Pastor Norm’s Blog

Awareness of God’s Presence

“I have lost God.” I know that we would not want to say that but most of us at some point in our daily trek lose touch with a clear and conscious awareness of God’s presence. Even though such passages as Joshua 1:9; Psalm 23; Matthew 28:20; John 14:16 assure us that God’s presence is always with us, we are not always aware of that presence.

One of the major reasons for this outlook is that we often slip into self reliance outlook on life. It is easy to think ‘we can handle this.’ No wonder God allowed Moses to fail in trying to help deliver his people through his own power so that he might be fully aware of his need for God’s empowerment. No wonder Moses then responded “Who am I” to God’s commission for him to go and deliver Israel from under Egypt’s oppression.

How has your day begun? Have you started it off by connecting with God? If not it is not too late.

As you go through the day take some time to stop and ‘find’ God. That may mean turning your car radio off in order to talk to and hear from God as you travel, or praying before every new task you begin, or spending a few moments thanking God through the situations that you encounter today, or selecting a verse to memorize throughout the day in those slower moments. Whatever your approach is, I pray that you will not have a moment this day when you realize “I have lost God.”

The memory verse for November—“ Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” (2 Timothy 2:22).

How We Choose to Live Our Lives

This past Sunday we looked at the fact that for every one of us we are living with summation of life that is ‘Two Dates & A Dash.’ Some day when we stand before God we will not have to give an explanation for the two dates, but we will have to give one for the dash. How did we live our lives.

We can live it for the Splash—seeking to make a big impression and to gain a sense of significance—but that will result in disappointment for life is more than the trinkets we pick up. We can live our life for the Flash—seeking to get involved with the next big event, trend, or phenomenon hoping that it will make us excited about life—but this approach only give us a temporary buzz. Yet, as we noted in the life of Zaccheus life is really to be viewed as the Stash for it is so valuable that we must give it God’s value and invest it in eternity (Luke 19:1—6).

Are you viewing life as Stash? Are you seeking to let God have as much of it as He can in order to maximize your investment? A quick indicator of how well you’re doing is to answer the question “Did I ask the Lord to guide me so that I would give Him a chance to act in everything I did and said today?” If you didn’t pray this prayer at the beginning of the day, it is not too late.

Get ready for a life changing paradigm switch on life as we will all have “One Month To Live” in January!

Put Your Trust in The Lord

The psalm we looked at yesterday, Psalm 131, was one of the fifteen “Psalms of Ascent.” These were psalms (Psalms 120—134) that were believed to be sung by the Jewish pilgrims as they traveled to the temple in Jerusalem. It is even believed that each one of these fifteen psalms were sung for each of the fifteen steps that led up the temple proper.

Therefore, Psalm 131 highlights to us just how serious David was about the people of God remembering not to trust in themselves but to hope/wait in God. As our week begins let us remember the words of Psalm 131—“Wait, Israel, for GOD. Wait with hope.  Hope now; hope always!” (from The Message)

Are you investing wisely?
Friends Sunday—October 5th.  INVEST in someone and INVITE them to church.

The Greatest of all Investment

As we’ve noted earlier, in order to invest one must run the risk of losing that which is considered valuable in order to invest in something/someone of much greater value. Do you realize that we make these kinds of decisions every moment of every day? We choose to get up rather than to continue sleeping in order to invest in our families, careers, or education. We choose to eat rather than to skip meals to invest in our bodies and our continued strength throughout the day. We choose to stop at red lights in order to invest in our continued health rather than in investing our money in a hospital stay or paying a driving ticket. All day, every day we make decisions that show our commitment to investing wisely.
Jesus knew this and His words draw us to invest in that which is the greatest of all investment options—the life that is yet to come. In Matthew 16:24—27 He tells us that no man gives up anything for Jesus that shall not be seen as a better investment.
—
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.”
So, are you investing the valuable things of your life (time, family, money, relationships, kids,… your life itself) in Jesus? Remember, the greatest of all investment options—the life that is yet to come.
Are you investing wisely?
Friends Sunday—October 5th.  INVEST in someone and INVITE them to church.

Having an Intimate Relationship With God

As close as Moses was to God (God even said “I have known you by name” expressing the intimacy of their relationship in Exodus 33:12), God yet made it clear that He could not fully reveal Himself to Moses because “no man can see Me and live!” (Exodus 33:20). Although he had a uniquely intimate relationship with God Moses could still not get beyond the barrier his sin created between he and the God who loved him.

Another way to describe this relationship is that it is like going over to our best friend’s house but not being allowed to enter the house. We could only speak on the porch. Yet this was pretty good seeing that everyone else had to stay outside the gate and was not even allowed into the yard. But the intimacy that is now the norm for Christians is far greater than any of these interactions in that we are family. We now live in the house. Here are a few incredible passages to show us our present positions since we are in Christ:

“No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” —John 1:18

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:1-6

Don’t allow the challenges of the past, the day, or tomorrows yet to come steal the greatness of your relationship with the God who loves you.

“for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:21

Crying Out to God for His Presence

Imagine standing at the edge of failure seeing all that you have invested your life in crumbled and in a heap of ruin before you. Imagine the deep pain of disappointment and yet a deeper dread that you don’t have the strength to rebuild it.

If you can feel this pain you have an idea of how Moses felt as he uttered the request in Exodus 33:15—“Lord, ‘If your presence does not go with me, do not lead me up from here.” This is a cry from a man who has no other source of hope but God. Unfortunately, such total abandonment only comes in our moments of deepest failure. But the Bible says that this is our ever present condition
“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Don’t wait for the pain, the difficult moment to cry out for God’s presence and provision. Walk in His empowerment today. All it takes is a simple but sincere request—“Lord, ‘If your presence does not go with me, do not lead me up from here.”

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:21

Positive Trusting

As we discussed ‘Positive Trusting’ Sunday we noted that followers of Jesus should begin each day focused on the great privilege they have as re-creations of the living God (2 Corinthians 5:17). A suggestion to keep one’s focus where it should be is to begin each day focusing on the fact that we each have a unique purpose for that day. So, as you go through the day take some time to meditate on this important statement:

“There is a task for me today that God desires & designed only me to accomplish.”

For truly we are each ‘fearfully & wonderfully made’ according to Psalm 139:14.

  Are you investing wisely?

INVEST & INVITE

Staying Focused

One of the most surprising events in the life of Jesus that is recorded in the Gospels is the story of Jesus’ response to His mother in Luke 8:21. In this account Jesus’ loving and caring mother comes to Him because she is concerned about Him and wants to pull Jesus aside to counsel Him not continue ministering because He is creating powerful enemies. But Jesus’ response is to let her know that He must continue to focus on accomplishing God the Father’s will for that is His primary focus in life. The lesson for us—Even though a parent is to be respected, even this honor becomes secondary to our obedience to God’s desires.

In this same vein we must realize that although we have various God mandated responsibilities to others in life (our parents, our spouses, our children, our bosses, etc.) our greatest responsibility is to please God. How are you doing in keeping this perspective?

May the Lord bless you today as you seek to honor Him above all others in order to enjoy His rich blessings—“Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; In Thy presence is fullness of joy; In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever” (Psalm 16:11).

“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”
—Galatians 6:9

The Answer is ...

Well, what was your answer to the question posed earlier today? What is ‘the one thing I knowingly strive to accomplish every day?’

As we consider this year’s ministry theme of Investing Wisely this is a key question.

Please don’t lower your sights to just aim at completing another day of work. Don’t limit your goal to just love your spouse and your family. Maybe it is just to get back to bed each night. These are each good goals, but there is a higher target for us to aim at that will bring each of these goals into a heavenly focus.

I would propose that the one thing you should knowingly strive to accomplish every day from the moment your feet hits the ground in the morning, till the moment they are drawn back into bed at night is:

To be led by the Holy Spirit in all I think and do

If we are continually being led by the Holy Spirit throughout our day then we are being fashioned by God into Christ’s image. Note Romans 8 where the work of the Holy Spirit is noted in v. 26 (“And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness”) but the end of His work in our lives is noted in v. 29 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”

So, will you make this your daily goal? Begin your day tomorrow praying that the Lord will guide you by His Spirit through your day.I am sure you will then realize what it means to be a person of purpose.

“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”

—Galatians 6:9

The Question

Please take a moment to complete this one minute test. Later today I’ll send you an answer to consider. Give some thought to this question and come up with your own personal answer.

The one thing I knowingly strive to accomplish every day is?

“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”

—Galatians 6:9

5 Final Points on Authority

One final word to wrap up our discussion on authority, here are five points that Christian author J. Oswald Sanders (from his book Spiritual Leadership) makes and that every Elder is to keep in mind as he considers the use of spiritual discipline in the congregation:

1.    Such action should be taken only after the most thorough and impartial inquiry,

2.    it should be undertaken only when it would be for the overall good of the work [church] and the individual,

3.    it should always be in a spirit of genuine love and conducted in the most considerate manner,

4.    it should always be with the spiritual help and restoration of the offender in view, and

5.    it should be done only with much prayer.

Please pray that these points will always guide Grace’s Elders when spiritual discipline is considered for use in our church body.

With a new month comes a new memory verse. Here’s the next verse in the series of verses we’ve been memorizing. Our memory verse for May is Galatians 6:9

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

Biblical Authority

Have you ever experienced biblical authority in the church? Many of us have experienced or heard of extremes when it comes to those wielding authority in the church but few have experienced authority that is biblical. Let me give you an analogy that I hope communicates what this kind of authority is like. 

Authority in churches is a lot like the porridges, the chairs, and the beds of the three bears in the story of Goldilocks and the three Bears. When authority does not function according to the Bible it either becomes too hard, focusing more on judging and controlling those under its oversight as humanity’s sinfulness is in focus, or it becomes too soft, where everything and anything is allowed as the end goal is for us to ‘just get along.’ There are many Christians who have given up on churches because of experiencing these extremes. Yet there is a third option that I think is more like what the Bible has in mind.

This third authority option is hard enough to boldly step in when people get out of step with the Holy Spirit (Acts 20:28-32), yet soft enough to teach God’s Word, encourage His people, and to then step into the background to allow believers to love one another even to the point of confronting each other in love when they are wrong (Matthew 18:15-20). 

Please pray that Grace will continue to practice biblical authority. Also pray that each of us will seek to walk under such authority so that we might fully experience the blessings of God (1 Peter 5:1-2, 6).

“For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

Galatians 6:8

The Blessing Of Authority In Our Lives

When we think of authority we can often think of negative consequences before we think of positive ones. That is because we have most likely experienced authority that abuse and works to hurt rather than blesses and seeks to build up others. But God views authority as that which is good and He highlights godly authority as a key to our experiencing life as He intended it to be experienced. That is why God has placed authority relationships in every area of our lives—marriage, parenting, church, government, work, etc.

To show us just how important our proper response to these authority relationships are, God tells us that if we will properly respond to those in authority over us He will bless us. Please note that there is no exception to this principle for ‘I will submit if those in authority please me.’ The emphasis is on our response, in time God will deal with the actions of those who are in charge over us.

How are you doing in the various authority relationships in your life? Here are a few steps you can take to help you ‘get under in order get over’:

1.    Pray for your attitude towards the concept of authority in general. Authority is a dirty word to many people in our society but to God it is an important aspect of life. He sees authority as good and a blessing to life.

2.    Pray for your attitude towards those in authority over you. Don’t be fooled, our outlook is primarily determined by our attitude. Or as someone put it, ‘your attitude determines your altitude.’

3.    Pray for those in authority over you. There is always a greater responsibility and accountability for those who lead. Paul even went as far as describing Elders, those who have primary authority in the church, as ‘those who will give an account’ because ‘they keep watch over your souls’ (Hebrews 13:7).

4.    Thank the Lord for those in authority over you. A thankful heart sees God in everything, everywhere, at every moment. No wonder we are commanded ‘In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you’ (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

“For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

Galatians 6:8

Rest For The Busy Life

It is always important to focus on the truth God is trying to have us grasp when He is pictured in Scripture in human terms or form. So when God is pictured as resting after being intimately involved in creating everything around us and getting His hands dirty in making us we need to determine what the truth is that is being highlighted for us. As we noted on Sunday, that truth is summarized in a principle—

The Principle is that none of us can continue to run at our paces emotionally, physically, cognitively, or spiritually if we do not take time to stop and replenish ourselves. We must ‘stop for go.’ If we do not stop, we will not continue to go.

In light of this principle, how are you planning on making your Sabbath this week a true Sabbath? I would love to hear your plans so that I might share them with the rest of Grace (without giving your name).

Please note our new memory verse as we enter the month of April:

“For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

Galatians 6:8

The Nature Of Living By Faith

Come on admit it, to our human outlook on life walking by faith is an ‘upside down, back to front’ way of thinking and living.  For example, die in order to live, give a portion of your earnings to God and you will have enough, walk by faith and not by sight, and, the one we examined yesterday, do less in order to do more (or activity does not equal productivity). Where does God come up with these approaches to life?

But please remember that the very nature of living by faith is to move us out of the driver’s seat and to allow God that position.  The reason why it is so hard for us to live by faith is that it neutralizes our ability to be in control. So, please take a moment today and do what does not come naturally or comfortably in order to allow God to work in your life. Go on, pray before you start your day even though you have a lot to do. Tell that certain person about Jesus even though he or she may talk about you. Sit with that person at lunch even though you can’t forget how they treated you wrong not that long ago. I am sure the Holy Spirit can show you a few other ‘upside down, back to front’ actions you can take in order to let Him work through your life today.

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”

Galatians 6:7