I want to thank everyone who contributed to our school supply drive for students at Howard Elementary this year. The quantity and quality of the supplies was a great blessing to the staff and they are looking forward to meeting the needs of a variety of kids and their families through our gifts.

Howard has a new principal this year, Javier del Rio, and after the delivery of the supplies we collected he called to thank us for such a wonderful, unsolicited gift of support. As we talked, Mr. del Rio shared with me some of the dreams he has for both the school and the neighborhood that we share, dreams to impact and change lives by bringing a variety of resources together.

We will keep everyone alerted to future opportunities we have to bless and minister to the kids and families in our neighborhood and through Howard Elementary, but one thing we can all do on a regular basis is to pray. Some things we can pray for include:

  For the protection of the students and staff at school;

  For there to be peace and peaceful solutions for all issues and disagreements;

  For the students to be able to learn and master the new knowledge and skills they need;

  For patience and wisdom for the teachers and staff;

  For God’s work in the lives of every family;

  For God to provide for and work in a powerful way through Good News Club;

  For the needed volunteers for the SMART program and Good News Club.

One of my dreams is for Howard Elementary to be one of the most prayed for schools in the nation and I hope that you will join me and others in praying for the students and staff there.

                                           God’s Grace and Peace,

                                                          Mark

I recently opened my email and found a message in my inbox carrying the name of an old co-worker and friend who passed away last year. Pat was my field training officer when I was a Parole and Probation Officer and my initial hope was that it might be something from his wife, perhaps some kind of last message that Pat wanted to send out to his friends, but in my heart I knew it was really just some unscrupulous person using his name and contacts to go phishing. I didn’t open the attachment and deleted the email, but I was left feeling a little disappointed that it wasn’t a real message.

That experience got me to thinking about how incredible it is that God has given us His word, His message to us. Through His word God shares His love with us; He imparts His truth and wisdom to us; He challenges our suppositions; He stretches us to grow in our faith; He comforts our hurts; and He gives us His guidance and reveals the path He would have us to follow.

II Timothy 3:16 and 17 put it like this:

“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

For God’s word to have this kind of power and impact in our lives we must accept that it is from Him, we must take time to study what God has said to us and to meditate upon what He wants that truth to do in our lives. We must be willing to spend time listening to the Holy Spirit as He teaches us and leads us. And we must avoid using God’s word to prove our point to others, but instead allow God to prove His point to us. To do this we must approach God’s word with humility and reverential fear. Every time we open and read it we must be open to God speaking, challenging, training, correcting, leading and encouraging us.

As you spend time reading God’s message to you, soak in His truth, meditate on what it means and allow the Holy Spirit to work the power of His word in you.

                                          God’s Grace and Peace,

                                                           Mark

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house.” Matthew 5:14-15

 Recently, our secretary Terry Wilson shared with me an interesting story that sheds new light on these verses.

They were moving a mound of dirt in their back yard when they came across a surprising discovery. They spotted tunnels created by some critters, which wasn’t too surprising, but what was surprising is that in those tunnels they found a variety of vegetables growing underground, such as red potatoes, onions and beets.

Apparently the critters that had burrowed the tunnels in the dirt had also hauled in and eaten some vegetables from their family garden and whatever was left in the tunnels sprouted and grew new crops. The critters were gone, but they left behind a growing garden that no one knew was there.

Growing vegetables underground, where they are buried and no one can see or eat them, is a bit like hiding the light of Jesus in our lives under the bowl of life. The bowl of life is filled with all kinds of things that can cover, bury and hide the light of Jesus in us. Things like busyness, illness, worry, fatigue, fear, regret, the demands of others, frustration, stuff, money, caring for family needs; all of these and more can fill our bowl and hide the light of Jesus in us.

As you think about letting your light shine more brightly for Jesus, what might be hiding your light or keeping it buried? What can you do, or what do you need to do, to uncover your light and let it shine for all to see?

May the light of Jesus fill us as individuals and as a church and may His light shine brightly out of our lives for everyone to see.

                                           God’s Grace and Peace,

                                                          Mark

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”                                          

                                      Isaiah 55:8-9

On May 18, 2014 we hosted our top pastoral candidate, Tyler Vance, and his wife Kate for a visit to our area and church. The Elders did a second interview with Tyler and he preached in our worship service. At our Business Meeting on Sunday May 25, 2014, we decided to issue an initial three year call to Tyler Vance to serve as our Pastor as Pastor Mark retires. After spending time in prayer and fasting, Tyler and Kate felt that he was not yet ready to make this move and that he would benefit from additional education.

We don’t always understand why God sometimes takes us down one path only to have that not be the ultimate path that He has for us. But one thing we do know is that as we seek and follow Him, no matter how it turns out, every path that God takes us on prepares us for what He has in store for us next, which is true for us and for Tyler and Kate.

We will continue to go forward in our search, with full confidence, trusting that in the right time God will lead us to the path and person that He has for us. We ask that everyone continue to keep our search process in your prayers and we will keep you informed as we go.

                                                                                    With Hope, Trust and Prayer, 

                                                                                                      MFC Elders