ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

FUEL YOUR ADVENTURE!  Without enlisting the services of a travel agent, we are all on a “last-days” adventure … and believe me, it is going to be an itinerary that will outshine all others we’ve ever been on!  Road-trips, cruises, mountain-climbing, flights high in the atmosphere, wilderness hiking, hot-air balloon rides, river-boat excursions – none will begin to compare with what we are embarking on in these days!  The adventure is all around us!  Don’t you just love being in the middle of it all?  God has been giving us a sneak preview now and then – but every day we are seeing more and more of His side-trips taking place!  We would have to be blind not to see and recognize that God is up to something!  We not only get to witness what He is putting into place – but we get to sign on for active duty for what lies ahead with the dawning of each new day’s agenda!  The big event is not here yet … but God has it all planned out – down to the most intricate, yet powerful detail!  The date, the time, the crescendo of the trumpet sound announcing His arrival, the armies of heaven standing at attention in rapt wonder as they will suddenly see the Son of God descend in the twinkling of an eye to rapture His church and bring us Home!  Oh, how exciting that will be!  That is, for those who will be ready for the trip through space ~ from earth to heaven.  Talk about time-travel like it has never been experienced before.  Talk about breaking the sound barrier.  Traveling that incredible distance in the mere twinkling of an eye is not even fathomable by human minds or scientific design.  And I am not alluding to a science fiction movie about some time way out in the future – some millions of years yet to come.  There are signs all around us that are pointing to a soon-to-be, never-before-experienced event of such huge proportions that the world will not know what to do with the chaos in the aftermath of the Rapture.  But in those moments there will not be a doubt that Jesus Christ is who He said He was – and that He did what He said He was going to do:  RETURN for His bride – the bride who is beautifully pure without spot or blemish.  That’s US, His Church … at least that who we are supposed to be!  It’s time to take an honest look in the mirror and see if we truly reflect our Lord.  It’s time to evaluate and review how we spend our time – and how much of it is spent with Him, our coming Bridegroom.  It’s time to recognize that the things of eternal value are probably not the things we are striving for here on earth.  It’s time to wake up to the fact that what we can hold in our hands will most likely sift right through them like sand; but the things that we allow God to do with our hands to help others will become gifts to lay at the feet of Jesus when we finally see Him face to face.  Gifts for our Bridegroom – if you will.  I suggest that we get busy.  The right kind of busy.  Too many kinds of busy are but a tool of the enemy to just keep us away from God.  Busy can look and feel Godly and good – but if all those wonderful “busies” are not what God has called us individually to be busy with – then we had better re-think our involvement.  I say this with acknowledgment that I still have not achieved the measure of Godly success that I long for, when I state:  “The true success of what I am doing is shown by how much time it affords me for God and my family!”  Believe me, how well I know the struggle for balancing life in a fallen world with all of its demands and responsibilities – and living above all of that in the reality of “the Kingdom of God” that we are a part of.  Needed reminder:  we are NOT of this world, we are just traveling through (another of God’s choice adventures for us!).  But while we are here, may we live like He planned for us to live, not missing one deep valley, one treacherous mountain, or any of the rocky, twisting trails in between.  For it is in those places that His work is done, where lives are changed, and victories are won.  Sometimes it’s working until we’re fatigued.  Or giving until we have nothing left to give.  Sometimes it’s just putting our arms around someone and caring in hands-on ways that allows them to see a ray of hope and a shred of belief – even just a tiny bit, that Jesus must be real.  He sent YOU to them, after all!  See how you get to be a direct part of what God is doing?  While it’s exciting to think about heading Home to Heaven, there is still lots that needs to be done, with the ultimate task being that we take as many people with us as we can!!!  And what’s the best way for that to happen?  Is it knowing and being able to recite every scripture in the Bible?  Most people could care less about that, sad to say.  But living a life that allows them to see Jesus in us, is the key to introducing them to a new life in Christ and the promise of an eternity with Him!  Max Lucado has penned an incredible quote about a man and a woman that goes like this:  “A woman’s heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.”  I think it is timely to paraphrase it to say this:  “The mission and heart of the Church (that’s us!) should be so hidden in God that the world has to seek Him just to find us!”  When that’s who we are … we will see people coming to Christ en masse because what they see will be genuine.  In the Bridegroom’s eyes ~ a bride worth coming for to take to Himself!  Let’s fuel our adventure before He returns for us so that we will be ready and pleasing to Him!

WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK . . .

A SPECIAL WELCOME to Nicole, Peyton, and Noah who worshipped with us for the first time this past Sunday!  God’s best to all of you!

TODAY, SUN, OCT 20:

10:00 A.M. - PRAISE & WORSHIP

10:30 A.M. - KIDZONE CHURCH

WED/THU,"BIBLE DOING", OCT 23-24 / 7:00 P.M.:

WED - Join us in the book of Hebrews at the church

THU - Join the group at 905 El Dorado Street SE 

FRI, OCT 25:

7:00 P.M. - LADIES NITE OUT ~ see "Spotlight" below 

SAT, OCT 26:

9:00 A.M. - LADIES PRAISE & PRAYER at the church

9:00 A.M. - Barnabas Team Meeting at the church

   ELEVATION NORTH SPOTLIGHT!

An extra event for our women will be held at the home of Shelly – one of our friends from another church who loves to host our women at her place!  This Ladies Nite Out will offer one last outdoor bon-fire of the season - with games and refreshments inside her nice, warm home!  This evening will be an opportunity for those who attended the Women of Faith Conference to chat about that and to enjoy fellowship with other gals that perhaps were not able to be there.  Plan to bring a snack to share with the ladies … and plan on a great time together encouraging each other in a fun setting!  YOU are invited:  DATE – Friday, October 25^th / TIME - 7:00 p.m. / WHERE:  Call for the locations! See you there!

REMEMBER . . . Scripture tells us this about Christ coming back for us: “Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master.  Oh, we’ll be walking on air!  And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master.  So reassure one another with these words.”  I Thessalonians 4:17-18

Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie