This week the Lord has been speaking to me a lot about faith! I don’t have the time to get into all of the things that He is showing me or teaching me, but there is one thought that I want to share for whoever or whatever.

Faith is about trusting God. Faith is about wanting more than anything – the thing that God wants for and from you.  Faith is trusting in God’s will and wisdom above and beyond your own!  We mess up faith when we start putting our stuff into it, so be careful!

Many times this week, I have read how God performed extraordinary miracles in ordinary people’s lives. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, raised the dead and even allowed a hard headed disciple to walk on water.  In each situation the miracle of God was performed in response to His people’s faith.  When God’s people have faith – God’s power moves in and through their lives.

We must wait on God, but when He speaks, we must be ready to move and we must move. Our moving in response to His speaking is a key that unlocks the miraculous! So there are two things that are important here:  1.)  Make sure that you are listening for and to God.  Don’t do anything until you are sure that you have heard His voice and received His direction.  Once you have heard His voice and received His direction:  2.)  Move!  Start stepping in whatever direction He is leading!  Our movement puts feet to our faith and gets the whole process headed in the right direction!

If you were outside having a party with your friends and you knew that a bad storm was about to come up – what would you do? Would you continue to party and pretend that the storm was not coming or would you get everything up and everybody to safety?  The answer to the question should be obvious.  Most of us would answer the question by saying that we would get everything up and everybody to safety, but I am not sure that this is always the truth.

You see my friends – there is a storm coming! We can hear the thunder and see the lightning and we know that we have a decision to make.  Will we continue to live our lives outside of God’s will, pretending that everything is alright or will we start to get things in order by making sure that we are really right with God.

I see people everyday that live life according to their terms, all the while playing the pretend game of acting like they care about what God wants. If we really care about what God wants, then it will change the way that we are living our lives!  Almost everyday of my life – God reveals something that I need to deal with.  When I deal with the things that He is pointing out, I am blessed and fulfilled, but when I fail to deal with the things that He is pointing out, I am frustrated and disappointed.

I believe that it is God’s desire for us to experience happiness. I believe that often times a storm will blow into our lives to try and encourage us to do the right thing.  If you find yourself in the midst of a storm, don’t miss your opportunity to get everything up and everybody to safety!  Storms don’t have to be a bad.  Storms can actually be good, if you will allow them to influence your life in the right way!  What storm is blowing into your life and what are you going to learn from it?

Just sitting here listening to the crickets and thinking about what a crazy busy day that this has been. I started out early at the hospital visiting a lady with heart problems.  She is okay and is going to have her problems treated with medicine.  I then spent some time talking/counseling several different people, all with a different set of problems or what I like to call challenges.  I sometimes wonder if any of the talking does any good?  I know and trust in my heart that it does and so I will stay with it!  From there I moved into taking care of office stuff – some study, writing and a little administration.  It really is amazing all that has to get done every week – just to make the usual stuff happen.

Most of my days are like this – busy moving from one thing to the next with very little time in between the events to stop and really process all that is going on. This is one of the reasons that my time with God in the early morning is so important!  And this is also one of the reasons why now a days I find myself trying to have an evening time with God before I head to bed!

I know that most of you that read this post are very busy with your own lives and challenges. And I just wanted to take a moment to remind you and encourage you to have a morning and evening time with God!  This time, more than anything else that I can think of, helps to make sure that your life stays in alignment with God and His will for your life!

If you are interested, then maybe in the days ahead, I will share a little information about how I spend my time with God during these times. Until then – if you have not already done so, carve some time out of your schedule to invest some time with God at the beginning and end of your day – you will be very glad that you did!

Rejoice because you are God’s child. You have been filled with His Spirit. Remember that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. No matter what happens to you today, know that our God will see you through because He is faithful. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you and if God is for you, then who can be against you. You are above and not beneath. You are blessed coming in and going out. You are ready for anything and everything through Jesus Christ – who will always and in all situations cause you to triumph and be victorious.  Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might because you are more than a conqueror!

INSTRUCTION!

Disciples grow through obedience to God’s Word.  You can’t grow if you don’t know!  Personal and group discipleship is vital!

MOBILIZATION!

Disciples give of themselves, because of what God has given for them.  Real fulfillment in life is discovered when we participate in ministry to others!

PRAYER!

Disciples take the time to talk with and listen to God!  Everything that we do should begin, end and be filled with meaningful prayer!

ADORATION!

Disciples know God and are moved by what they know.  Personal and corporate worship are essential to honoring God and utilizing His power!

CARING!

Disciples are committed to one another!  We know that fellowship allows us to develop a unity of caring and being cared for!

TELLING!

Disciples cannot keep the “Good News” to themselves.  Evangelism is sharing Jesus and the difference that He has made in our lives and can make in the lives of others!

Please take some time to pray about how you can be and do all that God has called you to and let’s all work together for God’s glory and man’s blessing!

Plan now to give of your time, talents and treasures so that we can all Give God Glory!

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:19-20

Ten years ago when I became the Pastor of Northwood, I knew that God had brought Joy and I to a special place and was making us a part of a very special family.  I knew that God had big plans for this congregation and I trusted that God would use us together to make a difference for Him in this community.

In the past ten years we have seen God do some very amazing things!  We have all watched together as He has grown and shaped this church into a body of believers that have an amazing potential to really make a difference in this world and for eternity.

There were a lot of things that I did not know.  I did not know that I would be the father of two amazing daughters.  I did not know that we would be hit as a country with circumstances that have left so many in a very tough place financially.  I did not know that our culture would become so calloused and hard hearted towards the things of the Spirit.

I know today that who we are and what we do as a church is more important than it has ever been and I know that we have our work cut out for us if we are going to seize the opportunity to fulfill the calling that God has place in front of us.

It is my hope that in the following paragraphs you will get a glimpse of

my heart and the vision that God has put in it for the future of Northwood!

IMPACT2013

We need to take the next 4.5 years to work on two major goals!

Goal #1 – Grow The Body!

Goal #2 – Delete The Debt!

If each one of us will commit ourselves to these two goals and doing what it takes by working hard and giving of ourselves, I believe that we will see God do even greater things on our behalf for His glory!  We will grow the body by focusing on six value areas.  These values must drive everything that we do and guide every decision that we make.

We will delete the debt by each one of us stepping up and finding ways to give above and beyond.  With the debt deleted, we have a whole new freedom in front of us!  It is amazing what God can do through us together!