Dear Worshippers,
“Greater things have yet to come. Greater things are still to be done here in this city.” That’s pretty encouraging considering all that has happened over the last 40 years or so. Steel mills closing, and the slow decline which followed…now the uncertainty of GM and its subsidiaries. God is not finished here, and those opening statements are based on His word.
Jesus said, “I tell you the truth” which is actually kind of humorous, being the Son of God and all, but He was obviously very serious about this. He continued, “anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” I have faith, but I must admit that whenever I have read this passage it really makes me stop and consider carefully what Jesus is saying.
When Jesus says “greater things than these”, do you know what He is referring to? The miracles that proved He was one with the Father. Those are the things He said people with faith would do greater. He was referencing miracles. What is a miracle?
Wikipedia says, “A miracle is a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature, such that can be attempted to be explained by divine intervention. Merriam-Webster says a miracle is “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.” Those are insufficient to me. My friend John Grundy in a conversation last week defined a miracle as “God restoring something [i.e. a situation or person] to the condition it would have been in had the Fall never occurred.” I like that. That’s what Jesus has said we would do, and has called us to do.
Seeing things restored to the untainted condition they were intended to possess before the Fall. That is a miracle. A blind person seeing. A lame person walking. A dead man living. Greater things have yet to come…
How can someone as ordinary as me be involved in something so extraordinary? I still struggle with this thought. It is overwhelming. But I believe Jesus. Do you? Are you trusting Him to do things through you that when they occur God gets all the glory? Are you trusting Him to use you in miraculous ways? Are you living the same way day after day, or are you believing that God wants to do something through you that will require you to change?
God is changing me, causing me to long for more of Him in every area of my life. I want more of Him in my marriage, in my family, in our ministry, in our church, in our city. I am believing you do to. Pray with me to that end.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Courting Collisions
I like Pastor Ed more every time I hear him. As I was praying last week about what the Lord would do next, I wondered how He would use our brothers’ words to challenge us. Not if, but how. And indeed He did.
So we have been challenged to keep our eyes open for sovereign encounters, collisions ordained by God to provide opportunities for an impact on the people around us. I wonder what kind of such opportunities God has already provided for us. Not if, but what kind.
You see, I have begun to expect that God is going to do something in the people who call North-Mar home. I have become so accustomed to such activity that I would be surprised to not hear of God at work in us. But we must continue to be quick to give Him the glory when we see Him at work.
Remember the question, “What are you asking God to do, so that when He does it He alone gets the glory?” I am asking God to continue to move in our church. That will mean that we need to stay open to His activity in our lives.
Even if it means running headlong into some situation for which I might not feel adequately prepared, where I may even fear making a fool of myself or being rejected? Yes, yes. Absolutely yes! Collisions are not calculated endeavors. I have this illustration of automobiles colliding. Generally unintentional. Yet, though unintentional there is no doubt an impact upon all involved.
By definition, a collision is when two or more things come together with solid or direct impact. That is exactly what God has called us to be about at
If you follow the logic here, it means that we are unintentionally intentional. I know it seems like a paradox, but only to the extent that we are driving the car, or conducting the train, if you will. You see we are really just along for the ride. Jesus is in control. He is the intention behind our apparent unintention. We are not truly unintentional, though at times it may appear that way. We are simply surrendered to the reign of One who is sovereignly orchestrating the affairs of this world to bring them to their ordained conclusion.
Church, Daddy is driving this car. It has been an exciting ride lately. Not always the path we would have chosen if given the opportunity, but none of us can navigate like He can. So if you find yourself in some collisions this week, let me know. I love hearing how God is moving. Holy Spirit, get us ready to make the impact you desire when the collisions occur.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
And the Soaking Continues...
Dear Worshippers,
So as the water in the baptistery settles to a stillness, I wonder if a similar stillness will settle over us. The Lord has been stirring us up over the last several months and I am so thankful for that. I asked a question on Sunday, and I want to ask it again of you now. Do you want to see this soaking come to an end? I imagine the answer is no, but what are we willing to let God do to continue to position ourselves in that place.
There are other ways to get soaked you know. Some of you have shed a few tears as you have watched and listened to what was taking place in the baptismal tank. I know I certainly have. One day I remember looking down and seeing my shirt with all these dark spots on it from the tears I had shed. Are we will to allow God to continue to bring the tears that flow from humility and brokenness?
Ultimately the soaking that we truly desire is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is recorded in Scripture what that looked like, as the disciples turned the known world upside-down. I kind of wish I could tell you what that looks like for a church to experience that in an ongoing way, but I do not think I have ever experienced that first-hand, that is for any prolonged period. Though I have seen God at work, the churches I have served, and most of the ones I know of, have unfortunately not continued to ask the Holy Spirit to soak them. And that included me.
We want the might and the power of the Holy Spirit, but we are often are unwilling to truly surrender to His purposes in us. We want to use the Spirit more than be used by Him. I do not want to live and lead that way any more.
So I come to another question…How are you praying? Now that the tsunami of baptisms has washed over us, are you continuing to pray, “Spirit, soak the church”? I am. And as I am praying, I am also trusting that the soaking will continue, first in me and then through me. I want to encourage you to pray with me.
As you do, please do not think about it like you will persuade God if you pray long and hard enough, staying constantly on your knees. The posture God is most concerned about is one of the heart. If we will allow our disposition toward Him to remain humble, He will have His way in us. We can stay “wet”. I believe that is how God wants us to live. I am coming to understand that in a new way these days. How about you?
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy
So as the water in the baptistery settles to a stillness, I wonder if a similar stillness will settle over us. The Lord has been stirring us up over the last several months and I am so thankful for that. I asked a question on Sunday, and I want to ask it again of you now. Do you want to see this soaking come to an end? I imagine the answer is no, but what are we willing to let God do to continue to position ourselves in that place.
There are other ways to get soaked you know. Some of you have shed a few tears as you have watched and listened to what was taking place in the baptismal tank. I know I certainly have. One day I remember looking down and seeing my shirt with all these dark spots on it from the tears I had shed. Are we will to allow God to continue to bring the tears that flow from humility and brokenness?
Ultimately the soaking that we truly desire is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is recorded in Scripture what that looked like, as the disciples turned the known world upside-down. I kind of wish I could tell you what that looks like for a church to experience that in an ongoing way, but I do not think I have ever experienced that first-hand, that is for any prolonged period. Though I have seen God at work, the churches I have served, and most of the ones I know of, have unfortunately not continued to ask the Holy Spirit to soak them. And that included me.
We want the might and the power of the Holy Spirit, but we are often are unwilling to truly surrender to His purposes in us. We want to use the Spirit more than be used by Him. I do not want to live and lead that way any more.
So I come to another question…How are you praying? Now that the tsunami of baptisms has washed over us, are you continuing to pray, “Spirit, soak the church”? I am. And as I am praying, I am also trusting that the soaking will continue, first in me and then through me. I want to encourage you to pray with me.
As you do, please do not think about it like you will persuade God if you pray long and hard enough, staying constantly on your knees. The posture God is most concerned about is one of the heart. If we will allow our disposition toward Him to remain humble, He will have His way in us. We can stay “wet”. I believe that is how God wants us to live. I am coming to understand that in a new way these days. How about you?
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
What’s Going on Here?
Dear Worshippers,
That’s the question that four of our Elders addressed on Sunday. It was a wonderful opportunity to listen to each of them. To have the opportunity to consider their perspective on what they see God doing in our midst. But most of all to hear their hearts.
The collective answer I came away from the service with was, “God is at work!” From each of them we heard evidence of this. In the church life. In our services. In the staff and elders. God is at work. What an exciting time in the history of North-Mar.
I met a lady Sunday who told me she just started attending North-Mar. She shared that she was really enjoying our fellowship. I told her that she had come at just the right time. Of course I could say the same thing to myself, having arrived very recently. It has been an eventful four months, but as Jim Benich said Sunday, we are just at the beginning of it.
What is happening at North-Mar is much more about God than us. I was reminded of Jesus words in John 5:19, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” We are following Jesus’ example as we join the Father in what He is doing right here, right now.
What I want to encourage you to consider as we continue on this journey together is “What is God doing around you?” It is one thing to marvel at what God is doing at church, to come expecting to see Him at work; it is an entirely different thing to marvel at what God is doing in you, to live expecting to see Him at work. They can be the same expectancy, but can also be something different.
I am on that same path. Just this morning I dealt with one of our sons in a way that was not gentle. I immediately felt conviction from the Holy Spirit. It was as though the Holy Spirit was saying to me, “Do you really want to be gentle?” Though I was tempted to justify my anger, Sarah quickly called me on it, and even though I struggled initially in my response I knew what I had to do. I went back to my son a few minutes later and asked for his forgiveness for not dealing with him gently. He forgave me. I was humbled and broken. It was painful and wonderful. I am changing. God is at work.
The Father is always at work around you. Will you open your eyes to see, and then your heart to embrace the work He wants to do? To paraphrase Jim Benich again, please say yes more often that you say no.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy
That’s the question that four of our Elders addressed on Sunday. It was a wonderful opportunity to listen to each of them. To have the opportunity to consider their perspective on what they see God doing in our midst. But most of all to hear their hearts.
The collective answer I came away from the service with was, “God is at work!” From each of them we heard evidence of this. In the church life. In our services. In the staff and elders. God is at work. What an exciting time in the history of North-Mar.
I met a lady Sunday who told me she just started attending North-Mar. She shared that she was really enjoying our fellowship. I told her that she had come at just the right time. Of course I could say the same thing to myself, having arrived very recently. It has been an eventful four months, but as Jim Benich said Sunday, we are just at the beginning of it.
What is happening at North-Mar is much more about God than us. I was reminded of Jesus words in John 5:19, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” We are following Jesus’ example as we join the Father in what He is doing right here, right now.
What I want to encourage you to consider as we continue on this journey together is “What is God doing around you?” It is one thing to marvel at what God is doing at church, to come expecting to see Him at work; it is an entirely different thing to marvel at what God is doing in you, to live expecting to see Him at work. They can be the same expectancy, but can also be something different.
I am on that same path. Just this morning I dealt with one of our sons in a way that was not gentle. I immediately felt conviction from the Holy Spirit. It was as though the Holy Spirit was saying to me, “Do you really want to be gentle?” Though I was tempted to justify my anger, Sarah quickly called me on it, and even though I struggled initially in my response I knew what I had to do. I went back to my son a few minutes later and asked for his forgiveness for not dealing with him gently. He forgave me. I was humbled and broken. It was painful and wonderful. I am changing. God is at work.
The Father is always at work around you. Will you open your eyes to see, and then your heart to embrace the work He wants to do? To paraphrase Jim Benich again, please say yes more often that you say no.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy
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