Weekly Message / Prayer Request

Acts 2:42 Men’s Fellowship

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.” 1 John 5:1-4 NIV

As we continue to dive into the importance of love, the realization of what we truly have in our lives begins to take shape. For perfect love is not just a concept, it truly is the source to a connection which has no worldly “understanding”.

Yes, we can grasp this love and find truth in its existence; but to really comprehend it is nearly impossible. A God who created everything and could create anything else yet chooses to still love us—even though we are sinners and at times do not love Him—is nearly impossible to understand through worldly wisdom.

But this is what we have in our lives if we believe in Him. John 3:16 gives each one of us this reality: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Yet the world continues to say otherwise and instead corrupts the meaning of love for its own purposes. Therefore we never even approach the depth of perfect love in our lives because we have become content with a worldly definition of what love means.

I often consider that the love we share with each other is much like light, and the love each one of us has on our own is about the same amount of light as a flashlight. And we have become rather content with a “flashlight” love which shines in the darkness of each one of our lives. This love will shine in the darkest of nights and will certainly light the way. But the perfect love which God shares is infinitely greater then the light of a thousand suns in comparison. This perfect love will not just light the way; this perfect love will turn night into day.

As Christians we are connected directly to this power source. This perfect love which can change night into day has been given to us as a gift. We are no longer left to find our way through the darkness of this world on our own. We have been given Christ…

The Apostle John shares with us in the opening passage (1 John 5:1-4) not only what happens when we tap into this power source, but also how we do so in our lives. By loving God and carrying out His commands, we become closer to Him and therefore closer to the perfect love God shares. As this happens, we find ourselves closer to the natural state that God intended (“And His commands our not burdensome”) and therefore able to love like the light of a thousand suns…

This is not what the enemy desires and goes against much of what the world is advertising. Love has become this concept that something is love only if my needs are being satisfied. The definition of love has been corrupted and changed in the world. Therefore the enemy has made it impossible to ‘love your neighbor as you love yourself’ or even ‘love your God with all of your heart’ because neither of these can be done from a selfish motivation.

But we can overcome the world as the Apostle John points out (“for everyone born of God overcomes the world”) by accepting Christ. We can escape the world’s definition of love and live by the standard of perfect love. Our lives can be marked by the grace and love God has given us.

The Apostle Paul shared with us in the book of Romans:

“As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:36,37 NIV

Brothers, we can be the overcomers of this world and prove that the love we share is the true definition of love. We can show the world the love we share is not from our own source of strength, but is powered by the light of a thousand suns.

When we begin to love like this, I believe nothing in this world will ever be able to stop us from achieving the great things God has predestined us to do. Let us begin this journey together as part of the body of Christ…

Prayer requests

Monte – praise for new employment with Direct TV

Ernie – praise for the health of wife in her leg and knee, pray for continued protection of son and his promotion to sergeant with the Everett Police Department

Keith – thanks for Ernie in bring him tonight to the meeting

Tim – pray that he will be able to connect with his con through discipline and love

Kelcy – pray that mother’s surgery on February 20th will go well, pray for pastors and staff

Ramon – pray for the family of Matt who died recently of bone cancer that they may be comforted and hear the voice of the Lord

Steve – pray that a friend’s husband will pass his driving test so that he may gain employment

David – pray that the Lord will continue to teach him how to treat others with respect during times of discipline and always be able to speak the truth with love

Mark – pray that I will be a good steward of God’s money, pray that I may continue to shepherd others through God’s strength, not my own, pray for Diane Mix at work who lost her father-in-law to a heart attack and her husband to a stroke this past week

***Pray for relationship building throughout the Northshore Christian Church

Continued prayer needs

Dick – pray for strength in new employment

Joe – pray that his condo may sell and that he may finally be settled here in Mukilteo

Craig – pray that he will receive the blessing of health and guidance during the next few weeks

Carmine – pray for the Presidential election and bringing forth a ‘godly’ leader

Norman – praise for the health of daughter in dealing with her seizures

Larry – pray for leadership in leading group of men with CTL, pray that the marriage ministry will begin to make a larger impact on the Church

Gary – pray for strength in working with IRS, pray for stepdaughters in their struggles

Chad – pray for continued seeking of purity in his life

*** pray also for the men’s ministry in developing Godly leaders


Future Meetings

Please make note that the next meeting is back in the Fireside Room at Northshore. Here is the upcoming meeting schedule:

Wednesday, February 27th, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting in the Fireside room at Northshore Christian Church

Wednesday, March 12th, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting in the Fireside room at Northshore Christian Church

Wednesday, March 26th, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting in the Fireside room at Northshore Christian Church


Challenge

May we find peace and power within our inner being in order to build unity throughout the Church…

Memory Verse

“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NIV