by Pastor Randy

Recently I was reading Psalm 30.
It is an excellent Psalm that talks about David’s praise to God for restoration. It is believed it was written after he had sinned against God by numbering
the people. As a means of discipline and punishment, God gave David 3 choices – all bad ones:
1) Three years of famine,
2) Three months to be ravaged by his enemies, or
3) Three days of plague.

He chose 3 days of plague and in oneday
70,000 people died. You want to talk about the consequences
of your actions! Leaders do carry a heavy mantle and responsibility where lives
swing in the balances. One needs wisdom that comes from the Lord.

The angel of the Lord was about to strike Jerusalem and was standing over the field of
Araunah as he was working in the field when David interceded and took responsibility
for his poor decision and the plague that smote Israel. He purchased the land from
Araunah, though Araunah was willing to giving it to David when he saw the Angel
standing between Heaven and the Earth, but David would not sacrifice anything that
didn’t cost him anything. David then built and altar to the Lord there and God removed
the angel’s hand from causing more calamities. But here is the interesting thing, that
field later became the place where the temple would be built (see 1 Chron. 2122).
Before theTemple was ever built, the first sacrifice had been made to God on the land where the Temple would be built.

Psalm 30 speaks of David’s praise to God. David realized he had sinned. He realized he would
not be able to build the temple, but he made extensive preparations for the temple. What he
was able to do as well was to write a Psalm of Dedication that gave praise to God that gives us
insight into the character of David. They are important lessons that David had learned and experienced
during his journey from backside shepherd to warrior king of Israel.

When David speaks of crying out to God and experiencing healing – he meant it. Healing of the soul is what he needed, while the people needed physical healing from the plagues of God. God brought his soul up from the grave, but for many they were busy burying their dead when David initially wrote this Psalm. David had experienced God’s anger and most likely that of his people for his leadership error and act of disobedience for failing to trust God.

I suppose David felt like most of when we have royally messed up, “If I could only relive that moment and make that decision again, because knowing what I know now I wouldn’t just be thinking about myself.” When we mess up, others also get hurt in the process.

Yet, he would write, ” PS 30:11 You turned my wailing into dancing?
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,”

Despite the financial challenges we face today. The tough
news of another person diagnosed with cancer or some other
daunting challenge or tragedy, we can stop and be reminded that God is in control
of our world and He will guide us. We often feel God needs a little extra
advice and help and we jump in to number our troops, only to discover we failed to trust God and seek His face for the future outcome.
It also speaks of our need to trust Him even when we don’t understand what is going on around us. It personally reminds me not be overconfident when things are going well, because in my pride and sin the Lord may hide His face and let us drown in our trouble because I was didn’t lesson to what He has been trying to teach me now.

Yet, when we turn from our selfpity and loathing and cry out to God, We will find mercy as our merciful God turns our wailing into dancing. After a night of weeping, we can trust Him for joy in the morning as we commit each new day to Him.

The church here is facing some tough financial times. We have made a lot of changes to adjust to the challenges. Until things turn around, it looks like we are going to have to make a few more changes. We need the wisdom of the Lord as we move forward. Like David, we are going to have to trust God as we encourage each other as we seek to impact our world for Christ. It will happen, but every person is needed to pull his or her weight.

We are moving in the right direction and as we will see the fruit of our labor as we stay focused on Christ. Like David learned, there is always a sacrifice needed before we things turn around. So, encourage one another with these words from Psalm 30:

Psalm 30
A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David.

PS 30:1 I will exalt you, O LORD,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

PS 30:2 O LORD my God, I called to you for help
and you healed me.

PS 30:3 O LORD, you brought me up from the grave?
you spared me from going down into the pit.

PS 30:4 Sing to the LORD, you saints of his?
praise his holy name.

PS 30:5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime?PS 30:5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime?
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.

PS 30:6 When I felt secure, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”

PS 30:7 O LORD, when you favored me,
you made my mountain stand firm?
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.

PS 30:8 To you, O LORD, I called?
to the Lord I cried for mercy:

PS 30:9 “What gain is there in my destruction,
in my going down into the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?

PS 30:10 Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me?
O LORD, be my help.

PS 30:11 You turned my wailing into dancing?
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me
with joy,

PS 30:12 that my heart may sing to you and
not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

Dear Ministry Leader,

On May 16th (Sat.) from 9am-12:30pm we will be hosting The Bless Hastings Leadership Seminar. We will have the leadership teams of seven other churches in our building with one purpose in mind, and that is to answer the question, “How can we reach the Unchurched in our community?”

I am excited to see how this seminar is coming together! Our goal is to orient everyone in our various congregations with a common mission of why we as pastors are committed to praying together weekly for a move of God. We will learn how God has been working in Elk River through the churches and community leaders there. Expect to hear a riveting challenge from our speaker, hear some encouraging testimonies, and meet with other church ministry leaders. We will also take time to listen to each other as ministry leaders assess how God is at work in their area of influence. We are praying that the Holy Spirit will use our steps of faith and our simple matrix after the seminar to taking steps to reaching our areas of influence.

We are joining together to reach beyond our borders and walls. We desire to come alongside you with pray support, encouragement, and practical leadership principles and skills as the Holy Spirit uses us in your key areas of influence.

I believe the Lord is going to use us in ways we have never imagined as we step out in faith. It is our Heavenly Father’s desire that everyone hear the message of hope and restoration. We have the privilege of being His witness to a world desperate for love, truth and grace.

Let me know if you are able to attend this special first-ever Bless Hastings Leadership Seminar. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me via email at strodelive@live.com
Pastor Randy

PS: Join us on 5/16/09 at 8:15a for a time of prayer before the seminar.

WHEN: May 16th (Sat.)
TIME: 9a-12:30pm
WHERE: New Life Evangelical Free Church

Many people have committed the Psalm to memory because to focus on one verse alone is to do injustice to the message of the Psalm overall. The Psalm proclaims the sovereignty of God and an acknowledgment of His goodness. A reminder that one is too enter worship with a thankful heart.

Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving thanks.

1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness? come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his? we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise? give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love enduresforever? his faithfulness continues through all generations.

The Psalm reflects the character of God and our response to His goodness. There is also a practical element here for you and me. It is that recognition that I need to praise God for my many blessings. In a world today that can be rather cynical, focuses on the negative and lacks in grace (especially on the highway at rush hour)? this Psalm is a refreshing reminder of why we exist and the spiritual attitude adjustment that is needed.

Likewise, perhaps the best thing about November in the United States is a reminder that we have a National Day commemorating a day of giving thanks. For over a decade I lived in China & Hong Kong and I learned to appreciate a lot of significant holidays as I traveled throughout Asia. Chinese New Year is probably the largest celebration. In mainland China it can last up to 15 days and it is much like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day celebrations rolled up into one where one gathers with family, gives gifts and wishes everyone a prosperous new year as you watch the fireworks show. As I write this the sounds of firecrackers, red banners, Dragon Dancers, red money packets (gifts), small oranges and candy on trays offered to visitors, and large fireworks displays flood my mind as I recall the joy in the air as I visit with my Asian and International friends. Our holiday season has a striking uniqueness in that the focus is an acknowledgement and praise for what we have been giving from God Almighty. We praise God for the freedom we enjoy in this prosperous land. We praise God at Christmas for the birth of the Savior of the World that is come to lighten our dark path. Psalm 100 is also a reminder and a proclamation that the earth is to rejoice with “gladness” because we know who our God is and He knows His sheep.

The greatest joy I have every night is when I am greeted by my lovely wife and wonderful children as they shout “Dadddddy’s home! I missed you” as they shower me with hugs and kisses as I enter the door.” It is the official greeting as I arrive and it signals the beginning of the nightly routine of getting caught up on the activity of the day, reading books, reviewing homework, and thanking God for another day as children get tucked into bed with prayers of thanksgiving and prayers of supplication. When the routine is broken because I have a late night meeting (which often happens) it seems something isn’t right with the world. My wife and children seem to hate my job, fight more with each other and I get a cold shoulder from my wife.

Why? Is it because they long for the deep relationship we share as family? Is not also because we desire to sing praise more than we long for more tension? Of course it is. The bottom line is this? we were created to worship God. If we don’t worship the Creator, we will make something else an idol of the heart. God reminds us that our trueNorth compass is accurate and calibrated
when we praise God simply for who He is and what He as done individually and corporately with joy in your hearts.

That same joy will spill over into to every walk of life. This holiday season stop and reflect on what you have and not on what you DO NOT have (Wall Street has given us enough to think about what we don’t have anymore). No, let your focus be on praising God for family, life, friends, and a country with freedom to worship. Then maybe what will be the result of this is the recognition that there are a lot of people around us that are less fortunate than us. Maybe
this is the year that you make someone else’s Thanksgiving or Christmas a little brighter.
Maybe this is the year you go without one of your presents to give to someone else around the world that is struggling to count their blessings because of a recent tragedy. Or maybe as you are driving to visit family or friends this Thanksgiving you just sit back and say, “I am blessed! I am not going to let the stress of this holiday season get to me. I am going to be a Psalm 100
Thanksgiver.”

“Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.” Confucius, Chinese Philosopher

Blessings,
Pastor Randy

Pastor Randy

Greetings in the Christ!

Let me first state that I am excited to be serving as your pastor here at New Life EFC.  It is an honor and a privilege.  I am looking forward to the future and all that God is going to do in and through us.  There seems to be a freshness and sense of anticipation in the air.  I suppose all new beginnings are like that.  Charting a new course and moving in a new direction is always thrilling.  There is that feeling that we are moving in a manner that pleases God and ministers to the soul.
All God’s creation exists for His glory. We were created to honor God.  The uniqueness of God’s creation is that it grows! There are different seasons of growth.  New Life EFC has had a seasonal ministry of maturation, a season of reformation, and now a season of expansion as we seek to apply all that God has been teaching NLEFC.  The growth we can expect to see should first be inside of each of us as the Holy Spirit convicts all of us of our desperate need for God’s holiness.  We know God loves us, but sometimes our face has not been told of that great mystery of God.  As we embark on a study of the Book of Acts we are going to see that when the Holy Spirit is at work through God’s people, the love of Christ is infectious. 

I believe all of us long to be empowered and filled with the Spirit of God and to be part of something that is bigger than us!
If we were to see people the way God sees them, what would we see? I believe we would first see God’s great compassion for all those not in a right relationship with Him.  Second, I think we would see God’s desire and effort to do all that He can do to reach those in darkness.  Third, I think we would be overwhelmed with God’s grace and love for us when we know we really don’t deserve it.  After spending nearly a decade in Asia, I saw so many people in the clutches of darkness. Some clung to animistic pagan practices, others clung to legalistic religious rituals, and still others chased false gods of materialism and selfish pride.  The bottom line is that Jesus Christ the message of hope we are to communicate to our world.  As Acts 4:12 reminds us “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

As we embark on a new season of ministry and an in-depth study of the Book of Acts.  I want to ask you to join me in committing to pray regularly for New Life EFC’s leadership, ministries, and opportunities afforded us by God in our church and community.  Pray for sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and a hunger to know God and His Word in a way that transforms us from the inside out. Let’s lock arms together to see God do what only He can do in us as we do what we must do for Him to work through us! Then as we move forward we’ll be able to look back and see a trail of God’s grace.  A legacy of godliness is worth living for today!

In His service,

Randy Strode