"Love & Trust!"

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear." 1 John 4:18

Faith isn't possible except in a loving situation. It has been our evangelistic strategy that a person who is a cynic, an unbeliever, an atheist or doubter does not need more faith - they need more love. There is a deep emotional connection between faith, hope and love. One that I do not have time to develop in this devotion. But let me tell you that Faith growsalmost spontaneously in an atmosphere of God's love. When other people believe in you it's very hard not to believe in yourself. Sometimes I feel that I cannot help but be a goodpastor with such a tremendous church that stands behind me constantly supporting andbelieving in me.

Trust is only possible when love leads your emotions!

What would happen if the families of our church made a commitment to be a place of trust and love for every member of that family? What kind of faith would grow there?

What if each family took in a person as a love and trust project! Someone that you just know would develop faith if they just had an environment of love to let it grow.

What would be the impact of a church that had such love and trust that the people who worshiped there left convinced that they could conquer the impossible?

Here is how to develop that kind of love...

*Pray daily for it!

*Pray for the person asking Jesus to help you feel about them the way that he does!

*Act like Jesus would even when you don't feel it!

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

"My Thinking!"

“Bring every thought into the captivity of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5

Being a positive-thinking father, I had a very special assignment when my children were small. Every night I would read or tell them a bedtime story, sing them a song and have a prayer . . . then I would help direct their thoughts before they fell asleep. Often they would ask me, “What should I think about tonight while I am falling asleep?” And I would always try to give them some beautiful, funny, positive thoughts to think about. As a child, I hope you learned the same creative art. If not, I’d like to make somesuggestions now.

How many times have you gone to bed at night and replayed tapes in your mind of doing somethingembarrassing, saying something inappropriate or simply not performing up to some unreachablestandard? Then, after you have replayed that tape, do you shock your body with self-condemning thoughts with a subsequent release of internal bodily reactions that make you feel terrible? Do you find your muscles tightening to an uncomfortable point, your stomach wrapping into a knot, your heart pounding and your face grimacing? If that is the case, I have a wonderfully positive idea from thescriptures- - - don’t do that!

The Bible tells us to keep all thoughts captive of Jesus Christ. What kind of thoughts would he like us to experience at night before we go to sleep? Try using the following test based on Colossians 3:1-17:

First: Does the thought stimulate my faith?
Second: Does the thought generate hope and make me optimistic?
Third: Does the thought receive grace from God and provoke love to my fellow man?

If the thought coming to you filters through this test and the answers are yes, yes, yes. . . then that thought must be of Christ! He is giving you a creative idea, an inspiring guideline, a peace-generating thought, or a challenging dream! Any other thoughts must be rejected and pushed away to make room for the next exciting thought waiting in line behind it!

As we begin a new year, let me encourage you to make this part of your bedtime ritual as you tuckyourself in each night.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

"The Glory of Christmas!"

Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. But the angel of the Lord said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the yes of the Lord.” Luke 1:12-15

“Put yourself at risk – every day. If you are not willing to risk your being – every day – then you are not committed to change that flies in the face of the establishment.” Tom Peters

A rector of a church took his vacation to Israel. As he stood out in the fields next to Bethlehem he was underwhelmed by how unimpressive this little Palestinian village was that had once seemed soimpressive. The pastor was inspired. He wrote a poem called “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” The drama of the unimpressive place highlighted the drama of God’s risk to pick this spot to changehistory once and for all. Here is my Christmas season message for you. The unimpressive sore spots of your life are the opportunity for God to risk and use your hurts to shine the glory of Christmas in your life. Are you a living, walking, talking testimony of Christmas? If so, invite your friends to come to the Glory of Christmas drama this year. It is new and the best we have ever produced as a church family.

We need your help. There are so many things to do. Parking cars, running shuttles, being a part of the cast, ushers, etc. etc. etc. God is forming an army of people who just can’t wait to risk and share their testimony of Christmas.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

“The Glory of Christmas”
Monday, December 21st @ 7pm (Mountainside Sanctuary)

Tuesday, December 22nd @ 7pm (Mountainside Sanctuary)
Wednesday, December 23rd @ 7pm (Mountainside Sanctuary)

“Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion”
December 24th @ 6pm (Mountainside Sanctuary)
December 24th @ 11pm (Spirit Falls Sanctuary

"The Wonder of Christmas!"

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod.

Matthew 2:1

One of my all-time favorite Christmas presents is a book. My mom gave it to me one Christmas. It was her only Christmas present during a season of her impoverished childhood. She and her sister and brother lived with my Grandpa and Grandma Saunders in La Grande, Oregon (where I was born). My Grandpa, Winston Saunders, worked on the railroad when he could. It was Christmas 1947 during the hard days of WWII. It was a tough Christmas that year. The book was Grimm's Fairy tales and it was her only present that year. For many kids in that day and age there was not a lot and one present was a treasure. Inside the front cover it says, “To Jane from Aunt Bernice and Uncle Carl.” I think my mom gave the book to me because my German Shepherd, Gengis Khan, had eaten the cover off of it when I was a kid. This is one of the same books my mom read to me whenI was a boy (who had such a vivid imagination that my report cards often held only this positive comment, “Timmy has such an imagination that he has a hard time staying in the classroom.”) Every time I open this book, which sits behind my desk with other favorites, I am caught up in the wonder of Christmas.

I pray that somehow this year you are touched by the wonder of Christmas. I think that our entire campus will sparkle. At the Santa Claus Conspiracy and each weekend at every worship service it is going to be Christmas. We will also be doing our family-to-family Christmas blessing for those struggling this year. And as a church we are committed to support Together For Transformation and provide a Christmas party for every family who lives in the dump. For our Glory of Christmaspresentations and our Candlelight Communion services on Christmas Eve - if we all help a little we can decorate, we can bless, we can tell the story of Christmas and most of all we will all experience the wonder of Christmas. My dad is directing “The Glory of Christmas” which will be a live,three-dimensional picture unlike anything in the world. We will present it for three nights and have the capacity of reaching well over 3,000 just for this one event. Won’t you consider inviting a friend or neighbor to see this great wonder of Christmas? Merry Christmas 2009! It is going to be a great one!

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White