “Come to Me,

Me:  “That sounds great, Lord … what do You have in mind?  
I am coming right now, to find out!”

FOR:  all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened,

Me:  “Oh, that’s me, Lord!  And at times You could add ‘overwhelmed’ to that list!”

WHY: and I will cause you to rest.

Me:  “That sounds AMAZING, Jesus!  
Rest … rest is evasive and elusive these days … how I need more!

Wait!  You didn’t just say You would give it; You said You would cause me to rest! 

I believe You are telling me when I need rest – You will provide it; You will put it in place!”

WHAT:  (I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.)

Me:  “Wow!  What a promise that You will fulfill exactly what I need in my place of rest.

You are telling me exactly what I can expect to receive as I rest in Your presence!”

HOW:  Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, 

for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart,

Me:  “You mean You will always help me carry what I’ve been given to carry out –

when I choose to ask for Your help? 

Oh, I see!  You carry the major load, 
and lighten my portion with Your strength and training!”

THE GIFT:  and you will find rest

(relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls.

Me:  “That sounds heavenly, Lord … it is health for my body and soul! 

This is how You intend for us to lives our lives daily while on this earthly journey!”

BONUS:  For My yoke is wholesome

(useful, good – not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, 
but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant),

Me:  “You truly provide all Your good and perfect gifts to us, Lord!

What a great reminder that we are Your children,

and Your plans are not to harm us, but to give us hope and a future!”

PROMISE:  and My burden is light and easy to be borne.”

Me:  “So with You by my side, anything I must bear 
becomes lighter than doing it in my own strength;

and walking in submission to Your authority becomes my privilege and joy!”

ADDRESS:  ~ Matthew 11:28-30 (Amplified Bible)

Me:  “I am so grateful, Jesus, that I can go to this place in Your Word any time

 and find Your invitation just waiting and ready for my acceptance!”

REMEMBER . . . to respond to YOUR invitation!  
Jesus is waiting with your gift in hand!!  

Joyfully Serving Christ ...

Pastor Doug and Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

WHAT DO WE SEE WHEN THINGS COME INTO OUR VIEW?  I truly believe that one of the most precious gifts God has given us is our sight!  I absolutely love seeing sunrise color-bursts that bring the morning sky alive with God’s promises for the new day!  I am held in awe when I gaze upon the silvery edged sliver of a midnight moon that illuminates the night-covered earth with a soft luminescence!  And then there are the countless things that come into our view throughout the course of our entire day – for as long as our eyes are open.  And when we see … we think.  We assess.  We judge.  We decide.  Based on all of that, what we’ve seen gets placed into a specific category of our heart, or our mind, or our soul.  We love the sights – and we cherish.  We hold our thoughts – or they hold us.  We bury the images – or we release them.  And all of this occurs … because we have seen.

I share this from the depths of my heart today, because in the past month God has used a favorite plant of mine to teach me a very powerful lesson.  A few summers ago, we bought a less than flourishing plant on clearance for just a few dollars, but I love the tropical flowers of the hibiscus plant, so I could not pass up this bargain!  I am always sad when the outdoor season is ended because I know how much I will miss the flowers!  We have tried transplanting them in our outdoor natural area at the back of our yard, but when Spring arrives, unfortunately, our hibiscus plants have never survived.  Well, it was worth a try!  So after a few years of trying that, each year we would just go and purchase a new plant and start over again ~ being delighted daily with the beauty of these amazing, unique blossoms!!  But, when we purchased this imperfect plant a few years ago and set it out in the front of our house, we were astounded at how it flourished!  In fact, it was so beautiful and filled with flowers that we did not have the heart to transplant it in the back-yard in yet another attempt to see if it would survive the frigid Minnesota winter.  We deducted that doing so would just send it to its wintery death.  So, we brought it inside to winter with us where it was warm and protected.  We did this for the past few years, and the plant would go through a slightly dormant change, but kept most of its leaves which stayed green.  When it came time to go to the greenhouses in the area to choose our outdoor summer plants, we would just set out the hibiscus plant with the others, and the fresh air and warm sunshine and warm breezes brought new life to it!  Throughout each summer it would flourish and become more beautiful than the year before.  This past autumn season, we once again brought the plant inside and did an exact repeat of previous winters.  Only this year, after it had stopped blooming indoors, it began to lose its leaves.  Coming home every day, I would discover there were more dry and shriveled up leaves to greet me, until after three months of loving care, the barren branches sported one lone yellowish leaf.  That was it. 

I actually got down on my hands and knees to examine my favorite plant, not wanting to entertain the thought that it was beyond saving and that it should be thrown out.  After these recent years of enjoyment, my desire was to save it so I could continue to enjoy its beauty again.  Then I began to wonder – does this plant go through a fully dormant state, even though it did not the previous years?  Perhaps there was yet hope.  My eyes peered closely over the stark, dead-looking branches … and when I thought I saw some tiny bumps beneath the bark, my heart leaped with excitement!  Could these be buds forming with new life?  And then over the next few days I saw the faintest sign of green bursting forth from these swelled bumps.  Soon there were baby leaves emerging from these hundreds of spots all over the branches!  I was seeing life … new life!  Abundance was springing forth from what had looked dead!

It was like God was speaking to me in this miraculous transformation:  “Debbie, whose eyes are you looking through when you see things?  Are you seeing with your natural eyes … or are you looking through My eyes?  There’s no comparison in what you see and understand on your own to what you can see and know if you will seek to see through My vision!  That’s what I want for you … and for all of My people!  Open your eyes to see what is beneath the surface, to what is hidden below.  That’s where true life is ~ with all of its truth and treasures and wisdom, and greater depths of beauty than you can ever see on your own!”

Somehow I just knew that God was revealing this – not just for my love of summer plants and their magnificent beauty, but for something much deeper.  I knew He was teaching me a lesson to equip me for these days we are living in.  Our world seems to be imploding in every arena:  the extreme weather with massive fires and frigid cold and devastating tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis … the extreme hatred consuming humans until they explode with words and bullets destroying lives … the extreme volatility and fear in the swinging financial markets … the extreme push to end life in the womb or just out of the womb - before it can ever be lived … the extreme demands of politicians who want it their way instead of God’s way for our nation … the extreme escalation of evil in the war-torn Middle East countries – in an ongoing attempt to take out Israel, God’s chosen nation … the extreme and relentless attacks of the enemy upon God’s people and God’s churches – those who choose to not waver and give in to a watered-down Gospel, but to stand true to the message of Jesus Christ – because Satan wants us to give up and quit!  And I could go on and on …

But you know what?  There is MORE than meets the eye in all of the above extremes I’ve just listed.  We see the obvious of what the enemy wants us to see.  But don’t you ever forget that he is deceitful and he is a liar and he is out to kill and destroy anything and everything that is God-related and holy and righteous and pure.  We need to stop looking at things in life with our own eyes and seek to see what our God sees!  If we ask, He will reveal the deeper meanings and hidden plans to our hearts.  His wisdom will help us be discerning through the power of the Holy Spirit; and as His people, we will understand things that we never have before.  If we ask, He promises to hear and answer our prayers.  He knows the longing of our hearts to see and know what He sees and knows, which is His Truth.  Our prayer is that God will always keep us on track with Him, and that in the midst of the chaos and turmoil and death, we will experience His promised peace – and a life that is lived as He designed for it to be lived as His children.

So from this day forward, my challenge to you is when you see what you think you see, ask God for an extra measure of HIS vision and understanding.  What you first see as hopeless and dead, is really just a time of preparation and transition to the reality of God’s plan to burst forth with hope and new life on the stage of this groaning world … in people, in circumstances, in homes, churches, and nations!  Dear ones, we can shudder at the unleashed evil all around us … or we can embrace the righteousness of God!  In the end, God WINS!  In the end, we WIN!  When we know Jesus personally, we can be assured that Heaven is our Home!  But, let’s not go there alone, let’s get down on our hands and knees and search for the hidden signs of life amongst the dying!  Let’s declare that we will be engaged in rescuing those living as dead – and seeing them emerge from dying into living the new life that Christ came to give!!  We can do nothing greater than this!  Onward through 2019 ~ let’s continue to “AWAKE!  ARISE! and SHINE!”

REMEMBER . . .

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; 
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”

Psalm 32:8

^“ … and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—

regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], 
even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:20b 

Joyfully Serving Christ . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

“AWAKE!  ARISE!  SHINE! ~ in 2-0-1-9!”  With the New Year just around the corner, this is the theme God has placed in our hearts as we look forward to what God has in store for all who are His people.  It is our heart’s cry as we echo what we feel He is saying to us individually, and to us as His church here at Elevation North!  With the birthing of this new year, we do not want to be found sleeping and slacking and looking like we’ve lost our spiritual luster.  We want to leap forth in obedience to what God is stirring into action amongst His children!  He is doing more than just encouraging us; He is urging us and prodding us to make HIM known right where we are.  Today.  There is no more waiting around for the perfect time.  No more excuses about waiting for a more convenient time.  No, a thousand times NO!  God is pushing us into our destiny!  It is TIME to become engaged in the battle for souls for His Kingdom!  Time for us to become the victors in the daily battles that come at us like a deluge!  Time for us to awaken and draw a line in the sand, to take a stand on our feet because of what is in our souls, and to live out our faith in Christ with such authenticity and joy that God’s love will shine through us, radiating the beauty and truth and power of who we are stepping up to be IN CHRIST!  The Holy Spirit empowers us when we depend on Him … but that power never gets put to use if we just sit on it.  It is when we move out of our comfort zone and into God’s battle zone that the Holy Spirit activates all that we need to make the needed difference in our world around us.  When we do our part … God does His!  The world sees enough darkness daily to last a life-time – but that dose goes on day after day.  What this world needs to see is JESUS for real – shining through His people who dare take a stand and who are willing to make a lasting, godly mark on our culture, whatever the cost might be!  As the clock ticks down on 2018 and strikes up the first few seconds of 2019, that calendar transition is going to happen, no matter what.  And so is the hideous plan of the enemy to deepen the darkness and spew more evil than ever before . . . UNLESS we AWAKE!  ARISE!  and SHINE!  NOW!!  What do you say?  Are YOU willing to be counted on God’s side?  Are you ready to do whatever it takes to deepen your faith and be drawn closer to the God who already loves you so much that He cannot love you any more?  Are you moving even now to join up along side wherever God is working?  Just let Him know you are ready to sign up and get your assignment.  He will not only show you what that is … but He will train you, lead you, and transform you into the hero of faith that you’ve always longed to be!  Not in a prideful sort of way, but in a faithful servant sort of way that God can call on to use at any given time!!

Today my heart is nearly bursting with the anticipation of what God already knows about 2019 that we do not know!  Are there things that we would rather not know ahead of time?  Of course, and that is exactly why God only reveals things to us in His timing, which is impeccably perfect!  And then, there are the things that we all too often only dream of, rather than believe for.  Because these things will only come to pass through God’s supernatural ways, we tend to shy away from them, thinking that we will only be disappointed if they do not happen.  But look!  Our Father God is looking at us with His eyes of love and saying, “O you of little faith, why are you so afraid?”  “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”  (Matthew 8:26 and Matthew 14:31)  You see, when God tells us something, He means it.  If He did not intend to keep His Word and His promises, He would not have spoken them to us!  Our God is GOD … over all, above all … and He cannot lie.  He never has and He never will!  So in all actuality, whatever all occurs in 2019, we have no need to fear or doubt that God will keep us, even when He stretches us to step out in faith in new places and situations we’ve never been before.  May we embrace the birth of this New Year with hearts ready to receive ALL that God has in store for us as He desires to use us for HIS glory!  Dear ones, do not hold back!  AWAKE!  ARISE!  SHINE!  Open your eyes, your heart, and your life to see all that God will do in you and through you … in 2019!

REMEMBER . . .

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.  
See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, 
but the LORD rises upon you and His glory appears over you.

Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”

~ Isaiah 60:1-3  

Joyfully Serving Christ . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL!   That sounds like the words to a love song, doesn’t it?  Well, it is ~ really!  It was written by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher in the early 1970’s.  Everyone thought it was a love song … and it was, but it was written to the Lord Jesus Christ!  Tell me, who is more deserving of those accolades than our Lord?  He IS so beautiful, and we need to tell Him that … all the time!  If you have not heard that song recently, look it up on YouTube and listen to it; you will find yourself worshiping and singing along as your love song to Jesus!!  My favorite version is the one sung by Phil Driscoll, and then at the end he picks up his trumpet and plays sounds that are so amazing and heavenly, you feel as if you can close your eyes and think you are already there!

And now at this time of year as we celebrate the birth of Christ, how can we not break out in song with praise and adoration:  YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL, LORD JESUS … YOU CAME TO US … TO US!!!  This should be our theme song every day of the year, not just during this beautiful season.  Awakened in the middle of the night, these are the words that God gave to me.

YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL!

Born in a stable, wrapped in swaddling cloths, placed in a manger …

You came to us – to be with us.

Wrapped in swaddling cloths, You were Divinity clothed in humanity,

coming to us – in our earthly journey.

Newborn Child of God, made flesh for your Father’s assignments,

to carry out His plan to be poured out as redemption for Your people.

In Your tiny form nestled snugly in the manger’s straw,

was the essence and purpose of Salvation for all mankind.

Within Your newborn flesh, seeds of Greatness were sown,

for You would become King of Heaven and of earth.

Your small, beating heart contained all the hope and healing

we would ever need down through the ages of time.

But it would take the piercing of that very heart on Calvary

to release the fullness of Your Father’s plan.

Your Coronation came with a Crown of Thorns, and a Cross on which to hang,

Your blood spilled out for us … Your ultimate sacrifice.

Once again Your body wrapped – this time in linens, and laid in a Tomb.

born to die … You died to live … You came to give Life for us all.

The Cross could not keep You – neither could the Tomb,

all that was within You came bursting forth in fragrant Life and Love.

Giver of gifts ~ You came as a Gift … The Greatest Gift ever given,

our part is simply to repent, to receive You, to live in You while You live in us,

so we can be one with You!

Your purpose for us, our very destiny, was wrapped up with You in those swaddling cloths,

just waiting for the time of our birth!  Oh, what a plan, Father God!  What a plan!

What an amazing plan You had then ~ and have for us now!

The greatest gift we can offer back to You is to open our hearts to Your Son,

wrapped in obedience and submission to Your desire and Your will!

You are so beautiful … thank You for coming to us, Lord Jesus!

REMEMBER . . .

The announcement of the angels still rings true for mankind today:

“I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David

a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.”  ~ Luke 2:10-11  

Joyfully Serving Christ . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie