Pastor Norm’s Blog

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

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

“Be Holy, for I Am Holy”

“Be Holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). This is an incredible command that is full of great challenge but also great hope. When God gives us a command it is always on the basis that the power to achieve that command is available to us. Holiness, not perfection, is achievable.

Peter in 1 Peter 1:13—16 tells us three steps that are vital to the achieving of this command—“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” More succinctly stated, they are:

1.  Have a made up mind. We must make an unshakeable, determined commitment to take action that leads to change.

2.  Keep your eyes wide open. Know that our habits, desires, and the messages of the world around us will work against our change. Therefore we must keep an eye on ourselves to make sure that we are not sabotaging our commitment.

3.  Keep your ultimate goal in focus. Realizing that we can all sacrifice what we presently have for what we view as better, Peter tells us to keep our eyes on the great prize—eternity with Jesus.

As you go through this day ask God to show an area of your life that needs to be changed so that you might live more holy in His sight. Once that area is highlighted apply this 3 step approach to change Peter highlights for us. 

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

—Galatians 6:9

Power Of The Resurrection

Let me remind you as a gray Monday ushers us into another week that the power of the resurrection is a 24-7, 365 day reality! So, as we committed to yesterday, let us begin our day praying Philippians 3:10—“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,”

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

Galatians 6:7