Thursday, September 20, 2012

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

DID YOU EVER STOP AND THINK about what is in the seed of your trials?  No one knows at the outset … but God knows!  We have been studying in the book of James in our mid-week Bible study, and one of the first verses of the first chapter starts out this way:  “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.  You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced out into the open and shows its true colors.  So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely.  Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”   Can’t say it much clearer than that, right?  Considering our tough times as a gift … well, that just doesn’t seem to match up, does it?  Or does it?  Let’s stop and think about this – I mean, really  think about it.  After all, it was just last week that I wrote about God asking us to do something out of the ordinary and stepping out of the comfortable places.  And “tests and challenges” definitely fall into the uncomfortable category, don’t they?  Well, thinking about “the places” I’ve been in since then, I now have a vantage point to look back from, and see a little clearer where God is taking me through these rather rough paths … and what He is doing along the way.  Amazingly, I can begin to see the reasons He has allowed these tests to come.  And as I started to grasp just an iota of God’s ways in this very uncomfortable, stressful saga … I was reminded of our new baby great granddaughter, Emma.  Before she was ever born, her mommy experienced the pregnancy test:  the nausea, the stretching and growing, the swelling, the uncomfortable stages, and at long last, the painful birthing process.  But just look what the end result of that test was:  a beautiful, healthy baby girl!  She could not have been born into our family any other way.  Every stage of the test was necessary to receive the gift at the end.  And what a precious sight she was to behold when we caught the first glimpse of her a few weeks ago, visiting her mommy and daddy!  What a joy it was to watch our son, Dana and his wife, Stacey, and our grandson, Dylan, relate to her in such loving, nurturing ways!  Seeing Whitney and Matt giving such devotion to their first little one warmed our hearts.  Sheer gift.  Yes!  That’s a great way to put it, God!  You do want us to get it … so that instead of resenting our tests and trials, we will be able to face them with an eagerness, speaking into being the end result.  Declaring Your Word back to You … claiming the tearing down of strongholds.  And then comes the ensuing freedom and deliverance - the sheer gift.  Out of lack – the sheer gift of plenty bursts forth.  Out of joblessness – the sheer gift of employment is offered.  Out of frustration and desperation – change and transformation begin to emerge.  I suddenly understand a little more about just how much our God must love us - that He takes the time and effort to select the perfect test to sharpen our spiritual skills, to strengthen our spiritual muscles, to broaden our spiritual knowledge, to deepen our spiritual wisdom and discernment.  Could those things come to us any other way?  How we wish!  Finally grasping what a joy and sheer gift it is that God gives these growing and birthing opportunities to us because of the potential He has placed within us … we finally realize that He is not hurting us, but honing us to become more like Him in every way.  We are developing and maturing, just as He intended!  Can we ever get to the point where we say, “bring it on, Lord” because we know the end results are so valuable?  I don’t know.  But what I do know is that, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.’”  (Psalm 91:1-2)  God’s formula is that the seed always brings a harvest.  Knowing that, we should never have to look at our tests and challenges in quite the same way again!  May you see them like God does … gift-wrapped and tied with a bow, just waiting to be opened and received for our benefit and ultimate enjoyment! 
 
 
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
 
A SPECIAL WELCOME to Max who has worshipped with us these past few weeks; may God bless you with His love!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISHES to James, who celebrated on September 22nd; to Matthias who celebrates on the 25th, and to our son, Dana, who will celebrate on the 25th – you are loved and wished God’s very best!
 
SUN, SEP 23:  10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP with the start of a new two-part series called “Victory Living!”
SUN, SEP 23:   11:15 A.M. – KINGDOM CONNECTION CLASSES – let’s invite others to join us as we learn!
WED, SEP 26:   7:00 P.M. – MID-WEEK BIBLE STUDY in the book of James/905 El Dorado St SE in Owatonna
SUN, SEP 30:  10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP / 11:15 A.M. – KINGDOM CONNECTION CLASSES for everyone!
 
PRAYER OPPORTUNITES . . . Praises for answers, prayers for unspoken needs, for a home, for healing, for relationships, for comfort, for ministry servants, for a return of our nation to God, for Lundstroms and Seykoras
 
REMEMBER . . . “At all times, even in the midst of any type of suffering, I can realize that God knows, loves, watches, understands, and more than that, He has a purpose.”  ~ Billy Graham 
 
 
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
 
Pastor Doug and Debbie
 
 

 

 
 

 

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