As many of you know, the highway in front of our church is in the process of expanding from 4 to 6 lanes. Since it is expanding, they have decided to put a sound barrier in front of the church. It is supposed to be 18 feet tall. It is twice the height of Goliath. I have enjoyed watching their progress as they have been preparing to pave this side of the highway. Vaughn, John, and I walked out where the wall will be built and I was able to take a few pictures. I never dreamed I would ever stand out in the middle of the future highway. In the middle of construction you can get away with a few things that you would never be able to do after the completion of the project. We did not ask for the wall and they certainly didn’t ask our opinion. Their minds were already made up when they invited us to hear what they were planning on doing a few years back. I will have to admit that I was a little upset at first because it was nice to have visibility along the highway. This church purposely chose this piece of property because of the location. God quickly reminded me that there is no wall that will ever get in His way of reaching the lost. In Joshua 4, there is a story where Joshua was leading the people of Israel to the Promised Land. Shortly before, Moses, one of the greatest leaders of all time, passed away and left the baton to Joshua. Joshua was nervous because he had to fill big shoes. On their journey they followed God and consecrated themselves to Him and was able to cross the Jordan River. Again, Joshua could have been tempted to think, “Oh this is great. I am following in the footsteps of the greatest leader Israel has ever had and we are facing insurmountable obstacles. It was at flood stage and very deep. When the priests stepped their foot in, the waters upstream stopped flowing. The people walked across on dry ground. Nothing was getting in their way because the Lord was with them. He has a way of making obstacles building blocks. Now we come to Joshua 6 where they are looking at big walls surrounding Jericho. “Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men’” Joshua 6:2. They could have been overwhelmed with the task of defeating Jericho with those big walls. Especially with the God’s plan of attack. To walk around the walls 6 days and then on the 7th day to walk around 7 times and give a concert (MLM translation)? Joshua was not hesitant because the Lord had already delivered Jericho into his hands. He had total trust in the Lord. From that, I am confident no wall will ever get in the way of this church making Christ-like disciple of all who travel the highways and byways of this community. If God says it, we faithfully follow no matter what obstacles get in the way. Maybe we can form a committee every Saturday night to put graffiti on the walls that just so happen to resemble our logo. “No officer, I have no idea how that got there!” We will call that man’s attempt to reach out. My confidence lies not in the ways of man but in the ways of my God. His ways are perfect and they always work out in the long run. There is no wall too tall for God. The mission of the church will continue to move forward. I am excited for another Sunday where several people will be walking in the waters of baptism. God is moving amongst our church and it is an exciting place to be. Come with great anticipation and pray for His Spirit to move our hearts to revival. May we live our lives in such a way that there will be no barrier in the way of us totally committing to the ways of God and growing deep with Him. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike
4 Comments
Vaughn
9/6/2018 11:05:04 am
I have had thoughts about the Wall also. I only thought we should get a variance to raise the sign higher. Giving the city leaders the reason we had chosen this site in the first place.
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Jason Faryniarz
9/6/2018 11:07:28 am
Just wanted to make an observation. First, I agree that it is a disappointment there will soon be a wall blocking the view of the building from the highway. However, my wife and I have been attending the Naz for over two years and although we had seen the building from the highway, it was the church (God's people) who attracted us! We were invited to the Naz by friends who had themselves been invited by other members. We love the Naz, the truth that is preached, and we thoroughly enjoy the fellowship of all the wonderful people there.
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Len Boesger
9/7/2018 07:07:57 am
Well said, Pastor Mike!
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Larry Niswander
9/7/2018 09:10:16 am
Pastor,
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Rev. Mike McClurgSenior Pastor, Findlay First Church of the Nazarene Archives
March 2020
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