ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

HELLO!  That greeting has never sounded sweeter than when we heard our newest great-grandbaby speak that word recently on video via Facebook at not quite two and a half months old!  We were astounded, to say the least!  But … more on that in a bit.

Such a simple greeting, that small word.  We are taught from our very beginning, throughout our baby days and toddler stages “to say hello!” And usually, the emphasis is cheery and inviting and pleasant, leaving us wanting more tagged on to that initial invitation to enter our space.  Something good almost always follows “hello”.  I’ve been thinking a lot about how God can use that one little word for His good.  Saying “hello” is a personal welcome, an expression of our recognition of someone we already know, our choice to acknowledge a stranger, a response to another’s arrival, our receiving someone into communication, conversation, even chit-chat.  It all starts with a “hello.”  So, in God’s Kingdom, just how important is this little word?

I believe a genuinely uttered “hello” transcends many a problem or a limitation, and can reach out and draw people in as they respond and then wait to see what will follow.  You see, our greeting usually is a preface to the message we want to engage in.  In our families, we come together when we all get home for the day, and the first “hellos and hugs” loose a flood of talk about the events of our hours spent apart.  In our churches, we come together after a few days or a week apart, and from the first “hello … God bless you” – we witness an unleashing of the sharing of joys and struggles.  We experience a leaning on each other for encouragement and praying over each other for God’s divine intervention and blessing.  What happens when we decide to open our mouth out on the streets or in the stores, and we utter that hopeful “first-hello-without-sounding-weird?”  When we decide to take that leap with our heart and we open up our mouth, God will fill it with exactly what He wants to gift the other person with.  We can trust Him to do what He does best.  To be sufficient.  He will come through for you – and for the person receiving your “hello-and-more!” 

Then we get to the “witnessing” dimension of “hello”.  A word is nice.  A smile with it is even better.  But the word, the smile … they will fade away.  What if we sought to gift the recipients of our “hellos” with something that will last forever?  What if our greeting turned into an offer of eternal life with none other than the Jesus we introduce them to?  I believe that “telling someone about Jesus” begins with “saying hello to them!”  I challenge you to start praying about your hellos; about who you should say “hello” to – every single day.  You will soon see these one-word greetings as divine appointments from God Himself!  Ask God for “one” opportunity to say hello to someone today.  See where He takes that.  Then, no matter how perfect it turns out, or how obviously awful you thought it turned out, keep going … ask God for another “one” opportunity to say hello.  We don’t have to ask God for scores of opportunities – just one.  Just this one.  Just now.  And then don’t settle for that.  Ask for another one.  There will always be another one out there, many of them just longing for a word, a smile, a warm, simple hello!  Only God knows where He will take each of your hellos!  Watch them multiply, and witness transformations through the love of Jesus that will last for all of eternity!

Alright, let’s go back to the story of our great-grandbaby.  His name is Christian Jones, and he and his mommy were just having a fun little one-sided conversation that morning at home.  She was talking to him and wanting to capture some cute baby sounds or fun giggles to share with her friend.  She started recording the 10-second snap-chat video on her phone, and cheerily said, “Say hello to Amber!”  Christian made some baby sounds that if you listened carefully you might have been able to say it sounded a bit like a baby’s garbled version of the word.  But then she said to him again, “Hello!”  He formed his lips just so, and out came the cutest, clearest, baby “hello” I have ever heard!  We were in a store when our son called us and said, “Have you seen your great grandson on Facebook?”  When I said, “no, we are just checking out,” he said, “just watch the video when you get out in the car and then call me back.”  We did just that, and were surprised, amazed, and could hardly believe our ears!  We played it over and over!  On the ninth second of recording, Christian’s “hello” melted our hearts, and on the tenth second, you could hear his mommy gasp at what she had just heard … and the video instantly ended.  So … our almost two and a half month old great-grandbaby said “hello!”  It is something our family will continue to be amazed at – and treasure always.  We will watch that short little video over and over.  Because when you watch it once, you just cannot watch it once.  You have to watch it again.  And again!  His precious face and sweet little voice are so endearing.  End of story.  Wrong!  One million and nine hundred thousand times wrong.  That’s how many views that little snap-chat video has gotten since it went viral within 24 hours.  People have seen it on most every form of social media there is, and people all around the world have seen baby Christian’s sweet face and heard his clear voice.  It’s hard to believe … who would have ever thought this would happen?  From one little “hello”?  The huge response is overwhelming; 1.9 million views is difficult to comprehend.  How did the numbers grow that large?  Well, o-n-e view at a time.  And it has not even been four weeks yet! 

I share this heartwarming family story with you to remind you that God can do the very same with our o-n-e hello to someone else.  God WILL use it.  People will hear it and share it and comments will be made.  Decisions will be made to “view” your hello again.  Because something about your greeting, your smile, your message cannot be heard just once!  Lord Jesus, give us the desire and the set-on-fire burn in our hearts to win one lost soul.  Just one.  At a time.  And never let us stop saying “hello” to just one.  And then You do with our little greeting as You wish.  Our heart’s cry is that we will take as many people with us to Heaven as we can.  With Your help … just one at a time!

REMEMBER … “How can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?” ~ Romans 10:14  

Joyfully Serving Christ . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

ONE VOICE!  Presidential elections always take me back to when I was a little girl growing up on a farm with grain and cattle out on the prairies of North Dakota.  Before the dawn of television (now I am dating myself!), I would sit up late at night and into the wee hours of the morning listening to the tallies of the votes for the candidates come over the radio stations.  I adored my dad, so whatever he was interested in, so was I.  Everyone else would be tucked into bed, and he and I would sit at the kitchen table with pencil and paper and write down the counted votes as they were announced.  My heart would beat fast, intrigued at the process, and cheering on the outcome that my dad was hoping for.  And I always knew “why” he had chosen one candidate over the other, because he diligently taught me what he believed would best preserve our nation’s freedom and all that we held dear. 

My fascination with politics goes back even a generation prior, and I have visions of my dad’s dad, sitting in his comfy chair, smoking his pipe, and baiting arguments with anyone who would dare disagree with him!  He absolutely loved politics, and I’ve always said that when he got cut, his veins bled little red “R’s” for Republican!  Though my family followed staunchly in his ways, my dad always gave the wisest advice, teaching us not to just blindly follow a party, but that we should carefully choose and vote for the candidate who aligned with the values and issues that our hearts believed in and pursued, ultimately for the good of America and the masses of individuals who call it home!

Through the ensuing decades, I have continued to experience a fascination with politics, though that passionate interest has been tainted with the gradual erosion and corruption and disillusionment that many are seeing and feeling nowadays.  Too many candidates to count have lost their first love for our nation and what it was founded on, and the fame and fortune that accompanies winning, has often turned goodness into greediness. What is responsible for the negative changes that we see in America?

Indicators point to changes.  And once said changes have taken place, we can look back and see distinctive change-points that effected the spiral ~ be it upward or downward.  For decades now, America has been spiraling in a downward spin, almost to the point of no return.  We are only days away now from choosing who our next President of the United States of America will be.  Some would say it is too late now to do anything about what is happening.  Many have just given up because of what they are hearing on the news.  Most dangerous, though, is the choice of too many who have decided to do nothing.  They believe that their one vote will not make a difference.  What people do not understand, is that someone wins because of single votes adding up to what becomes the final tally,  In and of itself, one vote does not seem to matter.  But if we all gave up our one vote, another system of choosing our leaders would soon come into place, and we would no longer have a vote.  Or a voice.  Period.  You see, our vote IS our voice! 

People, make your one voice heard and known!  Vote while you still can!  Your freedom to do so is precious, even priceless.  It is the shed blood of countless Americans down through our history that ensured our freedom to do so, as they battled our enemies on war-fields, knowing they could lose their lives to keep America’s freedom intact for all who would come behind them.  That’s a sacrifice worthy of being treated with the utmost respect, by our politicians and each of us who love our nation.  If we feel like our politicians have lost their way, then it is time for us, the American people, to stand up and be counted with our personal “one voice” being translated into “a massive chorus of voices” that will make our wishes known to preserve our nation’s freedom and return to the God of our forefathers!

“Stop!”, some of you are saying, “don’t’ bring God into this!”  Well, how can I not?  Hang with me, because if you leave your emotions out of this and look at the facts of our history, you will see the trail of truth that has brought us to where we are today.  America would not have existed as a free nation this long had we not been founded on God and made Him a part of our government.  Read through our history books and you will find countless times following the birth of our nation where our leaders in the White House and our leaders on the battle fields called on the Name of God for help to persevere and to stand strong against the enemy, praying for supernatural triumph and victory, against all odds.  And God answered, time and time again. 

Open the pages of more recent history books and you will find proof of the downward slide of our nation’s morals and values … and you will witness an unparalleled unleashing of sin and corruption and an unabashed turning of our backs on God.  So why should we be surprised when we see what we have held dear for so long – coming apart at the seams, unraveling, and getting so threadbare that we can barely recognize the America we once knew?  Track the beginning of our present day status of eroding freedom back to 1962 and 1963 when the Bible and prayer were taken out of the public classrooms, and you will see the changing face of who America has become in 2016.  Sad to say, we have strayed so far from the Constitutional rights that our forefathers wrote into the laws of our land.  In case we have forgotten, let me share some of the words of our Declaration of Independence, unanimous in its acceptance by all of the thirteen United States of America at that time, signed on July 4, 1776.  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - (and the last words of the document, state this):  “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance of the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”  What this should mean to us, is that OUR VOICE COUNTS!  OUR VOTE COUNTS!  At least, IT SHOULD! 

Did you catch the meaning of this Declaration, that there are truths that are “truth” … that we are ALL created “equal” … that we are given and provided certain “Rights” by our Creator, including Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness (which are the things that we hold most dear and treasured; they are in fact, priceless) … that our “government, instituted among men, derives its just powers from the consent of the governed” – people, this is us, “YOU and ME!”  So, in this election, I want you to know just WHAT you are consenting to!  WE have the POWER, even though we have been blinded and swayed and deluded to believe otherwise.  WE get to say WHAT we consent to.  It is up to US to raise up and be counted, to make our voice heard, and to make our vote count.  YOU matter and YOUR RIGHTS matter.  Now, more than ever!

Down through the ages, as recorded in Scripture, kingdoms have been raised up and kingdoms have fallen.  Both the just and the unjust have reigned and ruled.  Nations have demanded things of God, and because He created us with a free will, He has given us our way – often to the demise of what is best for us.  So how long will we go on demanding our own selfish ways that are not in the best interest of the people of our beloved America?  Are we really so blinded that we cannot see what we are becoming?  I, for one, believe in the intelligence and wisdom of the people of our nation.  I, for one, believe that we can arise as a mighty force to effect necessary changes for us to survive and thrive as we were intended to.  I believe that we can make up our own minds without being swayed back and forth by the emotional and skewed non-truths that are running rampant in much of our news.  Once we decide what we believe as individuals, then we need to take a step back from the tsunami of constant news alerts, and get out that old-fashioned pencil and paper, and write down just what it is that we believe and hold dear.  There is really only one source that we need to be accountable to, and that is God’s Word.  If our choices in this election match up to God’s directives and guidance, we are on the right track.  Perhaps you have chosen to not be called a Christian, or a God-follower.  Again, that is your choice … you get to choose who you will follow.  I can respect you as a person for your freedom to choose; though I would love nothing more than for you to personally experience the greatest relationship there is:  that between God and man, woman, or child!

I encourage you to search out the list of issues that each imperfect candidate states that they believe and will pursue and protect.  Each of us is imperfect, too, if we are to be honest with ourselves.  We too frequently expect more from others than from ourselves.  I encourage you to look at what best matches up with your head and your heart as you pray for Divine wisdom to make the right choice for our next President of the United States.  Every decision that he or she decides to make will significantly impact the future of what our freedom will look like beginning from January, 2017 forward.  America today has a choice of two different faces.  Your one voice, your one vote will help decide which face America will have.  She was founded to be beautiful and free.  Will you please help her remain that way?  If you’ve never believed that you are important, I am affirming your importance now.  Make your God-given rights known at the polls on Tuesday, November 8^th!  Do not let your voice and your vote be silenced by doing nothing. 

I love how in the “faith chapter” of the Bible, (Hebrews 11) there has been recorded a long list of names who are applauded and recognized for their bold faith.  I do not have enough space here to explain the shortcomings of each of these heroes of the faith, and yet God chose for their names to be included as examples for us.  I really believe that because He allowed us to read about their sins and their failures, He wanted us to indeed know, that in spite of us, in spite of our imperfections, we can still be used in amazing ways for His Kingdom purposes!  I know … that’s pretty mind-boggling!!  To be the Queen of England or the President of the United States, or the Prime Minister of Israel, we should be perfect in every way, right?  Righteous to a fault, right?  Of all people, God knows we are human.  He created us, after all – He should know!  Actually, all He needs is for us to be willing to be used by Him, and we might be surprised at what He will do with us.  With just our one little vote … and with the candidate who we vote into office.  So help us, God!  May God bless the United States of America, I pray!  

Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR VOICE?  You were created with one, you know!  And it is a unique voice, with a tone that is unmatched by any other.  It has its own words … its own inflection, style, and personality.  It gets your message across, be it positive or negative.  Nasty or nice!  It can bless or it can curse.  With it, you can speak and you can sing.  You can scream or you can whisper.  This voice you’ve been given can be used in a myriad of ways:  it can belligerently bully or it can soothe with sensitivity and compassion.  It can promote or demote.  It can be projected to the masses with a mighty message. Or it can minister to an audience of one hurting soul. It can ultimately lift up the Lord Jesus Christ – or it can give latitude to the enemy.  At any rate, however you look at it, or rather … listen to it, YOU have a VOICE!  May I ask, what are you doing with yours?

You know, I must tell you that I would never ask you that question, had I not first asked it of myself.  And a question like that deserves an honest answer from ourselves – to ourselves. It takes some soul-searching deep within our hearts to come up with a true assessment of what we use our voices for, and how.  Each of us only gets one voice, you know.  And no matter how we try (even if we should be a ventriloquist!) we will never have anyone else’s voice!  Amazingly enough, our Creator gifted us with a “one-in-several billion” voice.  He left His fingerprints on our one-of-a-kind designed voice, and no one on this earth can duplicate it.  Believe it or not, God has a divine purpose for that voice of yours!  You might think it is scratchy sounding, nasally and annoying, whiny far too often, too loud, too weak and meek, too braggy, too shy, too abrupt or too rambling.  Well, now I am rambling . . .

While we might never have a famous voice, what is important is that we have a voice with availability to the God who gave it to us!  Isn’t that what others before us have done?  Like Moses, Abraham, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah, John the Baptist, Peter, Paul, and a host of others?  And in no special order, this is just a short list to remind us that God can use any of us!  ALL of us – IF we will let Him. 

What about these days?  Are there any bold voices?  Any voices crying in the wilderness telling us to “Repent!”?  I am ecstatic to report a resounding “yes”!  Billy Graham and his son, Franklin Graham, John Hagee, David Jeremiah, husband and wife team, John and Lisa Bevere, Andy Stanley, Jentezen Franklin, Christine Caine, Matthew Barnett, plus a host of others, including a new, young voice warning people all over this nation to “Repent!” – unabashedly, without apology, passionately speaking the Name of Jesus into the lives of anyone who will hear and listen:  only 25 years old, his name is Clayton Jennings.  I encourage you and urge you to check out his ministry on youtube.com.  And then pray for him!  Larry and Gloria Lundstrom … and Josh and Sarah Seykora, who our church family supports – Lundstroms:  dedicated, faithful evangelists here in the U.S. and beyond, and the young Seykora family in Australia: serving in many other nations and then back here at home in the mid-west from time to time!  Evangelists, missionaries, pastors, speakers, authors.  The number seems so few in proportion to the masses that spew anger and hatred and violence.  And yet the number of those who God is raising up is increasing.  The voices are getting louder and bolder.  They are preaching salvation and proclaiming the prophetic.  God is raising a mighty army that is unstoppable!  Unstoppable when we finally recognize Whose we are, and Whose Kingdom battles we are engaged in and armed for!!  We are marked with the shed blood of Jesus and no one can harm us or destroy us! 

Have you begun to “hear” your voice by now?  Do you see how it is being used – or how it could be used?  The thing is, you don’t have to speak on your own merit or with your own gifts, or lack of them.  Who God calls to speak, He will give words to.  Who God calls to be bold, He will give passion and anointing to.  It is not by our might or our power; it is by the Spirit of God that we are given a message to put our voice to!  What is your message, friend?  What are you saying?  What are you speaking into the lives of others?  Does it have eternal value?  Do your words have the right motive for the end result you are hoping for?  What impact can you make to effect an eternal difference?  What gifts can you lay on the altar willingly?  And remember, we can have the most amazing voice with the most profound message – but if we do not live what we are saying, then our words are worthless, powerless, and empty.  How tragic it would be to waste the voice that God has given us!  I hope and pray you are stirred up to think and pray about how God desires to use YOUR distinctive, personal voice for His glory in these unbelievable, but opportunity-filled days!

REMEMBER . . .

“And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you 
will continue until the day of Jesus Christ, (right up to the time of His return), 
developing (that good work) and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”

~ Philippians 1:6 

Serving Christ Joyfully . . .  

Pastor Doug and Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

“IT WAS WHEN I BEGAN MAKING SPACE FOR JESUS, that I had the strength to consider the possibilities He put before me.”  (A quote from someone within the Youth With A Mission ministry organization.)  Sometimes God just zeroes statements into your heart that He has spoken to others, and something in you awakens afresh and anew!  That’s what happened when I read this quote.  The words echo a resounding message that rings true for us who know Christ and who are called to serve Him.  By the way … that includes ALL of us who know Jesus personally!  Yet, in these days, our calendars get so filled there’s barely space to jot one more thing on them, right?  And often we find that when we go to write something down or add it to our smartphone calendars, there is already something there for that date and time.  Help!!  More space needed!!!

You see, making space for Jesus is centric to every aspect of not just “who” we are … but “who” we can or will become.  There must be a pivotal center to which all else is attached.  A starting point.  An anchored place.  A focal gaze.  We must admit if we take an honest look at our lives, that we do have points, places, gazes.  But that’s exactly what causes us to be pulled in all the directions we are.  We have multi-starting points, several anchored places, and many shifting gazes.  You see, our God is not plural.  He is One … yes, the Trinity is One!  And the Bible tells us that He is a “jealous God” who wants to be the sole center of our very existence.  As we start anything, everything.  As we put down roots and anchors.  As we look around.  He wants everything about His children to be connected to Him, so that who we are and all we do flows from His very life.  So that our starting points will always start with His leading. So that every place we go will find its rock-solid anchor in the depths of His unchangeable character.  So that whatever circumstances we see in this life – will in turn find our faces turned towards Him and we will just not be able to take our gaze from His face.

Does living like this take effort?  Oh, does it ever!  I can liken it to the nearly 24 hour time period of labor in childbirth endured as our grandson and his wife awaited the arrival of their first child just a few weeks ago.  For them, it was a path not traveled before.  This was a new kind of waiting that included a myriad of emotions and physical effort and pain never before experienced.  There were moments of anxiety that grew with intensity as the hours lengthened.  All the while, a host of prayers were being lifted up and God’s presence was encircling them.  All of this was attached to “one” joyous hope that was being birthed, and they never took their eyes off the expectancy of seeing their brand new son!  And at God’s appointed time, on Saturday, August 13^th, at 2:50 p.m., baby Christian Marshall Jones was born, weighing 7 lbs. 8 oz., measuring 21” long!  As this new little one joins our family, our prayer is that he will always sense the presence of the One who planned His birth since the beginning of time, with specific purpose for every day of his life.  Was it worth the nine months of pregnancy and all of that preparation?  All that pain?  The space made in the womb for this baby eventually burst forth into not just the possibility of this little boy being born – but the anticipated reality of Christian’s entrance into this world and into our family’s lives! 

It is the same with making space for Jesus!  When we do just that, we find the strength to consider the possibilities He puts before us … and realities are birthed!!  What we cannot yet see … our God sees as already “being”!  And when we give Him the space He deserves … and the space we desire Him to have in our lives … we begin to “see” what He sees – and His plans and purposes for our lives are birthed!  Hallelujah!  His plans for us are grand, even when they are simple!  And His purposes for our lives are higher than our wildest imaginations when we remain attached to the spiritual umbilical cord that connects us to our Creator.  Every blessing, every favor, every accomplishment comes together for a purpose much greater than our often selfish, human wishes and dreams.  All of that is fleshed out and it becomes our greatest honor to be used for His glory!  Who says it is not the most exciting life ever to live connected to the One and Only, Lord Jesus Christ!  It is more amazing and rewarding than living any other way!  Making space for Jesus … brings heaven to earth … and brings Eternity into view!

REMEMBER . . .

“But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His Kingdom and His righteousness
 (His way of doing and being right),

and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.” ~ Matthew 6:33

“Like newborn babies you should crave (thirst for, earnestly desire) 
the pure (unadulterated) spiritual milk,

that by it you may be nurtured and grow unto (completed) salvation.” ~ I Peter 2:2  

Joyfully  Serving Christ . . .

Pastor Doug & Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

“I NEED THEE EVERY HOUR” ~ there’s an old hymn written in 1872 by Annie S. Hawks and Robert Lowry that puts words to the cry of our heart in these tumultuous days of 2016.  Take a listen to the words that were penned so long ago and see if they are not even more pertinent for today.  “I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord; No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.  I need Thee, oh, I need Thee; Every hour I need Thee; Oh, bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee.”  Thinking about this admission of our need for God, I could not come up with even one part of my life that these words would not apply to.  Would not our families, our churches, and every thread that makes up the fabric of our nation and world benefit by a prayer like this put to song with our voices rising in unison?  That is, if we really meant it?

Thank God for beautiful moments in the midst of these trying times.  How we need love to shine brightly in our dark world, and how we love that it was God who ordained marriage between a man and a woman.  We love that He brings soul-mates together!  It was just that kind of celebration we were so privileged to be a part of last month on the 18^th of June when my husband performed the marriage ceremony of our grandson, Dylan, and his bride, Samantha.  They stood hand in hand and listened to the Words of God about becoming one … and they spoke their vows with deep resolve, promising to love each other through all of life – with honor and respect.  And so on a God-blessed, sun-kissed afternoon beneath summer skies … and in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, Dylan and Samantha said “yes” to becoming husband and wife and beginning their life together!  Will this prayer, “I need Thee every hour” become their prayer? This gramma prays it will ~ every day.  I pray it will echo from the depths of their hearts not only daily, but as many times a day as needed for leaning on Christ as the center of their marriage, and discovering Who it is that will keep them together and keep their love faithful and strong and passionate.  Is this not the best marriage prayer ever – that we would together express our need of God for a love relationship that reflects the love of Christ to our world around us?!  Husbands and wives, I encourage and challenge you to begin praying this prayer!

In this election season, it is difficult to escape coverage of every move every candidate and presidential nominee makes.  If we wish, we can be tuned in every hour on the hour!  I would definitely advise us to be informed and to seek out accuracy as we carefully make our choices for the general election vote coming up in November.  That’s a lot of sifting and searching, I know; but we dare not run the risk of being jaded or deceived.  We need truth to prevail … and we need GOD to prevail in this election in America!  I believe this will happen ONLY if God’s people will rise up with fervor and pray as they’ve never prayed before:  “I NEED THEE EVERY HOUR, MOST GRACIOUS LORD!”  And we HAVE to mean it when we confess our need of the Lord God Almighty!  You see, no matter who we choose, they are only a mere man or woman.  Yes, if the one who takes on the presidential role is a born-again Christian and leans on God for wisdom to lead this great nation of ours so that it can remain great, that individual will be empowered from Above, there is no doubt.  But more importantly, we need to realize that our nation, our lives, our future, and these times are in God’s hands.  He is the One who reigns on high, over all, above all, and by whose command -rulers rise and rulers fall.  He is the only One who never changes … God remains the same:  yesterday, today, and forever!  The cry of our heart must be none other than this prayer:  “We need You every hour, most gracious Lord!”  For America to stand strong in the face of present day evils and destruction … we must run to and rely on our God as our source for all that this nation needs right now.  There is no other option if America is to survive.  And thrive?  Only if we as a nation return to the God of our forefathers, upon Whom this nation was founded!

And there is yet one more season that each of us should be even MORE concerned about!!  That season is a forever one, and it lasts for Eternity.  The choice we make to personally receive or reject the Lord Jesus Christ has eternal ramifications.  Our “vote” will get us the promise of a life in Heaven forever … or it will get us the punishment of a life in Hell forever.  Unending joy and peace!  Or unending suffering and torture. What is so difficult about a choice like this?  And yet throngs are making the choice to reject God – blinded, deceived, lost.  Doesn’t that just break your heart?  It should!  We need to be praying for the precious people who have not yet said “yes” to Jesus – that they will.  And we need to be praying that God will use us to help them grasp the truth of the Choice of all choices, because it is e-v-e-r-l-a-s-t-i-n-g!  That’s forever, friends.

Today, in this season of 2016, we need to be praying that God will empower us as His children to shift our thinking, to shift our praying, to shift our living.  We need to be praying, “God’s purpose and plan … not ours.  God’s vision and mission … not ours.  God’s timing and fulfillment … not ours.  God’s victory and release … not ours.”  Let’s pray together:  “We need Thee, oh, we need Thee … every hour we need Thee!”  May we NEVER stop praying that way – every part of our lives can experience a supernatural shift on this earth as it is in Heaven!  Will you pray with me?

REMEMBER . . .

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy

and find grace to help us in our time of need."  

~ Hebrews 4:16  

Joyfully Serving Christ . . . 

Pastor Doug & Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

WHAT DOES GOD WANT MOST FROM ME?  Some years it seems like God gives me a theme that I find myself seeking Him for more than anything else.  Last year, the word I kept hearing in my spirit was:  relationships.  Did God change every person that I prayed about?  That I don’t know for sure.  I can only say I saw a defined change in many of my relationships that I longed for more closeness in.  But I have a feeling that God changed me in the process, and most likely when I changed and found new freedom in giving the relationship fully over to Him … the other person probably found it easier to relate to me in the more intimate way that I had longed for!  All I know is that I was amazed and astounded!  Should I have been?  Not really … as I had enlisted the help of the One who longs to give us the desires of our hearts!  His Word even says so!  And just so you know, I did as much praying for myself, as I did for the other person/s.  I love how God turns things around and how very evident His work in us is!

But that was more about what I wanted from God, I’d have to admit.  THIS year, as I seek the face of God, I keep hearing over and over in the depths of my soul that God wants something from ME!  And of all the things He could want, what I am beginning to understand more fully is that HE JUST WANTS ME TO WANT HIM!  Pure and simple!  And yes, as I have sensed God telling me this, I am also hearing others say the same thing!  God could be asking for so many other things, like:  My child, I want your love and devotion.  Your heart and soul.  Your time and your talents.  Your money and your possessions.  Your ideas and your dreams.  Your will and your focus.  But you know what He is saying?  He is telling me that He just wants me to want HIM! 

So God, just how do you want me to live that out?  When I ask Him – He lets me know.  That is, when I really and truly want to know “how”!  And this year, I am telling Him that I honestly want to know!!  He is quick to show up … and He is not the least bit shy about telling me that He wants me to literally WANT to put Him first in everything I say and in everything I do!  Yes, everything, He emphasizes!!!  No more falling prey to the pressured, deadline things that demand my attention first, but instead … sitting at the feet of Jesus first!  Every single time!  Will that be difficult ... will that demand a sacrifice on my part?  Will that cause me to lose a little extra sleep in the mornings … and will I WANT HIM so very much – that any present battles over my flesh will be crucified and I will leap from my list of demands or foolish waste of precious moments – and into the arms of my Jesus … because I WANT HIM?  Want Him more than anything else?  More than His gifts?  More than His protection?  More than His provision?  Will I just WANT HIM?  Will I be so in tune with His Spirit that I will open up my mouth to total strangers and let His Words come out?  Will I daily and moment-by-moment make wise, righteous choices that mark my days with His signature love that continues forward when mine lags behind?  Will I do these things and much more?  The thing is this:  no matter how much we think we HAVE to do to prove to Him that we really WANT HIM more than anything else in our lives, will cause us to come up short and make us feel like we’ve failed Him!  But, when we just simply and purely WANT OUR LORD & SAVIOR, all of the marks that define a yielded child of God will show forth as reality in our lives!  All of the fruit that we are to live out will grow and mature as a result of just wanting Him!  Yes!

Will we fail?  Will we think of giving up?  Settling for less of Him and more of us?  No, a thousand times NO!  We must want more than ever to follow HARD after our God and to have an UNDIVIDED HEART before Him!  When we SEE Him … He will be seen through us!  When we FOLLOW Him … He will go before us!  When we PURSUE Him … He lets us catch Him!  When things get tough and we HIDE OURSELVES in Him … He smooths our way and we find ourselves in Him!  Come to think of it, this is the ultimate relationship we could ever want!  So what are we waiting for?  If our walk with God is to survive in this present and evil world, then the only logical conclusion tied to our faith in God … is that we must understand that He only wants us to want HIM!  Living our life just wanting God will cause the doors of His Kingdom to fling open in ways we’ve only before dreamed of!  Our connection to others will flow naturally and we will find ourselves being used for God’s glory in ways beyond our wildest imaginations!  Even so, Lord Jesus, I want YOU!  YOU.  YOU!  Always and only YOU!  For Your honor and glory! 

 REMEMBER . . .

“My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me.” 
~ Psalm 63:8

“ … direct and unite my heart (solely, reverently) to fear and honor Your Name.” 
~ Psalm 86:11  

Joyfully Serving Christ . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

 “IN THE END, IT’S NOT THE YEARS IN YOUR LIFE THAT COUNT.  IT’S THE LIFE IN YOUR YEARS.”  This quote is one spoken by Abraham Lincoln long ago.  And it’s very true!  My regards, Mr. Lincoln; I DO agree with your quote, but this day I would like to share my version of the quote you penned, which goes like this … “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count.  It’s the Lord Jesus Christ in your life!”  This also, is true – scripturally true, in fact.  The gospel message in John 3:16 states that for us to have everlasting life (which begins at the end of our earthly life) – we must believe and receive the Gift of God’s Son, Jesus, into our very own life while we are here on this earth. THAT’S what counts, dear friends!

So, if it’s the Lord Jesus Christ in our life that counts … then HE should be shown through us to the world around us.  We should daily be inviting HIM to live through us in everything we do ~ every day.  Yes!  Every twenty-four hours.  Each new day!  Why do you think He chooses to give us another day on earth?  Just to throw some cruel test at us to see if we can somehow get through the struggles and the intensity of it all?  More truthfully, He has placed us here with a divine, definitive purpose and plan with unlimited opportunities to let Him shine through us!  For His glory and honor!!  Everything we do should make a bold statement to our world, be it in a quiet, behind-the-scenes sort of way … or in visible stark contrast to the hopelessness and evil of this present world we live in, work in, walk in, and worship in!  So, how do we do this?

Well, let me tell you how the business world makes itself known.  Corporations, family businesses, online stores, small-town businesses – they all clamor for their piece of the marketplace.  Big bucks are paid for professional marketing officers who are gifted and effective in how they compete for the attention of the average shoppers.  I recently read the accolades given to a corporate marketer who oversees an entire region of stores throughout the Mid-West, and I love what their CEO and President said about her:  “She has great insight into our business and she understands how to reach our customers.”  Isn’t that what sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Great Commission is all about?  So how do we get great insight and understanding about how to reach those we want to bring into “our store” (translated:  the church, or more importantly, God’s Kingdom)?  We long to reach more of God’s people who have no church home … and we have a passion to reach those people who are lost without a Savior.  How do we go about it, though?

While the world’s marketers are most likely innovative leaders, the key is that they know their products and they promote their brand.  They use all kinds of marketing tools to get the desired job done:  special promotions, television and radio, the internet, weekly newspaper ads, coupons, brand image, public relations, community involvement, social media, and much more.  Insightfully, huge companies often recognize the power of being involved and helping in their local communities or elsewhere when needs arise – even when there is no financial gain for their company in doing so.  This is powerful!  It shows the compassionate, caring side of their business, and it turns into a win-win situation that has positive impact on both the company and especially the people they helped!  Lives are changed … people are reached!

In God’s Kingdom, we must recognize that having great insight and understanding how to reach people for Christ comes through immersing ourselves in the Word of God, applying ourselves to study and learning, sitting at the feet of Jesus, seeking wisdom and discernment, and then listening to His voice and obediently going out and DOING what He tells us to do!  Doing these things daily in a committed, often sacrificial way, will enable us to become people-changers as we reach them in ways that we’ve never even thought of!  Steeping ourselves in the presence of Christ and His living Word will give us the insight we need to know our Product:  Jesus Christ, first and foremost – and His gift of salvation and all His benefits … and then to promote His brand:  holy living with an undivided heart that reflects Christ. 

Then as we use our God-given insight and understanding, we will be able to share the Lord Jesus Christ as He opens doors for us to reach out to our “customer-base”:  souls who still need the saving grace of Jesus!  This next week, we are challenging you to help us at Elevation North to do just that as we prepare for the Sunday morning rally with Larry and Gloria Lundstrom on June 5^th at 10:00 a.m.  We are taking our message to the streets of Owatonna!  Please help us by blessing Owatonna and adopting your street!  As you pray for those on your street, speak peace and blessing, reach out and build relationships, respond to needs, share the love, presence and power of Jesus Christ by inviting them to the Lundstrom Rally!  If they don’t yet know Jesus, they will have the opportunity to do so when they come to the rally!  Of course, they don’t have to wait until the Rally ~ if they are ready to say “yes” to Jesus when you talk with them, YOU can lead them to Jesus right there on the street!

And … we are not stopping after this week is past!  We are going to continue to walk the streets of our city all summer long, praying for the people who live on these streets, sharing the love of Jesus!  Stay tuned for more details about the “BLESS Minnesota ~ Adopt Your Street” movement!  You can be a part of it by going to:  www.BlessMN,org today!  We have the opportunity to carry out the Great Commission ~ please join us as we catch the vision and walk our streets and cover the people who live there with prayer!  May our passion to win the lost be awakened and revived; this is our heart’s cry to our God!  At the end of life, THIS is what REALLY COUNTS, dear friends! 

REMEMBER . . .

"And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' 

Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.'"
Isaiah 6:8  

Joyfully Serving Christ . . . 

Pastor Doug and Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

PEOPLE GIVE SHOUT-OUTS TO OTHERS EVERY DAY!  “You ROCK!  You are AWESOME!  That is AMAZING!  How INCREDIBLE!  Wow … you are THE BEST!”  And on and on!!  I am sure you have shouted out your own accolades to others that you appreciate – and received some accolades of your own from others that want you to know how they are impacted by you!  And hey, I am all for patting each other on the back and gifting others with uplifting affirmation.  If more people lived by the rule of sowing positive words into the lives of others, not only our nation, but our world would be such blessed places.  And why?  Because those who walk among us and around us would be blessed by the value that we speak into them!  That principle is scriptural, after all.  People are starving for godly attention/affirmation.  Children are tossed aside … and they just want to hear at least once in their young life that someone loves them, cares, and believes in who they are – that there is something good in them.  Who will they hear it from? 

Deuteronomy chapter 11 gives us some powerful instructions that we would do good to heed, especially in these days we are living in!  Starting in verse 18. we are told that we “shall do something”, which is “laying up God’s Words in our minds and hearts, and entire being”, and then we are to “bind them for a sign upon our hands and as forehead bands between our eyes.”  The scripture goes on to tell us in the next few verses:  “And you shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you rise up.”  Doesn’t leave a lot out of how we are to live and pass the truth of God’s Word on to our family and each generation who follows us, does it?  Oh, but there is a bit more:  “And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” and then comes the promise attached to what happens when we do these things!  “That your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth,” … and there is MORE!  Hold on!!

WAKE UP AMERICA!  That is the theme of this year’s 65^th Annual National Day of Prayer which will be held in the next few days on May 5^th.  Listen to the theme scripture verse:  “SHOUT IT ALOUD, DO NOT HOLD BACK.  RAISE YOUR VOICE LIKE A TRUMPET … ” Isaiah 58:1a (NIV)  We really need to read and digest the entire chapter for this to get into our hearts like God would like it to.  This is in all actuality, a call to repentance!  In America, it is so easy to call ourselves Christians; to think that we are so holy and righteous and that we are doing what God wants us to do.  In all reality, God is calling us to truly repent … to truly fast with a  condition of heart that He wants us to have – which you will discover fully if you read the entire chapter!  Then “our right relationship with God will go before us and the glory of the Lord shall be our rear guard.” The verses are filled with promise after promise of what God will do for us and through us – and don’t miss the last verse (read it below)!

WAKE UP AMERICA! Wake up, born again Christians!  I know you are election-weary, confused, frustrated, and feel like there is no point to anything anymore.  But we must remain steady and true to God’s Word and engage in shouting the call to repentance aloud, not holding back; we MUST raise our voices like a trumpet – lest we lose our voice in the fray!  We cannot give up!  Billy Graham’s son, Franklin, is not giving up.  He is traveling to each one of the 50 states and sounding the call for believers to PRAY.  VOTE.  ENGAGE.  Dare we do any less?  Back to Deuteronomy 11, now in verses 22-24a:  For if you diligently keep all this commandment which I command you to do, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to cleave to Him – then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than you.  Every place upon which the sole of your feet shall tread shall be yours …”.  You see, God says that He has set before us a blessing and a curse:  a blessing if we obey His commands – and a curse if will not obey them!  America is where she is at because we have NOT obeyed God’s commands.  Only our decision to wake up and act … to repent and obey … to pray, vote, and engage our rights in Christ – will save us from utter destruction on this soil in this year of 2016. Let’s decide TODAY to place the soles of our feet solidly upon the Word of God, so that wherever we tread we can lay claim to for the Kingdom of God!  The choice lies before us ~ WHAT WILL YOU CHOOSE TO DO, children of God?  SHOUT IT ALOUD!

REMEMBER . . .

“Then will you delight yourself in the Lord, and I will make you to ride 
to the high places of the earth,

and I will feed you with the heritage (promised for you) of Jacob your father;

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.”

Isaiah 58:14  

Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

IS THIS THE DAY YOU ARE WAITING FOR?  “The day that your waiting meets God’s promise?”  Think about it for a moment.  First of all, define what you are waiting for.  Think about how long you have prayed … and waited.  But let me ask you this:  have you ever in your praying and waiting season aligned your longing with a promise from God?  Have you marked your asking and waiting with God’s promise?  I believe that God has tagged our needs with His promises – but are we connecting them together? We have forgotten how to position our prayers with the promises of the Living God.  And so we wait … and that day of victory all too often seems so distant and unattainable.  It’s so easy to chalk it up to our assumption that either God doesn’t hear … or care … or plan to bring us to “THAT DAY.”  And we go on with our lives, feeling powerless and forsaken.

RESURRECTION MORNING!  Is this the day that Jesus’ disciples were waiting for?  Did they even know what to expect?  They had heard Him talking about this moment … but somehow they just could not seem to wrap their minds around His words.  Much less – understand what those words meant!  In these days before His death, the scripture records in Matthew 16:21 – “From that time on Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”  Did the disciples get what He meant?  Well, Peter immediately rebuked Jesus and indignantly stated, “Never, Lord!  This shall never happen to You!”  He thought he was being brave and protective, but listen to how Jesus replied:  “Get behind me, Satan!  You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”  (verses 22-23)   Wow!  Jesus brought Peter up short with His words – but He wanted Peter and the other disciples to understand that as long as they perceived only the earthly way of thinking as people do… they would never “see” or comprehend the things of God.  Let me ask you this:  don’t you long to see what God sees in you?  And what He wants to do through you?  Don’t you want to understand His ways so you can live in oneness with Him rather than being on the outside trying to look in?

And this same abrupt reply from Jesus applies to us today.  We will never fully experience the Promise held in the Resurrection of Jesus that Sunday morning if we do not filter all our thinking and beliefs through the mind of Christ.  Yes, did you get that?  WE have the mind of Christ – well, we CAN have, if we desire it.  God’s Word says in I Corinthians 2:16 – “For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge?  But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.”  Knowing that and looking at people and circumstances and choices with the mind of Christ instead of our own will – in God’s time brings us to that day when our waiting meets God’s promises!

As the women on that first day of the week went early to the tomb of Jesus … His words dimmed in their focus on His death and their task at hand:  to prepare His body for burial.  When they did not find Him in the tomb, suddenly they were frightened by angels who asked them a most poignant question:  “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”  Luke 24:5b Then comes their explanation in verse 6:  “He is not herel He has risen!  Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’  Then they remembered His words.”

WE, TOO, LOOK FOR JESUS IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES.  We search for Him in the dead places of our heart; in the shattered dreams; in the broken pieces.  In the empty tomb of our lives.  Like the women, we need to remember the words of Jesus.  HE IS RISEN!  He has left all the dead places – so why do we still search for Him there?  He is all about keeping His Word.  His promises!  You see, remembering God’s words keeps us focused on Him and His power ~ not on us and our limitations!  The day we finally grasp this truth is the day that our waiting will meet His promises!  What are we waiting for?  HE is Risen!  He IS Risen!  Yes, He is RISEN!  My prayer is that each of us will live in those RISEN places that His Resurrection brings to us each new day!  He is ALIVE ~ and He lives in YOU and in ME!

REMEMBER . . .

“As Jesus stepped into the garden, you were in His prayers.

As Jesus looked into heaven, you were in His vision …

His final prayer was about you.  His final pain was for you.  His final passion was you.”

~ Max Lucado  

Joyfully Serving Christ . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

NOTHING YOU DO IS POINTLESS!  Well, that is, nothing you do is pointless when you are part of the kingdom of heaven.  Because when you are, everything is for a SPECIFIC PURPOSE!  ~ (thanks to a quote by Dani Johnson!)  When our lives are about more than us . . . when our lives are lived in pursuit of pleasing our Lord, then everything we do has reason and purpose.  Our waking moments will be defined by the early morning prayer that rolls off our lips and is sent heavenward:  “Lord Jesus, just take my life and DO SOMETHING with it today!”  Pray that.  MEAN that.  And be amazed at the things God will DO with your life on any given day!  Our everyday lives will be more than just the hours we spend at our jobs.  Those hours will be bathed with the very presence of the living God!  And your conversations, actions, work ethics, and relationships with co-workers will be opportunities to live out God in ways you never thought possible.  You won’t have to figure out ways to share Jesus … the doors will swing wide open and words will flow from your mouth almost before you realize what you are saying!  You will catch yourself walking away and looking up with this huge smile on your face as you say, “Wow, God!  That was SO You just now!”  Pointless?  No … on purpose!  With purpose … for a greater purpose:  God’s purpose!  I believe this is how God meant for His church to live out their faith in their everyday lives.  We must choose to be in training daily at His feet so that we will be ready when He chooses those precise moments to DO SOMETHING with us!   

Are we needed?  Yes . . . more than we can know!  Just step back - and look around.  Just be quiet – and listen.  You will see the heartaches, the brokenness.  The cries, the tears.  You will hear the despair, the hopelessness.  The fear, the anger.  Look at people’s eyes and hear their voices.  They are asking if there is anyone.  Any One?  They might not even know you.  And many have no idea that HE is the ONE!  And when these lost souls or disillusioned Christians are in crash and burn mode, the stark reality is that they need God.  But often, they don’t know that or are not ready yet.  So God sends us as a forerunner to His save-and-rescue arrival on the scene.  We get the privilege to help prepare them for His voice and His divine intervention.  They hear His voice through ours, gentle and compassionate.  Some respond to His love through ours.  Others don’t want to face reality or believe that they can rise above their present state.  At those times they need to experience a tough love that demands they pull up their bootstraps and climb out of the muddy pit that is pulling them under.  They’ll soon learn that we will get in that muddy mess with them to help them out, because that is what Jesus did for us.  And we will love them too much to just let them go back again and again, because that is how Christ loves us.  We will battle the enemy with them and declare victory over their circumstances, because we have the Word of God that is powerful and sharp enough to execute the win!  And when we’ve done all we’ve been called and trained to do, our God shows up!  Actually, He has been there all along, with us and in us and flowing through us by His Spirit.  But now He comes to do the impossible … the supernatural … the miraculous!  We witness heartaches – healed.  Brokenness – mended.  Cries silenced and tears dried.  The despair bent on destruction – thwarted.  Hopelessness - giving way to God’s plan for a hope and a future!  The grip of fear is disabled, and anger dissipates and is no more.  Each person God brings us to has a story that grips our hearts, but His grace re-writes the outcome of each soul.  Are we needed?  Yes!  Are all these “forerunner connections” pointless?  No!  When we see the scales of eternity tipped from “lost” to “saved” ~ and from “hell” to “heaven”, we have no doubt but that God has us on a mission for a specific purpose!  May God give each of us a renewed passion to see God reverse the many types of captivity that the enemy has thrust upon us and others.  We declare that the chains of sin and evil will fall powerless at the Name of Jesus, and that complete freedom to live redeemed, restored lives will be claimed and experienced through the shed blood of Jesus!  Let’s get outside our comfort zone and set some people free!  Jesus did it ~ still does it … and says we can, too!  So let’s not be shy, dear people!

REMEMBER . . .

“At that time I will bring you in; yes, at that time I will gather you, 
for I will make you a name and a praise among all the nations of the earth
 when I reverse your captivity before your eyes, says the Lord.”

~ Zephaniah 3:20  

Joyfully Serving Christ . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie