Sunday, August 10, 2008
Sign Your Name
Do your pastor a favor next time that you have something you want to share. Do not send an anonymous note or turn in an anonymous comment card. It doesn't accomplish anything. You, unless you are totally committed to only yourself and not the Lord and your church, are doing nothing to help anyone. You may feel better, but I promise it weighs on your pastor's heart and mind for awhile. Plus, it is so hard to respect the thoughts and ideas of someone who didn't have the courage to say who they were. You would be better served to call your pastor and let him know that you have some concerns or that something is on your heart. So, either sign your name or pick up your phone and make an appointment. You will get further and your church will benefit from the thoughts that have been on your heart.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Shawn McDonald Coming To Abilene! YES!
Info here: www.paramount-abilene.org. Look under Sept 20 info.
New Article for The Way Magazine
Waiting
by
Trace Michaels
On a list of life’s little displeasures, I would have to think that waiting ranks toward the top. There may be nothing worse than waiting! As a matter of fact, as I write this, The Way magazine, the very publication you hold in your hands, is waiting for me. I know they must be frustrated, as they cannot go to print until they receive what I am writing. Everything is done…yet they wait on me. It is nice of them and they are more than gracious, but talk about pressure!
Now, before reading on, think about a time that you had to wait. I’m not talking about a time where you sat through the light three times while in construction trying to get to the south side Wal Mart (even though that is down right frustrating!). I am talking about a time where you were anxious about something, or a time where you waited out a dismal moment. Think of a time when God seemed to be distant and quiet. Ponder it, and then read on.
It is no doubt that God answers all prayer: it’s either ‘YES’, ‘NO’, or ‘WAIT.’ The ‘YES’S’ are great, the ‘NO’s’ often sting, but it’s the ‘WAIT’S’ that downright kill you. From the end of January until the end of May, I was serving as the Interim Pastor at South Pointe Church here in Abilene. It was an exciting and challenging time as the Lord was laying many visions on my heart for that community, yet through it all He had not led me to submit my name for consideration to be the next Pastor there. It seems I asked for guidance a million times and I waited for an answer, either way! I was beginning to feel like Moses as I put God’s plans for that church in motion and prayed about whether I was going to be allowed to cross into that place or if there was a Joshua on the way. Now understand, I was content with His will; either plan was fine with me. I completely trusted His will here, but the waiting was exhausting. The amount of prayer time, the amount of searching, and the amount of crying out for answers…it seemed like the crickets were chirping. Then, before the answer ever came, the Lord took me to this passage: Numbers chapter 9, verses 15-23.
“On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. At the command of the LORD the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the LORD they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the LORD and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the LORD they remained in camp; then according to the command of the LORD they set out. And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out. They kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by Moses.” (ESV)
What a picture: God camping out right on top of the tabernacle! If you have studied the Old Testament much at all, it probably didn’t take you long to figure out that the Israelites didn’t get it right very often; however, this is a time where they were right on the mark. It says that as long as the cloud was there, that was where they remained. They did not move out until the cloud lifted, no matter how long that was. And only they moved only when it moved!
After reading this passage, my frustration completely went away. I was hit on the head with a ton of bricks as I thought about the number of times that I had run out ahead of ‘the cloud’ and then prayed for God to catch up to where I was. It doesn’t work like that. How many times have you gone a certain direction without seeking God and then turned around and asked God to bless you there? YOU moved the camp and then wonder where God is and why you are not being blessed. God is still with you, but His will resides back where the camp is supposed to be. The fire still burns there. We serve a God that loves us and wants to bless us, but whether we have ever realized it or not, God cannot bless us when we are out of His will. You see, it goes against His divine nature. God cannot go against His Word or His Will. As you run ahead of ‘the cloud’ and then pray like crazy for Him to catch up, He sits and waits for you to return to Him, EVERY SINGLE TIME.
On the flip side of this, when HE moves the camp, you have to go. I am sure, like me, you have a long list of ‘kicking and screaming’ times when He revealed His will and it didn’t match the desired outcome. When He moves and you dig your heels in…well, I think you probably know the outcome. (If not, please read the paragraph above again.) Are you ready to pop the stakes out of the ground at His command, roll the tent up and move until ‘the cloud’ comes to a halt, even if you are not real sure where He is taking you? Or, did you get the longest stakes you could find and pour some concrete on top for good measure, knowing all the while that it is going to hurt badly when He pulls those things out? I love how the passage, in verse 18, says that at the command of the Lord the people set out and at the command of the Lord the people camped. Make this your new prayer: “Show me when to move, show me where to camp. Help me to move when You do Lord, and help me to firmly stand where You stop until You move again.”
I pray you will “Follow the Cloud”…get smack dab in the middle of it. Don’t worry that you can’t see which way is which. You don’t need to. Use the Master’s Plan. Often, when talking about God’s plan, the verse many know is Jeremiah 29:11, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” But, most that use this verse have never really realized there is a requirement word found in verse 13. It says “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart…” (NIV).
To seek the Lord with all your heart means to follow ‘the cloud’…submit to its direction and destination. God waited until the very last day they were taking resumes to reveal to me that I was to submit mine to the Pastor Search team. He then waited another 2 months before leading the church to call me as their new Lead Pastor! In all, it was a six month process, and I am not sure that I know why God camped when He camped or why He moved when He did. I guess that is His business, huh? This much I do know: Like the Israelites in the passage, I actually got it right for once. (Like them, I get it wrong way more often!!) I actually waited on ‘the cloud’, moving when it moved and camping when it camped. It was cool to watch God work HIS plan. I think I am going to try it more often as I have decided there is nothing like camping in ‘the cloud’! Jump on in here…… (By the way, just so you know, sometimes there are storms in ‘the cloud’…okay, don’t freak out, they’re supposed to be there. I just wanted to make you aware of them so you would be prepared for that ahead of time, but that’s a topic for another issue! Until then, shine like the moon!)
Trace Michaels is the Pastor of South Pointe Church at 3050 Buffalo Gap Road. You can also hear his radio show, “The Bridge”, Sunday’s from 8-10 p.m. on 107.9 FM, Rock 108. Contact him at pastor@theuncommonchurch.com. He is also the founder of Son Reflectors Ministries. Visit them at www.sonreflectors.com.
by
Trace Michaels
On a list of life’s little displeasures, I would have to think that waiting ranks toward the top. There may be nothing worse than waiting! As a matter of fact, as I write this, The Way magazine, the very publication you hold in your hands, is waiting for me. I know they must be frustrated, as they cannot go to print until they receive what I am writing. Everything is done…yet they wait on me. It is nice of them and they are more than gracious, but talk about pressure!
Now, before reading on, think about a time that you had to wait. I’m not talking about a time where you sat through the light three times while in construction trying to get to the south side Wal Mart (even though that is down right frustrating!). I am talking about a time where you were anxious about something, or a time where you waited out a dismal moment. Think of a time when God seemed to be distant and quiet. Ponder it, and then read on.
It is no doubt that God answers all prayer: it’s either ‘YES’, ‘NO’, or ‘WAIT.’ The ‘YES’S’ are great, the ‘NO’s’ often sting, but it’s the ‘WAIT’S’ that downright kill you. From the end of January until the end of May, I was serving as the Interim Pastor at South Pointe Church here in Abilene. It was an exciting and challenging time as the Lord was laying many visions on my heart for that community, yet through it all He had not led me to submit my name for consideration to be the next Pastor there. It seems I asked for guidance a million times and I waited for an answer, either way! I was beginning to feel like Moses as I put God’s plans for that church in motion and prayed about whether I was going to be allowed to cross into that place or if there was a Joshua on the way. Now understand, I was content with His will; either plan was fine with me. I completely trusted His will here, but the waiting was exhausting. The amount of prayer time, the amount of searching, and the amount of crying out for answers…it seemed like the crickets were chirping. Then, before the answer ever came, the Lord took me to this passage: Numbers chapter 9, verses 15-23.
“On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. At the command of the LORD the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the LORD they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the LORD and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the LORD they remained in camp; then according to the command of the LORD they set out. And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out. They kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by Moses.” (ESV)
What a picture: God camping out right on top of the tabernacle! If you have studied the Old Testament much at all, it probably didn’t take you long to figure out that the Israelites didn’t get it right very often; however, this is a time where they were right on the mark. It says that as long as the cloud was there, that was where they remained. They did not move out until the cloud lifted, no matter how long that was. And only they moved only when it moved!
After reading this passage, my frustration completely went away. I was hit on the head with a ton of bricks as I thought about the number of times that I had run out ahead of ‘the cloud’ and then prayed for God to catch up to where I was. It doesn’t work like that. How many times have you gone a certain direction without seeking God and then turned around and asked God to bless you there? YOU moved the camp and then wonder where God is and why you are not being blessed. God is still with you, but His will resides back where the camp is supposed to be. The fire still burns there. We serve a God that loves us and wants to bless us, but whether we have ever realized it or not, God cannot bless us when we are out of His will. You see, it goes against His divine nature. God cannot go against His Word or His Will. As you run ahead of ‘the cloud’ and then pray like crazy for Him to catch up, He sits and waits for you to return to Him, EVERY SINGLE TIME.
On the flip side of this, when HE moves the camp, you have to go. I am sure, like me, you have a long list of ‘kicking and screaming’ times when He revealed His will and it didn’t match the desired outcome. When He moves and you dig your heels in…well, I think you probably know the outcome. (If not, please read the paragraph above again.) Are you ready to pop the stakes out of the ground at His command, roll the tent up and move until ‘the cloud’ comes to a halt, even if you are not real sure where He is taking you? Or, did you get the longest stakes you could find and pour some concrete on top for good measure, knowing all the while that it is going to hurt badly when He pulls those things out? I love how the passage, in verse 18, says that at the command of the Lord the people set out and at the command of the Lord the people camped. Make this your new prayer: “Show me when to move, show me where to camp. Help me to move when You do Lord, and help me to firmly stand where You stop until You move again.”
I pray you will “Follow the Cloud”…get smack dab in the middle of it. Don’t worry that you can’t see which way is which. You don’t need to. Use the Master’s Plan. Often, when talking about God’s plan, the verse many know is Jeremiah 29:11, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” But, most that use this verse have never really realized there is a requirement word found in verse 13. It says “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart…” (NIV).
To seek the Lord with all your heart means to follow ‘the cloud’…submit to its direction and destination. God waited until the very last day they were taking resumes to reveal to me that I was to submit mine to the Pastor Search team. He then waited another 2 months before leading the church to call me as their new Lead Pastor! In all, it was a six month process, and I am not sure that I know why God camped when He camped or why He moved when He did. I guess that is His business, huh? This much I do know: Like the Israelites in the passage, I actually got it right for once. (Like them, I get it wrong way more often!!) I actually waited on ‘the cloud’, moving when it moved and camping when it camped. It was cool to watch God work HIS plan. I think I am going to try it more often as I have decided there is nothing like camping in ‘the cloud’! Jump on in here…… (By the way, just so you know, sometimes there are storms in ‘the cloud’…okay, don’t freak out, they’re supposed to be there. I just wanted to make you aware of them so you would be prepared for that ahead of time, but that’s a topic for another issue! Until then, shine like the moon!)
Trace Michaels is the Pastor of South Pointe Church at 3050 Buffalo Gap Road. You can also hear his radio show, “The Bridge”, Sunday’s from 8-10 p.m. on 107.9 FM, Rock 108. Contact him at pastor@theuncommonchurch.com. He is also the founder of Son Reflectors Ministries. Visit them at www.sonreflectors.com.
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