NOW IS THE TIME...

…now is the time

Over seven years ago I felt like I was in a waterless dungeon with nothing in sight but an overwhelming task where eight previous Pastors had come and gone over a twenty-year span. Known as a pastoral graveyard by many.  It was a defining moment where my own personal fears would be an embarrassment if truly uncovered.  I desperately searched the scriptures for a morsel of truth, an element of hope, or perhaps a way out of my difficult plight.

It seemed that I would never be rescued when my eyes fell upon on two verses in Zechariah chapter 9:11-12.  The Holy Spirit compelled me to write them down and I simply grabbed a sticky note and posted them on my desk as a daily reminder of the promise of God to bless the church and the few people who like faithful soldiers fought the battles along with my family and me.

“Come back to the place of safety, all you prisoners who still have hope!  I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles”  Zechariah 9:12

Only the God of heaven can fulfill a promise such as this…his ability and desire to bless is never stifled by our mere trouble.  There’s still hope because we serve the living God who represents men like Job who lost everything only to respond with “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and He will stand upon the earth at last.”

Today I heard the Lord say: “now is the time.”  The double blessing is in front of you.  The Church in Scottsdale and the Church in Bangkok.  Both in the Marketplace as the Lord promised, both filled with promise and potential, both staking their claim and possessing the land.

Brigette and I implore you to “post the note” and remind one another that now is the time.  The harvest is ripe. It is worth our trouble. The double blessing is here!