It has been a long time since I wrote. I started to have bouts with vertigo. I never knew when they would come on. Last Thursday I finally got a doctor who knew what was going on. I was having migrains that do not have the symptom of headaches but vertigo. I now am on medication and am supposed to be normal. ME NORMAL?
What is a normal christian look like? "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33 NIV Normal christians seek God and His kingdom first. Do you? That is normal. I do not need more stuff, (even though 60" TV would be awesome), I need more of God in my life. I need more compassion in my life. I need more time of intercessory prayer in my life. I need more of a servants attitude. I need more forgiveness. I JUST PLAIN NEED MORE OF GOD IN MY LIFE, That is normal.ield any time. You will always be welcomed at SUB. I want to personally invite you.

Today is Good Friday. I praise the Lord for what He has done for me and the entire world on this day. We are having two Good Friday services and the second one begins in about 45 minutes. I will not be attending because I just got grounded by my doctor because of vertigo and dizziness. Our young people are doing a skit called "EVERYTHING" which is awesome. Ben and Suzie Ralph, our Student ministries pastors will be in charge.

But I could not let this day go by without thanking my Lord for dying on a cross for me. Have a great Good Friday and may the Christ of Easter be you constant guardian of your way.

Pastor Mark

Can I share with you a concern I have? Are you disciple? Am I disciple? Are we as a church intentionally making disciples of our flock of people who God has given us? Matthew 4:18-20 says:

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

What is a disciple? Do we have a proper definition as a church? According to Matthew 4 there are four things that define a disciple.
1. A disciple is one who has made Jesus Lord of their lives. Verse 19 says FOLLOW ME, that means He becomes the leader . Is there a commitment on my part to being His follower.
2. A disciple is one who is in a relational process with other maturing believers. This is the way our lives are shaped.
3. A disciple is one who is becoming Christlike. I am one who is in process of becoming more like Jesus. He is the transformer- He is the change agent in my life.
4. A disciple is one who is committed to the mission of Jesus Christ. When we spend time with Him we start to care about the things He cares about. Jesus came to seek and to save those who were lost.

Are you a disciple? Am I a disciple? Look at the four areas I have described above and see if you are on track. If not get on track!

Pastor Mark

The past week has been so interesting. I got the flu that has been going around and finally started to feel better. My balance was a little off, but I thought I was getting over the flu and was weak. For no apparent reason I started falling because the room would start to spin and to this day it is still happening. Yesterday my son took me to the doctor and he set me up to have an MRI on my head. TO SEE IF ANYTHING IS THERE. Ha. I am now in the process of waiting to have that done.
What happens when your life starts spinning out of control. You lose your balance! Many times you fall. Life seems to be out of whack. Could I talk to you today about balance in your life? Seems like a great subject especially for what I am going through right now. Is your life balanced?
I Corinthians 10:31 says, " So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." When I begin to speak of balance I need to be reminded that God is the One who deserves my loyalty, love, service and devotion. I am a person who has been called to be a steward of what God has given me. Nothing I have has come from me, it has all come from Him. Do you believe that? If you do it shows up in your actions. I need to honor God in all areas of my life. I live within time and space and He calls me to live within that context and seek to balance the demands on my life. How I manage my time is very important . My focus should never be how efficient I am but how effective I am. Do I do the right things.
Let me give you 7 areas where we need balance:
1. Family
2. Finances
3. Personal Growth
4. Physical
5. Social
6. Spiritual
7. Work
You can be a great employee and be a terrible father. You can have a financial budget that is so on target that people envy you, but how is your spiritual life? Get the picture? All 7 need to be in balance. A choice or an action in one area will have effect on all the others.Balance in life does not mean you spend equal time on all 7. In 100 hours per week how much time do you spend in one of the areas of life? I know folks who are in church every time the doors are open, yet their marriage stinks. My life in Christ demands me to balance every area of my life to bring glory to His name. May I Corinthians 10:31 be our verse of purpose.
Pastor Mark

I read an article today that just jumped out at me so I wanted to share it with you.
Here is the article. "One day I hopped in a taxi cab and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was really friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital.' This is when the taxi driver taught me what I now call , 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they will dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so......... Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the one's who don't.
Life is 10% what you make it and 90% how you take it !

What a great story on how to live your life. It reminds me of the Scripture that says: "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; Matthew 5:44

Most of us can quote that verse but the question I have is: Is that how we live? Knowing the Word and Living the Word are two seperate things.

I will write again soon
Have a blessed day!
Pastor Mark

Today I have been to a coaching cluster meeting with other pastors and was encouraged to see what God is doing in His Kingdom. One pastor said they are going to be baptizing 14 people next week. God is working in that church in a mighty way. My mind started to wander ( as usual) to what does God want from us as a church in Sunfield,MI. Ron Ramsey , the Bishop of our denomination, said something to me that just will not get out of my mind. He said, "We as the church are not a democracy because we have a King and we do what He says." Jesus told us in Matthew 28:18,"Go and make disciples of all nations." Are we doing that? If not we are being disobedient to our King. We have talked a lot about vision at our community of faith recently. Our vision needs to be about reaching our community for Jesus Christ. Period. If we are not doing that ,we are a glorified country club.
Last week I was teaching in our discipleship class that the church needs to be the BRIDE of Jesus Christ. The book of Acts gives us a look at what that means. Acts 2:42-47 gives us an acrostic of what the church should be. Denny Miller a long time friend of mine shared what the BRIDE is to be, as he looked at this passage.
B- Biblical Teaching
R- Relationships with one another as brothers and sisters
I- Intercessory Prayer- Praying for others.
D- Devotion and Worship
E- Evangelism and Outreach
This is our example of what the Church of Jesus Christ , our King, should look like. Stay tuned for my next post.
Pastor Mark

Jim Elliot was a missionary who was murdered by the people he was ministering too. He made a quote that I believe is so important for us today. "HE IS NO FOOL WHO GIVES WHAT HE CANNOT KEEP TO GAIN WHAT HE CANNOT LOSE." Recently I was in a store going through the checkout visiting with the family ahead of me. They had three little children and they bought the youngest boy a hamster. I immediately started up a conversation with the dad about how I raised hamsters when I was a kid. He then ask me questions about caring for these little critters. I was next in line and paid for my item. Received my change and walked out. While sitting in my car I looked at the change I received. It was $20 more then I should have gotten back. WOW! I thought look how God blessed me with $20 extra dollars. No, that's not true. I immediately went back in the store and had to wait in line again and when I got to the cashier I gave her the $20 and said that she gave me back too much change. She looked at me and sheepishly said thank you and I walked out.
As I was walking out the manager waved to me and said thanks a lot. I got back in my car and started to think how many people would of gone back in to return the money. Well, they made the mistake. That $20 was not mine. It belonged to that store.
As I read the Word of God I see a high emphasis on money and possessions. WHY? I believe there is strong connection between our spiritual lives and how we think about and handle money. We may try to separate our faith and finances, but God sees them as inseparable.
Look with me at a passage of Scripture that I believe is a very neglected teaching.
Matthew 6:19-21.
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
God gives us here the best investment advice. "STORE UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN" Everything I have belongs to Him not me and he wants me to be a good manager. Did that $20 belong to me. NO! Does the money I receive at work or investments belong to me. NO! It all belongs to God, yet what we say we believe and our actual practice too often is not the same.
Our UPS man here in Sunfield is a wonderful Christian brother and I just love talking to him. He said to me church finances are way low at his church and he doesn't understand why. I said well it is probably the economy people are holding back their money . He looked at me and said did not God say give and He would give back to us so much we would not be able to handle it. I told him yes. With a smile he said then I'm going to keep on giving and giving and giving because that's what God wants me to do. He then handed me $25 and he said Reverend this is my lunch money I have for the week, find a good place to give it to the Lord. He walked out. I want to be that kind of Christian that gives and gives and knows God will take care of him. Be a good manager. Be a good giver
Pastor Mark