IT’S TIME FOR BREAKTHROUGH! Why would we say that? Because in God’s timing, He is always ready and waiting to bring to us what we cannot make happen on our own. He invites us to claim the breaking down of strongholds and the lifting up of Christ in all things. May we remind each other of the theme verse of our church, Ephesians 3:20, which tells us that “He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, BEYOND all we can imagine”! No … WE can’t. But … HE CAN!!! And while we can imagine LOTS ~ our imaginations barely scratch the surface of all that our God has in mind when it comes to our lives personally, and yes, our church, too! The more we study and research the scriptures for what God is telling us about the impending doom of our daily headlines, we see that He is very present in all of it. He has not been caught off guard. He’s not disappeared into oblivion, and He has not left us to face it all alone. No financial forecast, no escalation of evil, no downward spiral of morals and values, no attempted control by government can dim our view of our God who sits on the Throne of this universe. Well, that is, if He sits on the Throne of our hearts. It is from that premise that we stand on His promises. And from that vantage point, we can see our breakthroughs! He is the One who long ago inspired godly men to write of these things as fast as their fingers would move across the scrolls. They may not have understood what they were writing, but as long as God’s divine inspiration hung heavy on them, the words took form as the ink flowed from the quills. They were writing of the exact time that we are now living in. That knowledge should bring to us an excitement unequalled by anything else we’ve ever been privy to. WE could be the generation that sees the return of Christ! Literally! Generations and generations before us have prayed for this time, have waited for this time, have longed for this time ~ for the return of Christ for His bride, the Church. Will we be as radiant, as pure, as beautiful as He wants His Bride to be? Will we be as prepared as He wants us to be? Will we be as filled with Him and as consumed by our love for Him as He desires us to be? Will we be fully engaged in what He’s asked us to do, and yet focused on that first glimpse of our Bridegroom? What a day THAT will be! What a moment in time THAT will be! It is our heart’s cry as we pastor the wonderful people of Elevation North – that God would help us to be agents of breakthrough. May we have a burning desire to be agents of change in our community. You see, we don’t go through all these tough times for nothing. God has us in training when we’re fighting battles. We’re being cued up for action when yet another onslaught is served up to us on a platter that we’d rather not be served. I’ve been asking myself some tough questions this week. Some new, intensive training on the job has been challenging, schedule-wise … but I can already see just how valuable this is going to be - not just for this job, but for personal growth, as well as for ministry and every other facet of my life. I have had to take on a whole new stance of attempting to make everything work together as I adjust to these added hours, but I must say that it is only working because God is holding me up by His righteous right hand. And, I believe He has me in a new place of training right now. That part is really exciting! When we find ourselves in these hard places, it makes us wonder what we are in training for. We wonder what is just around the bend. What is coming up next? God evidently knows that we wouldn’t be ready for the next phase without this present training. The best part of all this is realizing more than ever before, that THIS is the place God has for us to enjoy right now. The training times as we await breakthrough are not meant to be seen as dreadful or stifling. God means for us to “give it all we’ve got” – yes, even with some extra “blood, sweat, and tears”. But at the same time, we do not have to wait for the “perfect tomorrow” that we think will bring us everything we’ve been waiting for – to laugh and enjoy life! We can do that RIGHT NOW … in the midst of our training. Making the most of today … as if it were our last day, can be freeing! We will realize that TODAY is the tomorrow we were waiting for yesterday. So if we let today slide by waiting for yet another tomorrow to come before we can enjoy the life God meant for us to have, just think how many days will be lost forever. Let’s grab onto the breakthroughs of today, as we train for the breakthroughs of tomorrow … and let’s smile and laugh through the twists and the turns. I think I can see the first glimpse of breakthrough ~ just up ahead! Do you see it, too? And … there’s Jesus! He’s waving us on! Let’s run!!!
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
- THERE’S NOTHING LIKE REMEMBERING! Which is just what we did as we were led into worship, through the Word, and into soul-searching as we partook of Communion this past Sunday. As He left this earth to go to Heaven, it was Jesus’ instructions that we should remember Him and what He did for us. What a precious time of remembering!
- OUR THANKS AND APPRECIATION go to Pastor’s mom, Shirley, for all the beautiful doilies she hand-stitches to give to our visitors each week! What a wonderful ministry that is!
- SPECIAL BIRTHDAY WISHES are coming up for Nancy who will be celebrating this Monday, March 15th! God bless you, Nancy! We are so glad that God has brought you to us!
- LOOKING AHEAD . . .
- THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 14TH:
- 10:00 A.M. – WORSHIP & PRAISE – with hearts ready to receive God’s message for us as Pastor Doug continues on with our 50-day Spiritual Adventure! This week we will be zeroing in on how we can keep our promises to God as we “Support The Ministry of our Church and Pastor”. Each of us who are a part of God’s church are important as we get involved and do what God lays on our heart to do! Don’t miss out on this practical message that will help you get fired up in your work for the Lord!
- 11:15 a.m. – SUNDAY SCHOOL – just one more way for us to experience learning how to apply God’s Word and His truths to our lives! Come and participate by taking notes and sharing your insights as we grow together!
- YOUTH – RE: FUEL session will resume next week on the 22nd, since Justin will not be here this weekend. In the meantime, carry on by looking around you to see who would benefit by coming to youth with you next time!
- EASTER MISSION PROJECT – let’s help provide a portion of 30,000 meals for the hungry in the Twin Cities this Easter season, giving them not only food for their bodies, but “food for their souls”! Just $2 is all it takes to touch someone’s life this Easter! Let’s see how many two dollar meals we can provide!
- MARK ON YOUR CALENDARS: Easter Services in April – and - Mother-Daughter Tea on May 1st!
- DON’T FORGET TO TURN YOUR CLOCKS AHEAD ONE HOUR this Saturday evening on March 13th for DST!
- PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES . . .
- NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR OUR GOD! Your prayers are valuable as we remember Matthias & Liz as they travel home from NY; Julia and her brothers, Jim & Pat as they await the liver transplant; Jeff & Michael for complete healing of brain conditions; a miracle buyer for Bucholz’ house; and for many other needs in our church family! Let’s be on our knees as we trust God and praise Him in advance for answered prayer!!!
- THIS WEEK . . . “Remember, “A great deal can be done for the Kingdom by “little servants” with “little skill” and “little training” if they have big hearts for God.” ~ Jill Briscoe
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
