Never The Same Again

When Jesus comes into a person’s life, they are never the same again.

I have seen it firsthand. Not only in my life, but I have seen it over and over again in the lives of believers.  I am glad to be a part of a church where God is changing lives. A place where marriages are healed, addictions broken, souls saved, brokenness mended, and maturity flourishes. The evidence is clear, the verdict is in...divine change is taking place.

Paul tells us in II Corinthians 5:17; “ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”  God truly does bring change. God's Word tells us in  Isaiah 43:18-19   “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

What is He doing in your life? Are you positioning yourself for change? It is His desire for you to become more like Him. Have you been disconnected and on the fringes?  Has the business of life, kids, work, issues,  finances, and pressures slowed you down from being all He created you to be? It can change. Don't  give up or give in but rather let go and let the life changer step in and bring about change.  Can you remember a time you were fired up, consistent, passionate, serving, plugged in and committed?  Don't let another day go by before you decide to surrender to His plan, purpose and destiny for your life.

 

When Jesus comes into a person’s life, they are never the same again.

God Continues To Work At NorthStar

I never cease to be amazed at the incredible moving, life changing hand of our Holy God.  He has truly moved again in our midst.

I am so blessed by the fact that God has opened a new campus at NorthStar Church.  Less than a year ago we began preparing for the launch of our second campus at NSC. We closed on the building in December and began construction and renovation on January 1, 2013. What an incredible journey as small groups were meeting, new ones forming and construction on the facilities were beginning. In just 12 short weeks the campus was ready for opening Sunday, Easter, 2013.  We saw countless volunteers  at their post as well as excited staff ready for the first Sunday at the Tupelo campus. God showed up and we saw 330 people in attendance and around 10 people give their lives to Christ. Not only did we see God do an incredible work at the Tupelo campus but at Saltillo as well.  We saw 1031 in attendance and over 20 give their hearts to Christ.  I am so thankful to be the pastor of NSC and I cant wait to see what is next in our future.  We have an incredible staff and countless volunteers who give and serve tirelessly sacrificially for the cause of Christ.

Highlights of the Month

I have just returned from a mission trip to the Philippines.  We took 15 people, spoke 84 times in 11 days and saw over 20K people indicate that for the first time they received Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Our group is exhausted and some are still recovering from the minor travel sickness, sleepless nights, rigorous schedule, jet lag and emotional rollercoaster. It was all worth it to see so many lives far from God come near to God through the power of Jesus Christ. 

The progress on the construction of the Tupelo campus is going well. In fact, though there is much to do, the work has gone tremendously.  So many people have worked diligently and things are progressing well.  The core group continues to grow and the countdown for launch is on!

We are experiencing some pretty incredible services each weekend at NorthStar and we continue to see what only God can do in our midst. Just this past Sunday we saw numerous people come near to God through the power of Jesus Christ.

The best is yet to come. We continue to believe God for the impossible and we watch Him work among us.

Make the Most of Every Opportunity

Ephesians 5:8-20 (NIV)

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” ¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What was your life like before Christ? Regardless of how you articulate it, you were in darkness. When the light of Jesus shined in your heart and you trusted Him to do for you what you were unable to do, you became light in the Lord. Paul teaches us in this passage to “live as children of light.” We are new creatures and we have a new life. He teaches us to be very careful how we live and make the most of every opportunity. How do we live as children of light? He has called us to be bearers of the light and to take the message of His love to all the world. Every day 151, 000 people will die, (size of a city) every hour6400 will die, (size of a town) every minute 105 will die and every second two people will die. There are thousands in our county, millions in our nation and billions in our world who will die without Christ. We must share the light of Jesus with them. This is why we exist! This is why He has put us here and this is the mission of our church. We exist so that those far from God may draw near to Him through the power of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 49:6 (NIV) “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." Isaiah 60:1-3 (NLT) 60 “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. 2 Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you. 3 All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance. Who is someone in your life that needs to hear His life changing message? Share His light today!! We have His power, we are His people, and sharing the light is His plan. It has been well said that every person on earth is either a missionary or a mission field. Have you ever thought about the last words Jesus ever said before he ascended into heaven? Did you know that the last words Jesus ever uttered while he was on this earth were these: "to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8) When Jesus left this earth He had missions on his mind. Jesus came as a missionary from heaven that he might make us missionaries for heaven. If the population of the world could be compressed into a community of 100 people, 75 of them would be uneducated, underclothed, and underfed, 37 would live under present or former communist domination, 25 would belong to the Roman or Eastern Catholic Church, 15 would be Moslems, 11 would be Hindus, 15 more would either be Confucianists or Buddhists, and only 8 would be true Christians. Our God is a God with a missionary heart who has sent us into this world as missionary servants with a missionary message that we might fulfill the mission of The Great Commission. It is my prayer you will get a missionary heart, that you will give to missionary work, and that you will go to a missionary field, whether it be home or abroad.