DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?! Moments before
sitting down to share these words with you, my eyes caught the familiar scene
on my computer desktop: a gorgeous
Alaskan landscape painted in summery green foliage, sunny blue skies,
reflective rippling water, and decorated with the most beautiful lavender
Arctic Lupine flowers that dot this “wish I was there” scene! I see it every day when I flip open my
laptop, but today I really saw it.
I took time to look at it! Then
my eyes turned to “look” at what was outside my windows … and a completely
opposite kind of beauty was being showcased.
For the first time in days, the sunshine broke through the white skies
of winter and brought a contrast of some blue hued skies that have been
missing. The piled-high snow danced with
sparkling diamonds that will soon melt … even the bare, brown trees kicked up
their style a notch with some white icing placed carefully on their
boughs! For seven days in a row, I have
“seen” breathtaking sites in the Caribbean islands sent via on-line posts by
our kids who were there … and I felt like I was experiencing a bit of it with
them! I “gazed” upon new photos that
popped up on my phone – starring our grandkids and great-granddaughter, and
their smiles, their features, their personalities bursting forth made me feel
like I wasn’t so far away! These past
Sundays in church, I have “seen” the hand of God at work through the power of
His love and the anointing of His Spirit, and I want to stay and bask in the
sweet presence I experience there. I get to lift up precious ministry friends
in prayer as circumstances break over their lives in a sudden roar; and I “witness”
God’s amazing miracle because He is Jehovah-Rapha, the Healer… and because this
couple’s friends all over the country united in intercessory prayer for their
urgent need! We received a letter in the
mail yesterday from supporters of this ministry from several states away – and
I “saw” through her eyes a vision of Heaven God had given her when she so badly
needed comfort in the loss of her sister to cancer. Amazing, to say the least! I was thrilled to chat with my aunt in the
state of Washington this past week, who just recently turned 98 years young! I say “young” – because that’s exactly what
she is! I “see” how God has blessed her
with long life (she has outlived her five younger siblings!), with great
health, with a still-sharp, sound mind, and with a great attitude and outlook
on life. I love the inspiration that she
is to me, and “want to be like my Aunt Aretta when I grow up”!! I am so excited about “seeing” the new people
that God has brought to us at Elevation North, who are as excited as we are
about this God-given ministry … who love being there as much as we do, who are
sensing God’s touch upon their lives like we are, and who cannot wait to get
there next week, just like us! I
absolutely love “seeing” God-opportunities present themselves on the horizon of
our lives as well as in front of our faces – so that we can be even a tiny part
of what God is doing on such a huge-scale in our world today! You see, until we “see” what God is desiring
to show us, we are going to miss the best part of our lives. I wish for you perfect 20/20 spiritual vision
so that you do not miss even one frame of the movie of life being played out
each day! What does God say on this
subject? Well, instead of being alarmed at what each day will bring, I think we
need to be “looking” at the power of the Resurrection that is recorded in Mark
chapter 16 and available for each of us:
“ ‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said.
‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen!
He is not here. See the place
where they laid Him. But go, tell His
disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.’
“ If we, too, will heed the angel’s
words to “look” for the risen Christ – not in the empty tomb, but out and about
in our world, having gone ahead of us … then we will “see” Him, just like He
tells us we will! We will “see” Him in
every part of our day, every part of our lives!
We will be able to discern His heart-prints, His presence, His miracles,
His love!
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
A SPECIAL
WELCOME to Mary, to Chris & Diamond, and to Amon, who joined us in
worship this past Sunday! God bless you!
SUN, MAR 10TH:
10:00 A.M. – PRAISE & WORSHIP
10:30 A.M. – KIDZONE
CHURCH
WED, MAR 13TH/THU,
MAR 14TH:
7:00 P.M. – MID-WEEK BIBLE STUDIES
Check your church calendar for locations
FRI, MAR 15TH:
LADIES NITE OUT/1st Birthday Celebration!
SAT, MAT 16TH:
9:00 A.M. – MEN’S BIBLE STUDY and
LADIES' PRAISE & PRAYER - with the
Barnabas Team meeting to follow
ELEVATION NORTH SPOTLIGHT!
We are excited about the presentation of the Passover Meal as part of our Good Friday evening service at church at 7:00 p.m. You will be able to focus on the indescribable sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross of Calvary as Pastor Doug shares from the scriptures. You will also experience sampling the foods that Jesus and His disciples shared together before His crucifixion: lamb, unleavened bread, grapes, salt water, paste, and more. You will not want to miss this unforgettable, meaningful service that will help prepare your heart for Communion and looking towards the joy of celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord! Plan to join us!!!
REMEMBER . .
. “Be on the lookout for God’s
trail of handiwork in your life … you will see things you’ve never noticed
before!” ~ Debbie Jones
Joyfully Serving Christ . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
