Weekly Message / Prayer Request

Acts 2:42 Men’s Fellowship

“The Lord says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.” Psalms 110”1-3 ESV

Each day we find ourselves locked in the battle.

At times it is not easy to remain focused on the finish line because the road is littered with many troubles that each one of us must navigate. Yet there is a certainty about the journey because it will ultimately take each one of us to a particular destination that none of us can escape. For some of us, the destination we will ultimately arrive at will have the taste of victory with our Heavenly Father; while for others the destination will be one of great anguish.

So we live our lives within the decisions that we all make. It is the place where we find choices that may either lead us to obeying God or choices that will lead us away from God. The decision is ours because it falls within the freedom that God has given each one of us. It is called our “free will”.

But how glorious it will be for those who have chosen the Lord!!

The Psalmist here describes the battle array of those who have come on behalf of the Lord. It is not an army of conscription or an army made up of those who were forced to come. Instead the army which is described here in this Psalm is one that is made up of those who willingly and freely came to serve. It was an army of those who made the decision to stand beside the Lord…

There is a very important note here by how it describes those who offer themselves freely unto the Lord—dressed in ‘holy garments’. We cannot miss this description because these garments represent many decisions, many choices, by those who belong to God, who have accepted Christ, to live a life that is holy. Not by the standards of this world, but by the standards of the one and only true God.

God describes to us what type of attitudes will characterize the lives of those who belong to God in the epistle of Galatians: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 ESV These are the standards that God desires us to possess; and what is great about each one of these is that they can only exist because of the “free will” that He has given us.

From this gift to choose, comes the ultimate choice which must be made in every decision that we make. Will we make decisions that lead us to giving our lives up as living sacrifices, so that we may stand beside the Lord on that glorious day; or will we make decisions that are based upon selfish motivations, which can only lead us to ultimate destruction and eternal separation from our Lord.

In Second Corinthians, the Apostle Paul describes the choice many churches in Macedonia made even though they were under severe affliction:

“And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.” 2 Corinthians 8:5 NIV

The churches in Macedonia gave themselves first to the Lord before they made any other decision. They literally held nothing back because they felt they all belonged first to God. This completely caught the Apostle Paul off-guard, but their heart was completely with the Lord which is why they first went to Him as living sacrifices…

My prayer is that all of us can do a little better with the choices that each one of us make. I know that I am the first one who needs prayer because I am on the frontline as well in the decision making process. Many choices that I make are not God-centered and fall short of what God desires.

But I believe there is much meaning in the closing statement of verse three here in Psalms 110 when it says: “from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.” Because each one of us has been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb on that Sunday morning when Christ rose from the dead. For His resurrection came from the womb of the new-birth. All our sins have been washed away.

Therefore do not fear your past mistakes or your future failures. For the decisions we make today are the ones which we live within…

Brothers, today is where the battle rages…


Prayer requests

Ernie – pray for neighbor who was coming to Church, but is now having complications with Gale Bladder and was found to have cancer, pray for flood recovery in flooded areas of Midwest, pray for those participating in same-sex marriages in California

Paul – pray that he is recovering alright from dental appointment

Kevin – pray for the upcoming political season

Steve S – pray that he can sometimes find the words to communicate what he is wants to communicate

Greg – pray for the upcoming trip to Hawaii, pray for the new home environment that all will go well

Tim – pray that he may be faithful in all things according to His will

David – pray that he will seek the Lord’s will

Mark – pray that I can be more focused on Him, pray that I can continue to be a support to my wife, pray that I can till my own dirt (Luke 8) in order to be more receptive of the Word

***Pray as Northshore begins a new chapter in its ministry to people who desperately needs to hear the gospel message


Continued prayer needs

Dick – pray for gluttony issues, pray for strength to deny self by helping him submit to the Lord

Bill – pray for God’s spirit to bless all of the kid’s in the Royal Family kid’s camp and to support the counselors

Ramon – pray that Tina can have some healing in her health troubles and can change her diet and exercise routine

Kelcy – pray for continued blessing and the blessing of his upcoming vacation time

Vince – pray that he can find a decent job, pray for Pastor Grant’s wife to be healed, pray for strength and peace for Dave

Brett S – pray for all men within Northshore which need healing

Carmine – pray that he can find ways to lower his blood pressure which was very high recently

Gary – pray for sister-in-law who has serious infection in organs, pray for wife Terry who may have to have surgery here in the near future to take care of a serious health issue

Monte – praise God for a new job that he has been blessed with

Keith – pray that their youngest daughter will be able to do well in college, pray that Nate will be able to find a job

Vince – pray that his wife may do well in an upcoming job interview, pray that she may become encouraged by some recent blessings, pray for Vince and her that they may hear the Lord

Craig – pray that he will become more diligent in his Bible reading, pray that all pain will be removed someday from his body

Bret – pray for rest, pray for a the right relationship with a girl he recently met

Larry – pray for financial security as he works on building a new house near Arlington

Jeff – pray for more quality time with children and family

Gary Cercone – pray that daughter Jennifer and grandson will receive continued blessings from the Lord

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

Chad – pray for continued seeking of purity in his life


Future Meetings

Wednesday, June 25th, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting at Northshore Christian Church in room C214 on the academy side of the church. (I will most likely be leading the group again unless something comes up with the family)

Wednesday, July 2nd, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting at Northshore Christian Church

Wednesday, July 9th, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting at Northshore Christian Church

Memory Verse

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NKJV