PROMISE FEVER! What’s THAT, you say? Well, haven’t you heard of sports fever, dance fever, fashion fever, fast food fever, video game fever, travelin’ fever, and _________ fever (you just insert the word – I’m sure there’s a fever that goes along with it)! But, we’re not talking about any of those fevers today … we’re talking about “promise fever”. We’re thinking that this fever is something that God would love for all of His people to catch! After all, promises are meant to be kept – yet all too often broken. And just what can we do about that? Well, first of all, what is a promise, really? They are so easy to make, and just as easy to break. It’s keeping them that’s a bit more difficult. A promise by definition is: a declaration to do something specified. It is also the solid foundation for the expectation of success, improvement, or excellence in our lives or in specific circumstances. Keeping them takes a strong commitment … lots of integrity … and being diligent to follow through. That’s where the “fever” part comes in! Having a fever is punctuated by a bodily high temperature and a rapid pulse. We need to raise our spiritual temps and get excited about being a child of God who keeps his/her promises. Not only will we become more like Jesus when we do this, but we will be a visible reflection of what God meant for us to look like in this world to the people around us. In our homes. Our churches. Our workplace. Our community. When they see us keeping our promises, they’ll know they can go to the bank with whatever we say, no matter what. That will give us much greater credibility when we open our mouths to talk about Jesus. They’ll know they can believe what we’re saying about other things, when we’ve already backed up our words and promises with follow-through action. But still, it’s not easy. And it’s not easy to do by ourselves. What if we had some help? Well, we always have God’s help … that’s HIS promise to US! But what about the help of others? Our church? Our friends? That’s just what we will be learning about as we continue through this spiritual 50-day adventure called, “Promises Worth Keeping: Resolving To Live What We Say We Believe.” We are SO excited about this! We want Elevation North to be known as a group of people who keep our promises … to God, to family, to each other, and to everyone who our lives touch. So often we attempt to do things on our own. And often we fail. We wonder how come we cannot follow through on our promises to God or to others. We suggest that you choose an accountability partner – someone you can trust who will help keep you focused on what you intend to do. Someone who will come alongside you when those unexpected things pop up. Someone who will stand in the gap for you and hold you up in prayer. Someone who will give you encouragement and keep you moving forward. Someone who will be caring and compassionate, but not let you off the hook! Scripture tells us that two is better than one. Ecclesiastes 4:12 puts it this way: “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” So you see … you and a friend and God … together are strong enough so that what you undertake will not be easily torn apart. Besides, the joy of having another share with us in keeping a promise or any other undertaking – is always more pleasant than having to tackle something alone. God gave us family and friends for a purpose, so allow and engage them on this 50-day spiritual adventure! It will not only enrich your life – but theirs, as well! All of us will be able to stand on the other side of these 50 days and see a change in ourselves that most importantly will be visible in God’s eyes … and also to those around us. Author Larry Crabb said in his book, Connecting, “I have come to believe that the root of all our personal and emotional difficulties is a lack of togetherness, a failure to connect that keeps us from receiving and prevents the life in us from spilling over onto others. I therefore believe that the surest route to overcoming problems and becoming the people we were meant to be is reconnecting with God and with our community.” This week, let’s catch “Promise Fever” and ask for God’s help so that we can truly live what we say we believe!
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
- WHAT A JOY IT IS to come together on the Lord’s Day and offer Him our very best as we worship and praise Him! And while as a young church we may not yet be able to offer a full-fledged ministry, we always seek to offer God our best as we give of our time and our talents and our monies. We continue praying for the day when this ministry will be fully fleshed out so that we will have in place ministries available for every group and age and need imaginable! Until then, may we be faithful with what we have as we seek to bless and honor God, and everyone who comes through our doors!
- A SPECIAL WELCOME to Ryan and Pam, Adam and Rebecca, who worshipped with us this past Sunday! How you blessed us with your presence, and our prayer is that you were touched by the presence of God while in our midst!
- SPECIAL BIRTHDAY WISHES to our daughter, Becky, on March 4th – and to our grandson, Wade, who will be 16 on March 7th! We hope you both know just how very much you are loved; and may God’s BEST be yours!!!
- LOOKING AHEAD . . .
- THIS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH:
- 10:00 A.M. – WORSHIP & PRAISE – continuing on our exciting 50-Day Spiritual Adventure! This week Pastor Doug will be focusing on “Cultivating Vital Friendships That Encourage Us To Keep Our Promises!” You won’t want to miss this service! Why not invite some friends who do not attend church anywhere?!
- 11:15 A.M. – SUNDAY SCHOOL – with a class just for you that will stir and encourage your heart at the same time! Why not invite some friends to come and learn with us as we dig deeper into God’s Word!
- 6:00-7:30 P.M. – YOUTH – RE: FUEL session at Clinton Falls Town Hall with Justin taking this time to draw out the best in our youth and with God’s help, to ignite that into fired-up junior/senior high kids who will be able to help change their world around them! So kids, reach out to your friends and bring them along! Learning, snacking, and adventure will be awaiting you!
- CONTINUING – Sunday visits to our church families with Pastor Doug and Debbie! We’ll be calling YOU!
- COMING UP SOON – A Sunday afternoon “Ladies Time-IN!” with Debbie! More details to come!
- MAY 1ST – MOTHER/DAUGHTER TEA is already in the planning stages!
- PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES . . .
- There’s nothing quite like being right in the middle of where God is working! And He is definitely at work in our midst, and how thankful we are to Him for that! This week, please join us in praying for: Jeff, who is suffering from brain deterioration; Nancy, who is job-searching; healing for Julia & her brother, also for Shirley, for Hazel, and for Helen; for God’s presence to be with Leslie and his family; for those we support in evangelism and missions; for unspoken financial needs. Great are our needs … but greater is our God!
- THIS WEEK . . . Remember, “The journey begins just where you are ~ with blessings in every step!”
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
