WELL … HERE WE ARE! 2010!!! WHAT NOW?! There’s lots of options, I guess … but we really love what singer/songwriter, Lincoln Brewster said recently. He actually posed a question that we think all of us should take to heart and activate immediately. Not tomorrow. Or next week. But today ~ right away early in this New Year! This is what Lincoln asked: “What would happen if every Christian lived their life with the belief that their best days were IN FRONT OF THEM and NOT BEHIND THEM?” We LOVE that, because we believe that living this way is the premise upon which God can do His best work in us and through us. And what better time to believe this, than at the beginning of a brand new year, when everyone is eager for the fresh start – the new beginnings. You see, we don’t get a fresh start by living in the past, or by thinking that our best days are done with – over. The fresh start continues on only if we change what we didn’t like about our past, making our future better than ever before. And that goes for thinking that we cannot do any better than some of our high points of the past. Our God is a “stretching-God”! He stretches us to maximize our impact on His Kingdom work. He wants us to realize that the best thing we’ve ever done CAN be topped ~ with His help! We can reach for higher peaks and strive for greater depth; we can withstand tougher battles and achieve greater victories! We can imagine more magnificent ideas and create life-changing ministries and careers and businesses – all the way from one-on-one encounters all the way to community, national, or even global outreaches! We can sing new songs, write new music, etch our visions on paper, on the internet, and even on hearts and lives. We can express a purer love, a no holds-barred-forgiveness, and outstretched arms of welcome to even the least desirable of characters. We can jump over higher hurdles and run longer marathons than ever before. We can leave our losses in the past and leap to the successes in front of us! We can surge forward and quit looking back – (that stance only takes us backwards)! We can put on spiritual muscle that ripples with strength that we didn’t have in our yesterdays. We can bridge the brokenness in relationships and discover a fusion of soul-support that will remain with us for the rest of our days! We can set aside the negative and drink in the positive – (and the BEST is found tucked inside the pages of God’s Word)! We CAN look back at all we’ve learned ~ all we’ve experienced ~ all we’ve overcome, because of Jesus! We CAN build on that foundation that our days behind us have laid for us. But we want to keep moving forward. May none of us just settle for the accolades of our past … but let us press in and take hold of the BEST that God still has in His hand for us. Some of those “bests” will be experienced yet today; some of them, tomorrow. And more in the days to come! God never runs out of “bests”. In His vault of treasures that He has stored up for His kids, there’s an endless supply! If we could peek inside that limitless storage space – our eyes would pop and our hearts would nearly stop! How could we ever think that our best days were behind us when we compare that – with ALL THIS! Wow, God, You are SO incredible! Your plans for each of us are beyond comprehension! Please help us believe … and live our lives believing that OUR BEST DAYS ARE IN FRONT OF US!!! Living that way will make 2010 completely different than what it will be otherwise. Dare we live any other way? Let’s just DO it! LET’S HOPE AGAIN ~ IN 2010! (Our new theme for Elevation North this year!) Romans 15:13 puts it this way: “Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!” (The Message Bible) Yes, yes! Fill us up to overflowing, Lord!
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
- THIS PAST SUNDAY was so very cold outdoors … but ever so warm inside as God’s Spirit filled our place of worship with His presence and His anointing! We kicked off our series of messages on “A CALL TO FASTING & PRAYER ~ 2010” with Debbie sharing her heart’s cry and challenge to the congregation to join her and Pastor Doug in their 21-day fast for breakthrough and victories and miracles – in the life of Elevation North, in their own lives, and for each of our church families in every area of their lives. Isaiah 58: 6 says, “Is this not the fast that I have chosen to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke.” When things in our lives are not easy, it takes the sacrifice of a fast to break the strongholds. Fasting is not easy – but it is powerful and precious, and God steps up His response to our seriousness about what we are praying about! See Pastor Doug and Debbie for your copy of the “Fasting Contract” with points of preparation and encouragement for your own personal time of fasting, however God may lead you to join us.
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
- THIS PAST SUNDAY was so very cold outdoors … but ever so warm inside as God’s Spirit filled our place of worship with His presence and His anointing! We kicked off our series of messages on “A CALL TO FASTING & PRAYER ~ 2010” with Debbie sharing her heart’s cry and challenge to the congregation to join her and Pastor Doug in their 21-day fast for breakthrough and victories and miracles – in the life of Elevation North, in their own lives, and for each of our church families in every area of their lives. Isaiah 58: 6 says, “Is this not the fast that I have chosen to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke.” When things in our lives are not easy, it takes the sacrifice of a fast to break the strongholds. Fasting is not easy – but it is powerful and precious, and God steps up His response to our seriousness about what we are praying about! See Pastor Doug and Debbie for your copy of the “Fasting Contract” with points of preparation and encouragement for your own personal time of fasting, however God may lead you to join us.
- LOOKING AHEAD . . .
- THIS SUNDAY, JANUARY 10TH:
- 10:00 A.M. – WORSHIP & PRAISE – We hope you are as excited as we are about what God is doing and wants to do in our midst! Come with hearts prepared to set everything aside and worship and adore our Lord; come with hearts eager to learn; and come with hearts full of love and ready to stand in the gap for each other! Pastor Doug will be preaching about Biblical accounts of people who committed themselves to times of fasting and prayer, and received God’s miraculous intervention and victories! Fasting brings God’s release, restoration, and reward!
- DURING THIS SUNDAY’S SERVICE, little Kayleigh will be dedicated to the Lord surrounded by her family and friends!
- 6:00-7:30 P.M. – YOUTH – RE: FUEL session for our junior and senior high kids! Nothing is ever humdrum when this group of kids get together … so join in on the excitement of both learning and fun as we hang out together at Pastor Doug’s and Debbie’s home! See you there!
- YOU CAN HELP!!! Begin saving your used, empty ink or toner cartridges and we will turn them in to Office Max for $3 rewards credit each. We can turn in up to 20 per month, which will give us $60 in rewards credit to use for free office supplies for our church! They need to be visibly undamaged and the following brands qualify: HP, Dell, Lexmark, Brother, Epson, Samsung, Kodak, Sharp, or Canon. You can bring them to church and we will drop them off once a month. Thanks for helping Elevation North!
- SUNDAY, JANUARY 17th: ANNUAL VISIONARY CHURCH MEETING (following worship) to recap where God has taken us this past year, and to envision where He wants to take us in this new year! Reports will be available, and your participation is encouraged!
- PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES . . .
- What a perfect time to be in more fervent prayer than ever before as we continue on this corporate 21-day fast as a church! Each of our church families represent some very real needs: unsaved loved ones, healing and renewed strength, jobs, housing, finances, relationships, seeking God’s perfect will, and even unspoken needs! How grateful we are for a God who is big enough to undertake in each situation! Let’s thank Him as we pray!
- THIS WEEK . . . Remember, “There is a past which is gone forever, but there is a future which is still our own.” ~ F.W. Robertson (With hope, let’s seek GOD’S plan for our future in this New Year!)
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
