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I remember it clearly, August of 2007, when the flood waters came to Findlay. A community came together and began to help where help was needed. The Lord intervened and we saw a City that was seeking the Lord together.
Hurricane Helene, classified as a Category 4, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph, hit Asheville, North Carolina and the surrounding communities really hard. Georgia, South Carolina, Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, parts of Virginia have all be impacted at some level. I have watched several reports concerning the devastation of great magnitude. I am also seeing God moving amongst all of the chaos. I watched a news report of a family who thought they were safe on the roof of their house. The waters began to move faster and harder and before they knew it, the house ripped in two pieces throwing the family into the water. A mother was separated from her 7-year-old son and 73-year-old parents. Unfortunately, the only survivor was the mother of the 7-year-old. I was moved watching her praise the Lord for his presence ever so near. She mentioned her son Micah was a superhero in her eyes. So many tragic stories. But God is in their midst. He is moving through the hands and hearts of so many people. Our mighty God is moving in the midst of this tragedy. Isaiah 40:31 31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. It is amazing to hear the many wonderful stories circulating about how God is doing miracle after miracle. Would you pray with me for the Lord to use this to bring many to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? As the number of people who have lost their lives increases, pray specifically for the hope to fill the minds of those in the thick of this tragedy. Romans 15:13 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. My heart has also been moved with compassion towards those who are in the middle of a different storm raging in their minds and other circumstances we cannot physically see. The pain that some families are going though is overwhelming. We want to be a church who shines the light of Christ and will be a place of healing for the seen and the unseen hurts all around us. I am looking forward to a great Sunday as we have fully opened up our building and are anticipating a powerful day. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike
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Have you ever noticed that the enemy of our soul reserves his most heated attacks the moment when we make some major strides in the direction we know God is leading? Satan hates when we confidently follow Jesus into uncharted territory. He sees to it that our shortcomings and failures come to the forefront of our minds. When God’s people pray, the enemy hammers accusations at us.
Revelation 12:10 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. We’ve been warned that satan himself accuses us before God day and night. I believe he pulls back when we compromise and turns up the accusations when we fully follow the Lord. There are four levels of his accusation. He accuses God to us by saying that He is not fully there for us. He accuses us to God by saying that we have failed again. He does this within our hearing. It would be a waste of time if we didn’t hear that. He accuses us to each other. He tells us that others don’t accept us and that the things we are going through are other’s fault. Especially those who are brothers and sisters in Christ. Then he accuses us to ourselves. He is so good at this that many have fallen for this tactic. What are we to do when facing these assaults? I’m glad you asked.
Romans 13:14 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. When we realize that we are clothed in the very garments of Christ, our confidence can only soar before God. It is a confident humility that permeates your person inside and out. When Paul told us to put on the armor of God, he said to pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. So what are you waiting for? Get dressed so you can pray and be filled with the Spirit and Attitude of Jesus! Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike I want to remind you today that God is there to strengthen you when you need Him. He will also strengthen you before you need it. You don’t have to dig deeper to find more strength. The inner strength needed for any and every situation resides in our God Almighty.
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah Psalm 46:1-2 Notice that it says that things will probably continue to spiral out of control but that does not have to deplete you from the strength and breath the Lord provides for you. Even though the earth gives way, God is our refuge. Amen! 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7 I pray that you will be able to respond in love with whatever is filling your plate today. How you respond will determine how much you will know God. I want to mention that our men are invited to a Men’s Breakfast on Saturday, September 28, at 7:30am in the Family Life Center. I hope you are able to make it. Looking forward to a great day on Sunday. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike Do you need a boost in the middle of your week? Let me encourage you to come and make our Wednesday night Boost a regular rhythm for your family. There is something for children – infants through 6th grade, Pastor Ben and the youth staff have a Spirit-filled time planned for the teens, and there are a variety of choices offered for adults. Come tonight at 6:45pm and be a part of the 9/11 service in the Worship Center and learn about the different options (see below) that will be offered on Wednesday nights. I believe you will walk away better than you came.
How about this? Maybe you can come and be available for God to speak through you to someone else. I know I just don’t want to only look at what I can receive but what I can contribute. My dream for our church is that we will continue to become what the first church experienced in the Book of Acts. Can you see it? Come and search as if you will find. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47 Here are the Adult Wednesday Night Boost options…
Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike We are excited because the day has finally arrived to dedicate our New Addition. Many hours have gone into getting this building ready for ministry. I want to thank Jason Collert for all of the work he has done in keeping this project moving. We are so blessed that he stepped up to serve as the main coordinator of all of the subcontractors. Make sure you thank him when you see him.
On Sunday, September 15, we will be dedicating the building in each service. In between the services and after the second service, everyone will be able to see the rooms as well as learn about different ministries you can serve alongside others. It is going to be a great day! So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22 We realize the church is more than a building. This is why we are combining this day with our Serve Team Fair. If you are not connected to a ministry and serving together with other believers, this may open a few possibilities for you. I believe you will be excited to see all of the ministries that are taking place through this church. You never know what the Lord may want to begin through your availability. May God continue to bless our family as we strive to make a difference in our community and world. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike When do you spend uninterrupted time with the Lord? I know what some of you are thinking – what uninterrupted time? It would be a time when you read the Word and pray. According to your personality or your schedule, some would say nighttime is your best time. Some would say in the morning. Do you want to know the best time? Whenever you can be fully present and give Him your whole self.
Let me tell you why many people choose the morning. The morning is when our minds are the clearest. You haven’t had experiences throughout the day that could wear you out or get you preoccupied. You haven’t been cut off in traffic and run from one event to the next. For those who work a midnight shift, their morning might be around 5pm. The time on the clock is not the point here. The point is to give Jesus the best and most valuable and uninterrupted time of the day. Look at David’s Song of Thanksgiving in the Old Testament. 8 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! 9 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! 10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! 11 Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! 12 Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered, 13 O offspring of Israel his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones! 1 Chronicles 16:8-13 David also wrote: O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1 My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being![a] 2 Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! Psalm 108:1-2 After reading many Psalms attributed to David, you truly know why he is known as a man after God’s own heart. Jesus modeled a pattern of rising early to pray in Mark 1:35, “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” That particular morning was a Sunday. The day before was a full Sabbath. He taught in the synagogue, healed Peter’s mother-in-law, visited over dinner, and then swarmed by crowds of people wanting healed. Even amid His daily routine, He still made it a priority to get away with the Lord. He was too busy not to get away. As we see Jesus’ life, we see that He experienced intimacy, empowerment, and direction in His time with the Lord. I have an idea. In the process of figuring out what the best time is for you, why not give Him the Alpha and the Omega – the first and the last part of your day. God deserves our very best! Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike This is my first full week back from our Mission Trip to Southern Ohio with Appalachia Reach Out. We had a wonderful time of ministry, experiencing the presence of Jesus, and enriching fellowship with others from our church. A total of 15 team members were able to pull away from the routine of life and minister in the name of Jesus. It was life changing. Our hope is to share some of the particulars on Sunday, August 25 during the morning worship services. We saw so many divine appointments unfold before us. It was humbling to be a part of it. I want to thank our church for those who were able to give toward the project money.
After returning, I found that things I was working on did not get finished. The piles seem to be getting higher and higher. Have you ever experienced a time when you felt like you could not keep up? You have family, work, school, ministry, and whatever else you can throw in there. Now ideally you incorporate them all and get into a rhythm that will be reinvigorating every day. Don’t forget to throw in the interruptions that are sprinkled in because emergencies happen. The Lord understands when the demands of life pull us in many directions. The problem comes when it begins to eat in on your time with the Lord. If you are running on empty and don’t fill up, then you will not be available to see God at work in and around you. Let me suggest something that may help. It concerns finishing your time with the Lord before moving on to the next thing. You need to have a daily time of refilling your soul with dedicated time to connect to the heart of God. How many times have you found that you started but before you ended your time, it was not fully finished properly? Every time you get alone with God should be seen as an event in itself. There are many ways of approaching this time that fits your personality and strengths. But the bottom line is that there needs to be time set aside to do so. Consider the following verse about Jesus’ prayer life: Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1 Notice it says that when Jesus had finished? Technically Jesus was always praying, but when it came to His personal time with the Lord, there was a set aside time for Him to get away and that dedicated time finished at some point. That is my simple point, “Don’t quit until you are finished.” I believe you will notice a difference in a busy period or season of your life. Continue to boldly be in the presence of God through the blood of Jesus and don’t be hasty to leave. Slow down, wait on Him, and spend time pouring your heart out to God until He releases you. You will be so glad you did when you lay your head down at night. May God continue to provide many opportunities throughout the day to experience his Holy Spirit at work all around you. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike When I read the Word of God, I can’t help but think of it as one massive prayer book. Nearly every page contains prayer prompts. Not only do I find myself meditating on the Lord, but I find myself spontaneously conversing with God in response to the text. The language of Scripture often times becomes the language of your prayer life.
Prayer in the biblical sense, is the overarching term to describe the entire spectrum of expressions we offer to God. Prayer includes praise, thanksgiving, adoration, intercession, worship, supplication, shouts of joy, lifting of hands, bowing, honor, exaltation, intimate affection, repentance, surrender, dancing, mourning, contemplation, spiritual warfare, total dependence… do you get the picture? It is everything when you direct it towards the Lord. When the Scriptures form and inform your prayers, you’ll start to explore the whole gamut of expressions. Heaven will give you a holy permission slip to do it all. Let’s begin to pray Psalm 84 and maybe you will be able to begin a new habit. Psalm 84:1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
Psalm 84:2 My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
While praying, pray for our mission trip to southern Ohio beginning this Saturday. We have 15 going and serving together and seeking where the Lord is calling us to make a lasting impact for the sake of Christ. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike I love the Gospels. They are made up of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These are the books of the Bible that were written when Jesus came as a baby, grew to manhood, and died for the sins of the world. Then He was resurrected and walked among the people. These are books with red letters which shows the words of Jesus.
Mark’s Gospel does not begin with the birth of Jesus. He begins by talking about John the Baptist who was baptizing many believers. 4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Mark 1:4-5 By confessing their sins, the people were agreeing with heaven’s evaluation of their sins. By repenting they were adopting heaven’s perspective on their sins and turning from them. For repentance is not confessing sin and still living in it. It is turning and walking in a new direction. We are not to remind God of our past but forge ahead, trusting He will protect and provide. Something happened that took them all by surprise. 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Mark 1:9-11 Jesus came to be baptized to identify with sinners and this is when the Father in heaven recognized Jesus for who He was. God was affirming and empowering Him with the Spirit of God. It was a beautiful act of obedience. I love baptism services. A time when people come and proclaim that Jesus has saved them from their sin and they have obeyed His call to turn from sin. It is a beautiful day in the church. On Wednesday, July 31 at 6pm, we will have a Believer’s Baptism class and talk about the baptism coming up on Sunday, August 18, at the Morse Pond. Have you been baptized as a believer? I want to encourage you to come and learn more about what it means. It prepares us for Mark 1:8 when John said, “I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Jesus so desperately wants to see you go on and mature in your faith. I invite you to come and seek the Lord together with us. This Sunday we will be praying for our Mission’s Team that will be leaving on Saturday, August 3. Would you join us as we send them to do Kingdom work in Southern Ohio? We are still accepting donations in Rita Schmidt’s memory up until we leave for the trip. There are other items that can be donated as well. Information is available on Sunday. Looking forward to what God wants to say to us together on Sunday. Make plans now to come. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike To live a life that makes an impact over the long-haul, you have to make sure you set up a rhythm that acknowledges full dependance on the Lord. It’s critical to long-term endurance. Even for the disciples, Jesus had to remind them to rest to be prepared for what the Lord was doing.
31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. Mark 6:31 I believe Jesus would say to many of us even today, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” Matthew 11:28. Why you ask? I’m glad you asked. Simply because many of us are running on fumes. When you add up the stress of life’s demands, the many different directions we seem to be pulled, we just need to replenish our souls in order to be what we need to be. Even from the very beginning of creation, the Lord established a rhythm that shows us the importance of Sabbath. 13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. Exodus 31:13 Across the globe, no other nation but Israel practiced a weekly sabbath because they were obsessed with making money to provide for their needs and get ahead in life. In contrast, Israel had one day each week in which they refused to work, but rather worshipped and rested. They were making a huge statement of trust in the Lord’s provision. This made them different than any other nation. It, in a sense, sanctified them from others. Do you know that even today the enemy tempts us to put other things above the “Sabbath”? They proved to be a people of faith who were devoted to the Lord Almighty. God blessed them more in six days of labor than those who chose days of unceasing toil. Why wouldn’t that happen when God works in mysterious ways? The “rest” I am talking about is a part of the Sabbath in that we should not easily give up meeting together. But the “rest” I am referring to is a daily, appointed place of rest in the course of a busy day. Believers are called to daily commune with the Lord for rest and renewal. So, what are you waiting for - an invitation? Consider Mark 6:31 your invitation. Get off the merry-go-round, go to a quiet place, and saturate in the Word and in prayer. You will be glad you do as you focus on “be” instead of “do.” As a matter of fact, you will be able to “do” more than you have ever done when you work to establish your “be.” It is worth the time just to get to know Jesus more and see His hand at work all around you. It is no coincidence when you make this a priority because your eyes are sensitive to the Spirit and you have more stamina physically, spiritually, and emotionally. In Isaiah 26:3-4 it says, 3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. How exciting it is to be here at the church during VBA. We have such a great team of people serving our children and families this week. I am so glad to be a part of this family. God is doing so much in and through our church. Thank you for all of you who have invested in this week from decorations to greeting, to leading a group to being a “buddy” with some of our kids. Behind the scenes and up front, we have an amazing church. We are so blessed! Come on out and be a part of eternal investments, it's not too late! Maybe you could even come on Saturday at Noon for pizza and then help move chairs back in the Worship Center. If so, call or text the church office and let us know (419-422-8660). Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike |
Rev. Mike McClurgSenior Pastor, Findlay First Church of the Nazarene Archives
March 2020
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