What Does Waiting Look Like?

“And while staying (eating) with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, 'you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with (in) the Holy spirit not many days from now'.” -Acts 1:4-5 (ESV)

What does waiting look like? What do you do, when you wait?

I can “wait” for my dreams to come true – which unfortunately for some means sitting around and doing nothing.

I can “wait” on tables, which is anything but passive – in fact a “waiter” at a restaurant is an active server.

I can “wait” on the Lord as I look for Him, centering myself, focusing, paying attention, resting, putting my spirit on alert for Him.

I can “wait” for God in hope and service and seeking, or I can become discouraged, weary, or distracted.

Waiting can be an awesome, exciting time of anticipation! Do you remember what your heart felt as you waited for you wedding day? And waiting can be mind numbing boredom and staring into oblivion as you wait for that magic number on the clock to strike three so that you can get out of school... finally. I remember both.

What does waiting look like... for you?

“All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus...” -Acts 1:14 (ESV)

“Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!” -Psalm 105:4

The direct response of that early bunch of 120 followers of Jesus to their Lord's command to wait was to gather together, and to devote themselves to prayer. For them, that is what waiting looked like.

What does waiting look like for you? February 1st to 21st we are turning our hearts to a season of waiting on the Lord for His Presence, His Power, and His Living Grace to be manifested in our lives. We'll be worshiping a half hour before our scheduled services and a half hour afterwards. I'm wondering what else will transpire, and what waiting will look like – for us.

“When you said 'Seek my face', my heart said to You, 'Your face, LORD I will seek'.” -Psalm 27:8 (NKJV)

Seeking His Heart With You,
Pastor Tom

Looking For God – Getting Ready

“As the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God, my soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” -Psalm 42:1-2 (ESV)

“The birthplace of Christian fasting is homesickness for God.” -John Piper

There have been times in my life when the above verses captured my heart perfectly. I FELT hungry for God. There is a longing for God in our spirits that when truly felt is more powerful than the desire felt as lovers approach their wedding day. It is more powerful than the desire for food and drink. It is greater than anything that would move and motivate us.

But I have not always FELT that desire...

There are times when my heart is cold and God seems distant. There are times when I could care less. There are times when numbness or pain seem to be the dominating things that I am feeling.

I have come to see that at a very real level I can CHOOSE what motivates me. Often that process begins by realizing what motivates me in the first place and deciding if that is really what I want to be the driving force in my life. I cannot directly control my feelings, but by focus on what is REAL, by focus on TRUTH, by humble dependence on GOD I can direct the life of my heart – including my feelings.

“The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.” -Psalm 10:4 (NKJV)

“Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!” -Psalm 105:4

I am called to “look for Him”. If and when I do so I have the promise that I will find Him. It is for this reason that I must prepare my heart, and be intentional about the process. It is an individual road in that none can walk it for you. Yet there is a commonality to all our experiences that we can be an encouragement to each other as we walk the road.

So I'm preparing myself. I crying out. I'm trying to listen. In my restlessness and frustrations I am trying to hear His voice, to allow His still small voice to be heard above my sometime inner squaking. It seems as though I can't waltz right into the Temple (though I have the right and the call to come boldly) and expect to hear and to experience. I must prepare my heart or the inner noise and the busyness of life and the desire for other things (none of them 10 commandment sinful) will make my meeting with Him difficult to impossible.

So – we're setting aside Feb 1-21 as a time to “look for Him”, a time to pray and fast. As you're a part of this family I really hope that you will join in – at the place where you are. He will meet us,and we will find Him – if we look for Him.

“When you said 'Seek my face', my heart said to You, 'Your face, LORD I will seek'.” -Psalm 27:8 (NKJV)

Seeking His Heart With You,
Pastor Tom

A Miracle and A Bunch of Leftovers

“They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers.”
“They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food.”
-Matthew 14:20 & 15:37 (NLT)

Twelve baskets full. Seven baskets full. That’s a bunch of bread… even for twelve people! But the stories didn’t start out that way. What ended with satisfied tummies and an abundance of provision started out first with five loaves and two fish, and seven loaves and a few small fish, respectively – barely enough to go around for the gang. Oh yeah, I should also mention a couple of hungry, tired crowds, 5,000 men (plus women and children!) and 4,000 men (plus women and children!) (Matthew 14 & 15)

“Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves. But Jesus said, ‘That isn’t necessary - You feed them’.”
-Matthew 14:15b, 16

Have you ever “heard” Jesus ask something of you that seemed unreasonable? Perhaps stuff like “love one another”, or “forgive from your heart”, or if that didn’t push you over the edge “love your enemies” might have struck you as just a tad unreasonable! Anyone who has actually taken seriously one of His admonitions has come to the place of saying, “Lord, I just can’t do this… what in the world are you asking me to do?” As Jesus-followers it seems as though we are always being put in situations that seem beyond our resources and character to accomplish.

That’s just the way he does things. That is normal modus operandi for the Son of God! Get used to it! What… did you expect it to be “easy”?!?

But here’s the awesome thing – every time we are asked to go beyond ourselves we are being invited to participate in a miracle! What a privilege!
…if we’ll “get it”…

But the disciples pull out their calculators and start figuring. “But we have only…” and “Where would we get enough…” (Matthew 14:16 & 15:33) Isn’t that just like us? We figure and calculate and administrate and come to the conclusion that it can’t be done!

And Jesus invites then (& us!) into a miracle. What starts as a fairly meager personal supply ends up with leftovers that are more than enough for everyone for quite a while! One key - trust, obey, and give what He asks. If the loaves and fishes are held onto in self preservation no miracle happens. When they are freely given, abundance results.

Twelve baskets full. Twelve. Not 10, not 11, but twelve. Do you think the number is an accident? I don’t! Jesus says to his twelve disciples, “I’ve got you covered, you just need to trust me!” Because we’re a little slow to “get it”, He does it again and seven baskets are a result… the number of completion, of
perfection, of fullness. “Remember last time? I’ve got you covered! You can trust me to take care of you completely.”

So, what is Jesus asking of you? Does it “seem unreasonable or impossible”? You are being invited into a miracle!

So… how about that lunch? -Pastor Tom

Thinking About Insecurity, Inferiority, and Fear

“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours. But his Lord answered and said to Him, “You wicked and lazy servant…” Matthew 25:24-26a (NKJV)

“If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body’ is it therefore not of the body?” -I Cor. 12:15 (NJKV)

“What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to His voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.” -I Sam. 15:22 NLT

“…Perfect love casts out fear. …We love Him because He first loved us.” -I John 4:18,19 (NKJV)


I’ve been thinking a lot about insecurity, fear, and inferiority lately. Each of them defines themselves and their response to life and circumstances by what they are not. “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body.” Hear the echo of inferiority and insecurity?

Take a poll of who has struggled with fear, insecurity, and inferiority in their lives and you will get a response real close to 100%. It seems to be “normal” to the human condition!

Look at the interaction between God and seemingly everyone He calls… He usually starts it with “fear not”, and then much of the rest of the dialog is spent with hapless (but privileged!) “callee” giving excuses why they are a nobody from a family of nobodies that really doesn’t have what it takes and why don’t you choose somebody else, etc. etc. Sound familiar?!? God tells Joshua to “Be strong and of good courage!” Why? Because Joshua is feeling weak and scared out of his wits!! It’s “normal”!

And for those who seem to have a case of arrogance and over-confidence (see Moses before the dessert and Peter before the crucifixion) they quickly get the stuffin’ knocked out of them and are back to making excuses as to why God can’t use them.

God is not put off by my weakness and fear! In fact, He delights to work in and through me in spite of them to show Himself strong on behalf of people that He loves. It’s OK to be scared! It’s OK to feel weak and insecure! So did most of the “heroes” of faith in Scripture.

***It’s OK to be afraid. But it’s not OK to disobey. It’s not OK to pull back. It’s not OK to say “No Lord, I won’t because I’m scared.”***

The Lord is stirring my heart strongly in this area right now. I have seen that I tend to “accept” or even “coddle” my own disobedience when I am frightened or insecure, giving myself a “pass” as it were. I rightfully pull back from arrogance and embrace humility, but I must NOT use false humility as a cloak for timidity and justify my disobedience. Disobedience is disobedience, whether it is rooted in arrogance or fear. And humility is NOT timidity.

In the parable of the talents it is the “small” one (who their Lord wants to make large!) who buries their talent, having believed a lie about the character of the King that was based on half-truths. He is called a “wicked and lazy servant”. Today we would want to coddle him and say he had a self-esteem problem and just needed to be built up so he would have more confidence.

And yet, we DO need to be built up and have more confidence… don’t we? Or maybe that’s what we have thought we needed when we actually need something else? Perhaps what we need isn’t more confidence, but more of seeing God for who He really is and then choosing to trust Him AND OBEY. God isn’t bothered by our smallness or our weaknesses or our insecurity. In fact it seems He delights to use us at that point! It IS our choice to not trust and then disobey that “bothers” Him and turns out to be spiritually deadly.

Bottom line for me? Don’t use my fears and insecurities as rationalizations for not stepping out in obedience to God. How about you?
Trusting & Obeying, Pastor Tom

Thinking About Love

“But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.” -I Corinthians 12:31

“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” -I Corinthians 13:13

“Let all that you do be done with love.” -I Corinthians 16:14

“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” -Romans 13:8

I’ve been thinking a lot about love lately. It seems to me that it is a good place to put my thoughts, focus, and energy. Care to join me? The story below from Pastor Glenn might help!

Pastor Tom

————————————————————————————————————-

Recently, I heard a story about a grocery store bagger named Johnny, who had just returned from a seminar sponsored by his company. Three thousand co-workers--truck drivers, cashiers, stockers and other front-line workers--from the chain had gathered to hear employee motivation expert Barbara Glanz, who had challenged them to find their mission in life and to make a difference to others, regardless of what their job entailed.

Johnny, a young man with Down syndrome, took the challenge to heart. He talked with his father and decided that he wanted to find a positive statement each day and share it with others. His plan was to type each day's saying on his computer, run 300 copies, cut them into single strips, personally sign each one of them and drop them into the last bag of each customer in the grocery line. He then greeted each customer in his line by sharing with them that one of their bags contained something to help them have a great day.

One month later, the store manager noticed that several lines were open, but people had lined up in only one line ... Johnny's line! They lined up all the way back to the frozen food section just to get a note from him. In fact, his acts of kindness changed the way every department within that store viewed their roles. The floral team took broken-stemmed flowers, trimmed them, and pinned them on grandmas and little girls. In similar ways, other departments found new ways to encourage people.

Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 NIV). The best way to find your mission is to make other people your mission. There is no secret to ministry fulfillment. The need is great. Problems abound. People are hurting. Pain is common. Committing ourselves to becoming an extension of the grace, mercy, love and hope that we have received releases an amazing gift to those most in need.

Have you contributed positively to anyone's life today? Try it! Share a compliment or speak a blessing. You may be the light that helps someone find their way out of darkness or the voice that helps clarify a way out of confusion. Go ahead--Jesus has already commissioned you to act on His behalf!

In His service,
Glenn Burris Jr.
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” -1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV

Signs of a New Season

Good things are happening. Pastor John and I spent the better part of three days together ten days ago seeking the Lord, listening, and planning direction for this next time. God graced us with a solid three years plus of direction, and we are looking forward to spending time with servant leaders in our Body as we continue to move forward into this new season.

Our youth are wrapping up their Spring Retreat, and we want to be supporting them in prayer and love as they step into all that God has for them as well.

We’ll have information on our Living Way Ladies Retreat - See What the Lord Has Done! - by next week. The guys are meeting every Sunday night through the end of May. Our Acts 13:2 nights have become strong times of the Lord’s presence. God is moving and there is more to come!

Please mark Sunday night April 20th for an evening of Potluck and Passover together as we learn about Christ in the Passover! We hope to have information about another upcoming pilgrimage and study tour to Israel at this time as well!

Camp Dates are on the calendar. Kid’s Camp will be July 14-19, Middle School Camp will be July 21-26, and High School Camp will be Aug 11-16. Cost this year is only $99.00 per camper, and we are pretty stoked about that.

So… position yourself! Get into your Bible! Pray in the Spirit! Love one another! Step into service! Embrace a new attitude! Forgive with purpose! Live with Him passionately! Live from the new heart that God gives every born again son and daughter of His. Consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God! Take new territory! Step into God’s promises for you. It’s a New Season, Pastor Tom

Following is a “word” that Pastor Jack sent to us this week. I submit it to you for your prayerful consideration:

“Through the LORD’s mercies we are to consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion’, says my soul, therefore I hope in Him! The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.” -Lamentations 3:22-25

Children of the Father’s heart, let your soul see and allow your spirit to receive the fullness of His Word. Notice, beloved child, that His mercies are not only “new every morning,” but He has also said they “endure forever!” Together, these words promise you this day will grant fresh mercies, just as new days’ dew sparkles on the grass. But because the constancy of His “mercies” is that they “endure forever,” be assured of abiding, durable mercies surrounding you—ongoing!

This morning’s ‘new mercies’ will not evaporate! What He is beginning today—in your life, your home, or your ministry is only an entry point. Beyond today He promises a continuance of works He will see through to a completion! So hear your Father saying, “What I am giving today is the placing of a platform upon which I will continue to build and advance—establishing lasting works and durable results.” Receive His word on this day, this “morning” of “new mercies”.

Shaped By the Wind

Trees grow straight up. I know, I know, this is a deep observation, but please bear with me for a minute. Trees grow up. Trees don’t grow sideways. At least normally they don’t. But here, trees grow sideways.

I’m at Pacific Beach for a few days with Pastor John to spend some alone time thinking and praying and resting and listening and planning. Yesterday I got out on the beach and walked and walked, enjoying the sand and the sound of the surf, and the ocean breezes. Actually, the word breeze doesn’t really do justice to the howling blasts that dance in off the waves of the Pacific Ocean. This is wind that you can lean into!

One of the things that you cannot help but notice as you walk the beach is the trees. They grow sideways. In defiance of gravity and in obedience to the wind the trees on the beach are characterized by the sweep of an ever present wind coming in off the ocean. They are shaped by the wind in ways that are absolutely unmistakable. The Divine hand of a bonsai artist shapes these branches with the blast of His breath, and the trees bend and grow, shaped by the wind.

These aren’t hot house plants. Greenery has to be tough to survive in these parts. No wimpy greenhouse bred plants need apply. From their birth these trees are buffeted by the ocean “breezes”, and they are tough!

And so I think about the wind… and I think about me. Circumstances can toughen me, and bow and bend me. I am certainly shaped by what blows my way. If I allow it to, if I don’t break, I am made stronger. Unlike the trees I have a choice… a choice to “stay”, a choice to cooperate, a choice to “count it all joy” (James 1). Unlike the trees I can walk away, I can rebel, and can isolate myself in self-preservation. But I choose… I choose to not run from the wind.


And so I think about the Wind… the blowing of His Spirit. Lord, how I want to live in that place where I am always in Your Breeze, in Your Wind, yes, even in Your Gusts and Gales. Lord, how I desire to be shaped by Your Wind. In Acts you came “like a mighty wind”. The Church over the millennia has been shaped by Your Spirit, carried by the Mighty Wind as it lifted it’s hands to you, spreading it’s sails as it were, to be carried as You willed.

May His Spirit blow on your life. May dim sparks be fanned into flame as He carefully guards the life that is there, protecting and blowing onto the embers as He fans them into flame. May His Wind blow on your life in might, transforming and empowering you like a mighty wind. And may you stand… living in the “place” where He is moving, slowly but surely, shaped by His Wind. Pastor Tom

Itchin’ To Work - It’s Time

The sun’s been shining this week. Have you noticed? The crocus has been pushing through the wet, cold winter soil, bravely pushing yellow and purple faces toward the winter sun. If you look close you can see buds beginning to swell on the trees.

A new season is upon us. Signs are all around. If you don’t pay attention or don’t know what to look for you might miss it, but miss it or not, a new season is starting.

It’s time to get into my garden. It’s time to pull out the pruning shears and prune some fruit trees. It’s time to think about summer crops. What do I want to grow this year? It’s time to think about pruning old blackberry canes from my Waldo Blackberries, and begin to make sure that the new fruiting canes are properly spaced and trained.

It’s time to plan for repairing irrigation systems that haven’t been used for a couple of years. It’s time to replace sections that were broken in frosts, and to replace batteries that are worn out. It’s time to look for good seed deals and to decide if I want any new varieties of dahlias or if I’ll just go with what’s already been in the ground. It’s time to plant some very hardy lilies that have sat in containers for 3 years. It is time.

The changing of the seasons always brings work. That is the way of things. Each season has it’s own work, even seasons of rest that aren’t as active as others. But with new life comes new motivation and strength to not only put your hand to the plow, but to begin to push the blade through soil that has lain fallow.

It is time.

For those of you who may have missed the announcement, we are overjoyed at receiving again the Schroeder family into our fellowship as John returns as our Associate Pastor. It’s quite a story, if you haven’t heard it, ask, and we’ll tell!

Pastor John will be speaking the next couple of Wednesdays, and will be the primary speaker at our Men’s Retreat in a couple of weeks. Hope to have you come out!

Sue Searles will be bringing the Word this morning. Sue is an anointed woman of God with a strong word, and I know you will be encouraged and challenged.

Her and Natalie will be part of a small Woman’s team that will be spending a week in Romania. They leave very soon.

New life is happening… there’s encouragement to work again.

Embracing the Tasks of a New Season,

Pastor Tom

A New Season

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so…” -Psalm 1:1-4a

“...of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do…” -I Chron. 12:31

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” -Ecc 3:1

“I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the night seasons.” -Psalm 16:7

“For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” -Psalm 30:5

It is with a sense of joy and thanksgiving that I announce that Pastor John & Jill Schroeder are beginning a new season of ministry here at Living Way Church. Pastor John and I will be telling a large part of the story today, so I won’t go into the details here.

God has been graciously working in our Church family in marked ways during these last months. Life is happening, and things are growing and getting healthy (notice I didn’t say perfect or problem free, I said healthy!) Youth ministry is stronger and healthier than it’s been in years, and is headed in a great direction. The men are meeting in a couple of weeks at Pacific Beach, and we’re trusting God for His heart and hand in our lives. We’ll soon be announcing details of a Living Way Ladies Retreat that will happen in May. There is fresh vision and strength beginning to pour into our kids ministries. Prayer is being pursued with a freshness and passion.

Running sap, buds and blossoms, and little green apples are signs of life. It’s not complete yet, but fruit is growing. Life is stirring and budding, and a rain is beginning to fall.

May you be encouraged in this budding of a new season. May you know for certain that God’s plans are for a future and a hope, and that those plans include you. May you find strength and vision to believe and hope again. May dreams that seemed unfulfilled and almost lost be awakened again as you follow the Dream-giver.

Believing again, Pastor Tom

Asking For Rain in it's Time

“Then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. And I will send grass in our fields for your livestock that you may eat and be filled. Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them.” -Deuteronomy 11:14,15 (NKJV)

"Ask the LORD for rain in the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone.” -Zechariah 10:1 (NKJV)

It’s supposed to rain in Spring.

The land of Israel has a dry season and a rainy season. At the end of a long, hot summer the late Fall (sometime around October) rains begin to fall to water the land after a long dry spell. These rains are called the “early rains”. They signal the end of the dry season and are welcomed as a time of restoration and refreshing. Sometime in late Spring there is a good, long, hard rain called the “latter rain”. It comes to soak the land well as the last rains before the heat of Summer. It is these rains that give the crops a jump on their growing season. It is these rains that bring the promise of abundant harvest.

It’s supposed to rain in Spring. Yet God says to ask for it. It was the time of rain. Yet God says to ask for it.

We are never to take for granted the blessings of God. We are never to take for granted the Life that comes from Him. He is a generous God, and “there will be showers of blessing”! But we are never to take that for granted. God warns in Deuteronomy that in the process of blessing we are to “take heed to yourselves” and not attribute that blessing to “other gods”. I wonder if when we take the blessing of God for granted we aren’t moving in that direction?

Daniel had the word of the Lord through Jeremiah that Israel’s captivity of 70 years was drawing to a close. He had God’s promise. Yet instead of taking that promise for granted he humbled himself with prayer and fasting, crying out to God to bring to pass what had been promised. (Daniel 9)

In Zechariah, God says to ASK. It is as though we are being reminded to not take His Rain for granted. It is as though He delights to have us cooperate with Him in the promised “showers of blessing”. (Ezekiel 34:26)

We have the promise of God’s Word of a time of latter rain. (Joel 2:23-25) We have the current sense that God is moving in our midst. It’s the time of rain. It is a new season. Rain is falling. Life is springing up. Yet it’s time to ask. You. You ask! Don’t be caught dry in a time of rain. Ask. He is pouring. Are you asking? Are you expecting? Are you ready?
Asking For Rain. It is time.

Pastor Tom

Let's Grow and Go!

A team of 21 people returned this Wednesday from IMAGINE - Foursquare Next Gen Summit. It was our first national gathering of Foursquare Youth and Young Adults in 10 years. We’ll try and tell a few stories today, but the best way to capture what this last weekend was about will be to watch it worked out in our lives in the coming years!

It was AWESOME! God met us, the music was fantastic, the speakers were great, and we came home with a growing fire in our belly and practical tools to live for and serve Jesus.

Our young people are AMAZING! They were hungry,
focused, and pressing into what God had and has for them. Watch them grow and go! Better yet, grow and go with us!

This trip would not have been possible without your love and support. This trip would not have been possible without a team of dedicated servants… your Youth Servant Team. Joshua is shepherding them well, and Kim, Nichole, Jasmyn, and Jonathan are diligently working hard at loving and providing direction and impetus to our youth ministry. It has been a joy to meet regularly with them and to watch the growing excitement as they plan 6 months, a year, and more into the future, dreaming big dreams with God as they catch a vision for what He is doing in this generation. It’s been fun to watch the synergy on the team grow as each one contributes their unique gifts and passions to overall goal of seeing young people discipled to Jesus. They are giving sacrificially of their time and of their hearts as they lead out of the passion that Jesus has worked into their hearts. Well done team!

As you read this I will also have returned from 3 days away praying, seeking God, planning and dreaming for this next season. Joining me were several brothers that responded to me invitation.

As I write this, I don’t know what happened during that time. But I am convinced of this: Seeking Him diligently changes
everything. Hearing His Voice with purpose to respond with “Hineni” obedience changes everything.

God is already doing great things, and I KNOW that will
continue as we follow Him!

So… Watch us Grow and Go… Better yet, come Grow and Go together with us! This generation will feel the weight of our lives surrendered to Him, passionately pursuing His purposes.
Facing Firmly Forward, Pastor Tom

For Your Consideration

Have you ever had a verse “jump out at you”? Have you ever been reading and praying and it seems like a passage or a verse or even a phrase is highlighted in neon for you by the Holy Spirit? Now I admit, this certainly does not happen every time I read the Bible, and actually I don’t think it’s supposed to happen every time. But when it does I’ve learned to pay attention. More often than not those times are marked in my journal with the accompanying thoughts and stirrings in my soul that happen as God breathes freshly on His Word. Sometimes the Spirit is bringing gentle correction. Sometimes He brings fresh understanding of a circumstance. Sometimes He pours comforting oil of healing on a raw place in my emotions. Sometimes He brings new promises for my tomorrows as he ministers healing to my yesterdays.

There is much stirring me in this new season. Some things I can shout from the mountaintops. Some things are guiding prayerful planning for an approaching New Year and beyond. Some things I am guarding close to my heart. But above all, I am paying attention. I am attending to the Word of the Lord and His stirrings in my heart. Good thing, don’t you think?

In that spirit, let me share a couple of verses and some understanding that were impressed on me as I was reading last week.

“….the snare has been broken and we have escaped.”
-Psalm 124:7b (NIV)

If you are even casually aware of our circumstances you are aware that this has been a hard few years on many levels for me and my family and for our Church. Certainly in those difficult times, allowed by Jesus for our benefit and His glory, there have been snares laid by the adversary in an attempt to destroy us. Jesus is saying “the snare has been broken and we have escaped!” I rejoice!

“The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous…”
-Psalm 125:3a (NIV)

Just as surely as the tribes of Benjamin and Judah had specific marked territory that “belonged” to them, so you and I and your ministry and this Church have “territory” that is ours by God’s gift. And just as surely as Israel had to evict “giants”, so we have battles to possess inheritance that is ours by gift. Now as then, the promise rings, “wherever the sole of your foot treads I have given you”. A scepter speaks of kingdom, and the kingdom of darkness always wars against that which has been given to us. Here is the Lord’s promise, that though he has made the attempt, the scepter of the wicked will not remain over our given territory!

Rejoice with me as you move with confidence into this new season that is upon us.

Marching forward,

Pastor Tom

“Greedy” for More of God

“Greedy” for More Of God"

Cindy’s been listening to a recording of The Message Bible on CDs. I come home and the house has been filled with the sound of the Word. It’s been fun! The Message was always one of my favorite reading Bibles, and listening to Cindy talk about how much she has enjoyed and how much she has gotten out of listening to the reading of the Word has been encouraging, and honestly, just a bit convicting in a good way!

Have you ever had a time when you just felt like you needed clarity? Have you ever been in a season where you had to have perspective? …Where you had to know what God thought about things and how he felt about things? Remember that the evil one lies most about the character of God, and if he can distort our views of God and a Kingdom perspective then he has gone a long ways toward discouraging us, hindering us, and even ultimately derailing us from the tracks of God’s best and God’s purposes for our lives.

Being saturated with the Word is the best way to have clarity and perspective.

Did you ever think you knew something, then revisited it and realized you didn’t know it as well as you thought you did? I have found that as I’ve been re-reading John Maxwell’s excellent book on leadership, Developing the Leader Within You. As I am preparing myself to lead into a new season, and seeking God for strategy, heart, and focus I decided I better start pouring into myself in the area of need, asking God for more fruit! As I’m reading, it’s almost like reading the book for the first time. Hmmm…. Maybe I haven’t been paying as close attention as I thought I was?!?

Jesus said, “Consider carefully what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you – and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” -Mark 4:24,25

I hear Jesus say that I am to be “greedy” for the right things! I am to pay attention to what I hear, and make sure I’m “hearing” good stuff, and make sure I’m “hearing” more and more of it! Truth builds on truth. Line is upon line, and with one precept comes another. I don’t need to get the whole thing at one time, but I do need to regularly be hearing and feeding on His Word, and His Kingdom life!

When I fail to do so, then even the things I “thought I had” (Luke 8:18) begins to slip away and is taken from me. So, how big is the “spoon” that you’re feeding on God and His Word with? How big is the shovel? Are you going for it? Don’t be condemned, but realize that it is time! It’s time to go for it, time to pick up the book, time to hear the Word, time to be in fellowship, time to love and serve and give and walk in faith and run the race and live for God with Passion! Abundant fruitfulness awaits…
Pastor Tom

Your Kingdom Come

Your Kingdom Come

“This, then, is how you should pray:
…Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” -Matthew 6:9a, 10

Most of us are familiar with this part of what we call “The Lord’s Prayer”. (Actually, we might call this the disciple’s prayer, since it was for His followers to pray. Do you want to read the “real” “Lord’s Prayer”? Read John 17!!)

It is clear that Jesus intended this prayer as a pattern for the praying disciple. God’s priorities and heart are outlined in this prayer, giving us a model that we do well to not stray from as we cry out to Him.

Some segments of His Church over the centuries have taken to repeating this prayer word for word, and while that certainly can’t hurt, my gut is that
repeating this prayer verbatim is not what Jesus intended when He originally gave it. I base that opinion on verse 7 of the chapter where He tells us to not be involved in “empty repetition” or “vain babbling”. Now certainly this is not a prohibition against written or memorized prayers as such, however it IS a strong warning against just repeating things to be repeating them, regardless of how “holy” they sound. There is to be meaning and growing understanding in all our praying, and the praying disciple has the delightful opportunity to grow in understanding and passion as we learn from other disciples and from Jesus Himself by His Spirit!

Have you thought about the prayer “Your Kingdom come, you will be done on earth as it is in heaven”? Has that ever seemed just a bit strange to you? What does it mean? How do I pray with this as a pattern without just repeating religious words?

I guess it starts with a growing understanding of just what the Kingdom is that we’re praying would come. Is the Kingdom heaven? I don’t think so… wouldn’t it be kind of silly to pray for heaven to come? Of course in His presence His will is done, so in a sense we do pray that way… “Let the complete submission to your will that exists in heaven be here on earth!” I like that!

Heaven is heaven not because of streets of gold or whatever you associate with “paradise”! (Sandy beaches anyone?!?) Heaven is heaven because the King is present and His will reigns supreme! When I pray for His Kingdom to come, I am asking Jesus to work in me and those around me and my circumstances and situation and my influence so that He will reign supreme where I am! This presumes that I am submitting to the King! Right? It’s a great place to start… “Lord, let your Kingdom come in me!” Then, as an ambassador of the King I begin to spread the “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” that characterizes the Kingdom. (Romans 14:17)

Where and how can His Kingdom come in your life and in the situation where you find yourself and where you have influence? Think about it! Dream! Let faith rise in your heart! Let boldness rise in your heart! God wants His Kingdom represented, released, and established in and through you… and all of His disciples.

What an adventure awaits the ones who will pray in faith…

Pastor Tom

The Redeeming Power of the Resurrected Jesus

The Redeeming Power of the Resurrected Jesus

He is Risen! And He redeems. He is able to take the broken and bring wholeness. He takes the prisoner and brings freedom. He takes the bound and brings deliverance. It is who He is. It is what He does.

Hear Him:

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
because He has anointed Me to proclaim
good news to the poor.
He has sent Me
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim deliverance to the captive
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set a liberty those who are oppressed

and downtrodden,
to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD”

Consider:

The Cross - Once reserved for the guilty, the shamed and the condemned, the cross has been transformed into a symbol of hope, love, and redemption. It was an instrument of torture and execution, mentioned in fear, loathing, or disgust. Now hymns of praise are written extolling what was accomplished there by the awesome love of God and the willing sacrifice of His Son!

The Curtain - An inseparable, woven barrier a handbreadths thick separated the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place. Among even those separated for God’s service only one man, the High Priest, could pass it, and that only once a year with elaborate ritual and purification. Once an object that represented the impenetrable barrier between God and man, the tearing of the curtain from top to bottom marked the possibility of an open and intimate friendship between man and Yahweh the Creator.

The Crypt - Once a reminder of pain, grief, and despair, the crypt now serves to declare the truth that death’s grip has lost it’s power, and that the grave’s efforts are futile. The Tomb is empty! What was once a reminder of death’s inevitability now serves as a trumpet blast that death no longer holds ultimate power! He is Risen! And because He lives, we shall live also.

Since God can alter history and radically redeem the meaning and legacy of the above-mentioned inanimate objects, just imagine what He can do through yielded vessels like you and me! God ahead! Give Him the worst of your life, that which you fear, that of which you are ashamed. Watch Him redeem! Watch Him restore to God’s original intent.

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Ever Hopeful because He Lives,
Pastor Tom

Thoughts On Prayer

Thoughts On Prayer

“...men ought always to pray and not loose heart.” -Luke 18:1, (NKJV)

-Come

Do it! Make a choice to be “with Him”. Conversation, request, praise, silence, reading the prayers of others, and more are all components of what we call prayer, but the point is to be “with Him”. Don’t miss that in anything else you do while in prayer.

-Be Honest

What’s the point of pretending with the God of the Universe who knows all things and us better than we know ourselves? The Psalms are a collection of (among other things) brutally, painfully raw humanity coming before God. Only a blind religiosity can read the Psalms and “sanitize” and explain away the raw humanity found in it’s pages. Heights of Glory, Godly Passion, Self Focused Misery, Unbridled Rage, Dancing, and Mourning, and More all comprise the Psalms, the principle prayer and song book of His followers for the last 2,500 years. Visit it’s language. Do it often. Do it slowly. And shed the blinders as you do. You will be amazed…

-Stay. Listen.

Honesty that “vents” and then “walks away” can eventually turn to rebellion and stubbornness that becomes settled in your soul and character. Our culture has elevated supposed “sincerity” and “how you really feel” to the point that anything less than not just merely acknowledging those feelings / desires, but actually giving in and acting on them is viewed as not being “real”. This is a fallacy. Again, the Psalms are a faithful guide here. The writers are raw in their honesty, but as they come to Him and stay with Him their perspective changes from the temporary to the eternal. Ours will as well.

-Choose. What will you say of Him?

The Israelites said, and said more than once, “He brought us out of captivity to kill us in the wilderness.” Their focus would turn from God’s greatness to the greatness of their circumstance and challenge. It was the classic “Yeah But” disease. “He brought us out of Egypt… Yeah But… Now He’s going to get us killed, or starve us to death”, or, or, or. At the gates of the promised land the majority said, “We are like grasshoppers, and we’re all going to die!” Caleb and Joshua saw the circumstance, but saw God as bigger, turning their “Yeah But” into what God intended! Caleb and Joshua said, “Yeah But, God has made them food for us! If the Lord is for us we are well able to take the land.” What will you say of Him? What is your
confession of Him in your circumstances?

-Trust Him! Yes, No, or Wait Awhile. Your Issue Isn’t Always The Issue. Or… “Just what in the world does happen when I pray?!?”

When it comes to our requests, God always answers prayer. His answer is always some form of “Trust Me, Yes, No, or Wait Awhile, or Your Issue isn’t always The Issue.”

Sometimes God says “No”. He said “No” when Moses wanted to take Israel into Canaan. He said “No” to David when David wanted to build the Temple. He said “No” to Paul when asked about the thorn in the flesh. And, lest we forget, He said “No” to Jesus when He prayed for the cup to pass away.

God’s promises are always “Yes and Amen”, but sometimes God says “No”. We don’t like it, but we need to realize it and trust Him.

-Heart Work

The most important thing that can happen in us is heart work. God has always been and is always after our heart. Out of it life flows… ours and His. God is after my heart. God is working on my heart.

Remember, Pastor Tom

God is Moving, God will Move

“We are not called to build a monument to the past, but we are called to help ignite and nurture a Movement.”
“Our past leaders did not feel called to build an
organization but to ignite a Movement.”

I am grateful to be a part of this Foursquare “tribe” in the Body of Christ. My adult ministry life has been matured in this family called
Foursquare. We are certainly not the only thing God is doing. I have always appreciated the interdenominational balance and spirit that I have found in Foursquare - we are a part of the Body of Christ. On the cornerstone of
Angelus Temple, built by Aimee and the Foursquare Family in the 20’s and 30’s, are written these words -
“Dedicated to the cause of Interdenominational, Worldwide Evangelism”.

The statements I quoted above have been spoken loud and clear by our leadership at a national level over the last few years. I am thankful for what God has done in the past! I honor those who have gone before us, and I remember with excitement, God’s working in my own life. I honor and learn from God’s great works.

But God IS working! He is NOT finished! He is moving and He will move. And I want to be a part of that with all my heart.

Josh Thomure brought a strong word this Wednesday night about God moving. We were challenged and stirred and for some, hope began to awaken again. As we responded to this Word of hope, God clearly
challenged us to 2 things:

1). Go Public as a Jesus Follower
2). Be Filled with the Spirit

I do not know what God is about to do. I do know whatever it is, if we are to be participants not spectators, we need to “come out of the closet” as Jesus Followers. We live in an age where homosexuals have more
boldness to be public about their “lifestyle” than the average Christian is about simply being Public about who they are. I am not talking about
loveless “chest-thumping” confrontations, but bold, Spirit-filled Testimony of who I am and Where I am.

I cannot and do not “make” God move. He IS moving! If I live in love with and following Jesus… filled with His Spirit...public in my
witness...then God will use me by His mercy to touch a world He loves.
He is moving and so will I,
Pastor Tom

Winter Resurrection

Winter Resurrection


Cold snows embrace hard ground.
Harsh winds whistle through leafless branches.
Green withers at frost’s touch.
Flowers hide their faces.
Bird voices stilled at Autumn’s passing
Long for the new song of the coming season.
Furry creatures, thickened coats,
Warmth in closeness, safe together.
Roots grown long
Pull life from deeper places.
Sap retreats to inner heart,
Buds close tight guarding life’s promise.
Death reigns to the unlearned eye,
But life is not gone. She is sleeping.

Land rests, life slows,
Heeding the Lord of the Sabbath.
Opened eye receives the Prince of Peace
Lord of Winter.
New vision transforms harsh landscape.
He is Lord of the Seasons.
Cold snows, diamond sparkle
Persistent wind, Spirit’s brooding.

Life waits in quiet hope,
Deep in silence,
Safe in stillness,
Knowing that He is God.

Cold, dark tomb?
Or Resurrection’s waiting room?
Creator’s Voice!
Lazarus stirs.
Friends gather with laughter,
Unwrapping the Promise of Spring.

-Thomas D. Nicodemus

Engage - A Poem

Engage

400 horses wait under gleaming hood ornament,
Power & Potential at rest behind chrome grill.

Heavy Loads are ready to be pulled
Insistent Tasks beg to be completed
High Roads wait to be traveled
New Horizons call to be explored
Beckoning, Calling, Inviting, Pleading.

400 horses roar to life at the turn of fitted key,
Giving strong voice in full throated cry,
“I’m ready”, “Let’s go”, “We can do this”!

400 horses stand at the ready,
Snorting out Power and Potential with every breath.

400 horses stand…

Until…

One small lever is pushed forward,
Gears click into place,
Meshing together in their designed purpose.
Engaged. Moving together in concert.

400 horses now put their backs into it,
Power being Released, Potential being Realized.

Heavy Loads are surely carried
Insistent Tasks are faithfully done
High Roads are joyfully traveled
New Horizons are finally reached
Journey underway, Purpose in progress.

The fitted Key has been turned.
Now…
Engage.

-Thomas D. Nicodemus

Happy New Year 2007

Happy New Year!

Ready or not, 2006 came and went, and 2007 is here!

There are seasons where the passing of time creeps
and crawls along at a seemingly maddeningly slow pace.
Hmmm…. if I remember right, most of those times
seemed to be when I was lots younger than I am now!
Remember the eternity before the bell would ring to signify
that school was done for the day and real life could finally begin?
Or when it seemed that your [fill in the blank] birthday
would never get here so that you could finally be considered older
and "cool" and maybe be allowed to drive a car!

It seems as though something strongly anticipated can
"slow time down" to a crawl. And there are seasons where
the passing of time seems to move at warp speed,
alternately whizzing by like some sci-fi starship
or otherwise bearing down on you like a freight train
with it’s horn at a full throated roar. Hmmm… again,
if I remember right, most of those times seem to be lately.
Although I can remember how quickly recess seemed
to whiz by and how summer seemed to be just
a blip between school years. And of course,
the older you get the birthdays seem to come quicker
and with less anticipation that they did before.

It also seems that things strongly enjoyed
seem to "speed time up" and pass by all too quickly.

Yet the reality is that time is a plodder.
It simply ticks, measuring the passing minutes,
hours, days, and years at a steady pace.
We are the transients, changing pilgrims.
It is our perspective on the passing of time
that changes not time. It is said that "time
and tide wait for no one". This is true.
So we read the prayer of Moses recorded in Psalm 90,
the heart cry of every sojourner in time,
"So teach us to number our days
that we may gain a heart of wisdom". (Psalm 90:12)

Time can be a ruthless taskmaster.
Yet time is not our master.
Jesus is our Master. And He is Lord of time.
He is the Creator of time.
In Isaiah 57:15 God is said to be
"the High and Lofty one who inhabits eternity,
whose name is Holy". [If you want some brain stretching
and Spirit feeding try spending some time meditating on that one!]
He is outside time and space, yet He loved us so much
that He entered time and space. The Timeless One entered time
to redeem those bound by sin and hopeless without Him.
Praise His Wonderful Name!
In Joel 2:25 we read an amazing promise.
"I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten".

As I read and think on that promise I am humbled and amazed.
Only He can restore years. Who else could do so?
Who else would even dare to promise such a thing?
Only the one who could make the sun & moon stand still.
(Joshua 10:12)
Only the Creator of time and the Redeemer of us
who are in time could give such a promise.

I have many words and deeds that I would like to have back.
I can think of much time wasted and years not wisely numbered.
I cannot change the past. But in holy fear I can walk carefully
in the time that I have been given. In humble love I can come
to the One who loved me first and is a RE-deemer,
a RE-storer, a RE-newer. All of those "RE-words"
have something to do with time
and Jesus is Lord of all, including time.

On this day that we mark the passage of time,
May you have renewed hope as you see freshly His kindness,
His grace, and His stunning Majesty.
May you discover new strength as you wait on Him,
running the race with patience, redeeming the time.
And may you be found faithful as you live
in time until the Lord of time returns.

Until He Comes, Happy New Year! Pastor Tom

"But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD;
I say, ‘You are my God.’ ‘My times are in Your hand?"
-Psalm 31:14,15a

Happy New Year!
A Holy New Year!
A Fruitful New Year be to you!
May you experience His sweet,
healing, transforming Presence...
May you meet Him at the deepest places of your soul...
May your strength be renewed
to run with focus and patience as you wait on Him...

With great affection,
Pastor Tom & Cindy Nicodemus