Pastor Norm’s Blog

God’s Story

“History is the story of God giving away power.” —Philip Yancey

This is no where more clearly seen than in Jesus’ sharing power with His disciples to go and tell others that they can have their sins removed through a relationship with God the Father through His son Jesus.

So, take a moment and pray that the Lord will give you the opportunity to use His power this day to invest in someone around you and to invite them to Jesus or to church.

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

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.

Why Would A Successful Person Need Christ?

When you think of a successful person, who comes to mind? Is it a celebrity, a politician, a business person, an athlete, someone you presently/formerly worked for? Do you know that even this person of respect and possibly even envy is presented in Scripture as someone who is ‘messed up’?

Paul realized this as he examined his own heart without the touch of God’s grace—“So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not” (Romans 7:17—18).

Remember to pray as you start your day that the Lord will give you opportunities to highlight His grace by showing others their need of Him. One of the highlights of my day yesterday was to share with a fellow soccer dad that he was “messed up,” en route to then telling him how he could be “cleaned up” through trusting in Jesus. Although our conversation did not result in a prayer of acceptance of God’s grace, I know that the seed is planted for the Lord to water and grow in His perfect timing.

I pray that you will have the blessing this day of sharing the gospel, your testimony, a tract, or an invitation to church with someone so that God might use your obedience.

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

What Christianity is All About

On Sunday we noted that “Christianity is all about confidence.” It is a faith relationship with God that challenges every Christian to focus not on what they do to establish this relationship but on what God has done for them. Therefore, we are saved by faith in the finished work of Jesus on our behalf. This is highlighted in the contrast that the message of the gospel is not ‘try harder’ (man centered), but ‘give up’ (God centered).

Isn’t that great news for the Bible tells us that no matter how hard we try we can NEVER earn God’s favor! If you agree that this is great news share it with a friend or acquaintance today.

Our new memory verse for the month of September is 2 Timothy 2:20— “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.”

Opportunities To Serve The Lord

Did you pray the prayer this morning?  It is not too late if you have not. Just ask the Lord to give you opportunities this day to share the gospel verbally or through a tract with someone. Then be ready to bless a life. I pray that you will be blessed today as you follow the Lord in obedience.
Our new memory verse for the month of September is 2 Timothy 2:20— “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels
of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.”

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

The Presence Of God

As we start the week let me encourage you to take the challenge of praying Exodus 33:15 daily or multiple times daily as you go through this week:
“Lord, ‘If your presence does not go with me, do not lead me up from here.”

My prayer for you is that the presence of God will become real to you this day.
“for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
—Matthew 6:21 (Augusts’ memory verse)
Are you investing wisely?
INVEST & INVITE

The Key Aspects of Investment

Do you remember the key aspects of investment that were highlighted in yesterday’s sermon? We were told that the 2 most important aspects of investing are to know the risk (that you may possibly lose something that you value highly) and that you are confident that what you are investing in is worth your taking such risk.

Have you applied the counsel of Jesus today and counted the cost, evaluated the risk, of letting Him lead your life through this day?  There are only two responses you can make to Jesus’ counsel—refuse to let Him lead because the risk is too great, or put aside your desires this day to get in line with His guidance. I pray that you will heed the Spirit’s prompting and get in line with our Savior’s guidance.

“for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
—Matthew 6:21 (Augusts’ memory verse)

Choose Whom You Will Serve

Monday
“Religion today in the USA is a salad bar where people heap on upbeat beliefs they like and often leave the veggies — like strict doctrines — behind.”
This is how USA Today began its article on the new Religious Landscape Survey findings from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life which found most Americans (even Bible believing, church going Americans) have a ‘stunning’ disconnect between their beliefs and practices with the faiths they say they hold to.

As we noted Sunday the God of the Bible challenges us in Deuteronomy 30:19—20 to choose life by choosing Him. But this challenge is based on our truly knowing who ‘Him’ is. It is not good enough to believe in “God” if that God turns out to be a personal invention of our desires. The Pew survey noted that although 92% said they believe in God, only 51% said they were both absolutely certain there was a God and that this God was a person, rather than an impersonal force, with whom they could have a relationship.

What does this mean for us? Here are two key responses

1. Get intimate with your God. Commit to reading Scripture and connecting with the God who is clearly presented in the Bible. There aren’t many roads to God for Jesus made it clear—“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”(John 14:6). This means selecting to read through the whole Bible. You can accomplish this by reading 5 chapters each day for a year. You can also learn about this personal God by joining Jesus University classes where He is studied each week.

2. Don’t think that those who ‘talk god’ truly know God. The Bible is clear that even the demons believe that there is one God and that they even tremble at this knowledge (James 2:19). Remember, we have the words that give life, let us not keep them to ourselves. I encourage you to be bold in sharing your faith.

What makes an effective Christian leader today?

Here’s an email I received last week but did not get a chance to read it till after I delivered this past week’s sermon. I am again amazed how good the Lord is to orchestrate those things that affect our lives.

Effective Leadership
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Thursday, June 05 2008

“And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him and in Moses His servant.“ - Exodus 14:31

What makes an effective Christian leader today? Is it charisma? Is it ability? Is it communication and oratory skills? God’s view of an effective leader has nothing to do with these qualities. They may be a part of an effective leader. However, the core attribute of a Christian leader is his integrity with God and his obedience to follow Him. When this happens, God manifests His power in and through that leader. Moses was effective because he was willing to obey the commands God gave him. When Moses did this, God manifested His presence in him. The result was that people followed. They followed because they saw God working in and through the man. They saw that this man was worthy of following because God’s anointing was on him.

When people see the Lord’s power manifested in your life, they will have a healthy fear of the Lord. They will look at you and say, “This person has something I don’t have that is worthy of more investigation.“ Your challenge is to seek the Lord with a whole heart, resulting in God’s power being manifested in the daily activities of your life. When this happens, you can expect others to be drawn to what they see in you. The problem with many Christians today is that non-Christians see nothing different about the way they live to motivate the unsaved to desire their faith.

What makes you different from your neighbor? Is your experience with God noticeably different from that of the man next door? If you’re not experiencing regular encounters with God, it’s time to ask why not. We don’t live day-to-day for the next spiritual experience, but we should see by-products of a life centered in God that is reflected in fruit from His presence in our lives.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume,

and where thieves break through and steal: ”

—Matthew 6:19

Identity Theft

Identity theft is a crime that hurts everyone as a person pretends to be someone they’re not in order to enjoy what a targeted person possesses. In the end though, the person whose identity is stolen loses what they have worked hard to achieve, the person who does the stealing loses their reputation and possibly their freedom, and society loses its sense of security.

Yet, identity theft is a crime that is greatest when it occurs in the spiritual realm. When a Christian takes on the persona, presentation of them self, as someone who is not godly there is great loss to everyone. The person who is ungodly loses by not seeing another way of life modeled for them, the child of God who steals that identity loses their godly reputation and free-flowing intimacy with God, and a needy world loses a presentation of the hope that is in Christ. Imagine what God thinks when He considers our choices.

This would be like the child of a billionaire trying to live like those who are poor around him/her because he/she sees a part of their lives that is appealing. Can you imagine the feeling of the rich father who sees his/her child acting as if limited in budget? Can you imagine the father’s feeling seeing the child give up the family name and character traits in order to fit into that community? Can you feel the father’s hurt when the child goes against everything he has done to raise him/ her right?

This is the way our Heavenly Father feels when we give up our God-given identity to take on the identity of those around us who are not a part of His family. When we take on the character of God our creator we take on the identity of a creation that is loved of God and who is cherished in His sight.

Today, ask God where you are compromising your birthright and when those areas are revealed commit to stop dabbling in identity theft. There are many who will be blessed by your choice.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume,

and where thieves break through and steal: ”

—Matthew 6:19

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

Approaches to Life

An old Yiddish proverb says, “The girl who can’t dance says the band can’t play.” As believers we can take the same approach to life when things are not going right. We can easily complain “Life is not right for if it was I would not be going through what I’m going through.”

But let us not forget that what we experience in life is not a collection of random circumstances. We are people of purpose and God has promised to use everything we encounter for His glory and for our benefit in the process (Romans 8:28—“We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose.”).

So, take a moment and consider once more our memory verse for this month—

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

—Galatians 6:9