Seeing Satan

I try to read the daily devotion for Proverbs 31 ministries. I shouldn't have been surprised to find that today's is entitled "Tricks of the Traitor". I strongly believe the trick to resisting Satan is simply to be aware of his sneaky little tricks and that he generally starts small so as to be extra sneaky. So I hope you'll read today's devotion and think:

http://proverbs31devotions.blogspot.com/2007/10/tricks-of-traitor.html

~Becca

Holding the door for Satan

As promised, the efforts of our enemy to steal our joy, peace and unity in ‘believing God’ were redoubled, even as the gathering of believers dispersed Sunday morning.

Within hours after church, as Lisa and I were entering the Dollar Tree to buy a gift for a friend we were intending to visit, he showed himself...

Our enemy loves disguises. In this case, he chose that of his own person:

As I offered the common courtesy of a door held open, I realized it had not been for a lady and her daughter, but for the enemy, as he said to me in the pleasant voice of a 7 or 8 year old girl with red horns on her head, “Thank you.”

Taken aback, I turned to her and said, “That’s the first time I’ve ever been thanked by Satan.”

“But, I’m a nice Satan,” she answered, oblivious of the impossibility.


Lisa found the exchange a little disturbing, I think. To me, it was a little funny ... at first.

Later, Lisa reminded me of what the little girl had said. And, as I reflected on our encounter with the ‘nice Satan,’ it dawned on me what an extreme contradiction in terms she was: A cute little 8 year old girl: sweet, innocent, full of joy and happiness, but already toying with the idea of being the ugliest, most vicious and hateful of hearts in all creation.

Will she go home and contemplate her choice of costume this season? I hope so.

Will we courteously hold the door open for Satan, and let him walk in and out of our lives, welcomed and unheeded? I hope not, no matter his disguise. Rather, I pray we will be on our guard and have opened-eyes to see through his disguises. I pray we will be prepared to confront him with the Spirit of holiness and truth.

I pray we will slam the door in Satan’s face.

(Tim)

Encouraging Word

I found this verse in my inbox after church and thought it was right on track with all we talked about.

I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.
John 17:15, NLT

Becca

Extraordinary Life?

One of my girlfriends was recently asked, "what's so extraordinary about your life that you would need a blog?" This question made me look up the word, just so I could answer that question.

The dictionary defines extraordinary as this-1) going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary, and 2) employed for or sent on a special function or service (an ambassador extraordinary).

Hmmm, what a wonderful thought for us all. My life before I truly knew Christ was not worth sharing with others. But the more I have grown to know Him, the more my life has gone beyond usual, regular or customary. It's pretty exciting to also think that we're employed for or sent on a special function for Christ...to go and make disciples of all nations.

What a perfect spot, on a blog, to share the joys of our lives. These joys, at the root, stem from the love of our Savior. He has poured out his life for us all, and I say we pour out this love to others so they may come to know Him too.

Are you an ambassador for Christ? Does your life reflect this joy, this love, this faith that the Lord has bestowed on each of us? I hope so.

Christ is our King. The triune God. A mystery to us all, but a wonderful mystery to seek daily. He dwells in each of us.

I think that is pretty extraordinary!

IHS,
Cammie

Step into the Ring!

I'm in the middle of reading a fabulous book by Dutch Sheets called Intercessory Prayer. It really spoke to me today. It's been talking about spiritual warfare and how we so often are scared or nervous to verbally fight the battle in prayer, here's a story from it. . . .

"Don't be like the bodybuilder visiting Africa, who was asked by a village chief what he did with all his muscles. The body builder thoguht an exhibition might better serve to explain it, so he proceeded to flex his bulging calves, thighs, biceps and triceps, demonstrating how he performed in competition. After admiring this amazing specimen for a few moments, the chief inquired, "What else do you use them for?"
"That's about it," answered the muscular man.
"That's all you use those huge muscles for?" reiterated the chief.
"Yes."
"What a waste," muttered the chief in disgust. "What a waste."

So many of us are like this body builder. We're strong in the Lord, well equipped to deal with our adversary, but we never use our strength or our weapons. Step into the Ring!"

If we're walking with the Lord, we need not to be afraid to rebuke the enemy when he attacks. Satan and his demons may have power over us, but they do not have authority over us when we're covered by the blood of Jesus. So be bold! Fight against the darkness. Recognize it as attacks of Satan and thwart him. I'm reminded of a song we use to sing with our youth group. "Romans 16:19 says, Be excellent at what is good, be innocent of evil and the God of peace will soon crush Satan, the God of Peace will crush Him underneath your feet." So friends, stomp on the enemy in the name of Jesus!!!!! Step into the Ring!

Love you all,
Jocelyn

1st Sunday November 4, 2007

We are pleased to host the Sandy Youth Christian Marimba Band at Hillside! You won't want to miss this! Please bring extra food to share with our guests. Bring your kids to play along on the marimbas. And bring your hearts ready to celebrate and rejoice with others who belong to the body of Christ! You will be encouraged!

Sunday, November 4, 2007
10:00am
Potluck Breakfast

(Remember to pray about how you can "bring what you have" for the Comer Family on this day.)

Thank you from the Comer Family

Hillside,

Where do we start? Never in eight years of ministry has anybody been so kind, so generous, so encouraging, and so inspirational. Our hearts were deeply moved by your gifts and your kind words. They were like fresh kindling rekindling the fire for ministry. The enemy tries every single day to extinguish that flame, but God's Spirit and God's people (you!) keep it alive. We're shocked that God would use weak, fragile, needy people like us, but to God be the glory! Great things He has done. So thank you! We so enjoyed the gift certificates! "Date night" was awesome! We ate fresh omlettes every day with the awesome vegetables! The flowers look beautiful and fit our house perfectly! I could go on and on! But most of all thank you for your prayers. We covet them. Please continue to pray! We love you guys and are inspired by your heart for unity in the church. Christ is the head! God bless, The Comers P.S. Jude loves the car!

Thank you from the African Gospel Acappella...

"To Thank You...Thank you, your kindness was appreciated more than you know."

A very special thank you to each and everyone for inviting us to sing and fellowship with you. Your generosity renting a car for us touched our hearts deeply. Thank you also for your prayers and your love donations. We all feel the love of the Spirit among you. We also want to extend our gratitude to Doug for repairing the brakes on our van. Your love and kindness will always be remembered. We would be delighted to return and fellowship with you once again. God bless you all richly, in Christian love, Pat McGraw (driver & friend), Michael Logan, Lawson T. Jallah, Emmanuel S. Roberts, Morris Kermon & Korpo.

Dear Church,

You can call it eating crow. You can call it being humble. You can call it letting your pride go. You can call it sacrificing. You can call it doing what the other person should be doing. You call it whatever you want but if you have even a small
"issue" with someone at home or at work or in your family in another state, please don't wait another minute to sit with or write to this person and tell them how much you love them no matter what happened or who was wrong. I have been dieing because I waited just two days to accomplish this. The enemy convinced me many times that I was justified in my feelings even though our Lord and I knew better. Praise God that
the Holy Spirit won out and the letter was written. Not only did God lift a great weight off my shoulder but the people wrote back and now we are even closer and will accomplish more to Glorify God in the future. I am now forgiven by my Lord and my friends and even by myself. How sweet is that? Thank you Father.

See you Sunday,

Doug

The Way

I went to The Way Friday night again. (I did not see you there.) God is doing incredible things in that place! It is always SRO
(Standing Room Only).

John Mark Comer read an article that was printed in the Oregonian. (it was not in our paper because it was in the local section.) Check this out!!! Love, Jo

Young adults can party with Jesus on Friday

Religion - Teens and twentysomethings are drawn to the worship, including a rock band
Thursday, October 11, 2007
CORNELIA SEIGNEUR
Special to The Oregonian

TIGARD -- For about a thousand 18- to 28-year-olds from as far as Salem, Vancouver and Gresham, Friday night means a different kind of party -- a spiritual one, called "The Way," in Tigard.

"Friday is the typical night for young adults to get drunk and get stoned and so The Way gives people a choice between walking with the world and walking with Jesus," said John Mark Comer, 27, associate pastor at Solid Rock church.

The Way, which meets at 7 p.m. Fridays in a large warehouse, known as The Garage off Southwest Nimbus Avenue near Washington Square. "Jesus said, 'Be either hot or cold, be passionate about the Lord.' It is not sugar-coated to make people comfortable."

The Way, a reference to what early church believers in the book of Acts were said to follow, offers worship led by a rock band, communion, prayer and Bible teaching, all followed by a barbecue. The Way also hosts summer mission trips.

The young-adult ministry began 31/2 years ago with six people in a downtown apartment rented by a Portland State University student.

Kaitlynn Taylor, 21, a nursing student at PCC Sylvania, has attended The Way for 21/2 years. When she started coming, about 100 people took part.

"I instantly felt welcomed and got connected. I've seen people's lives radically transformed."

The Beaverton woman, who grew up in what she called an unchurched home, said she thinks young adults are looking to fill a void.

"There truly is a hole in our lives that we try to fill with parties or shopping or relationships. But we realize that only God can fill that void, and I think that is why people come," Taylor said.

Comer said his goal is to reach "kids that grew up in the church that are maybe bored, apathetic; and also those that grew up in the church and might have walked away in their 20s, to take them deeper in their faith."

People such as Ryan Doucet.

The 25-year-old from Hillsboro said he was raised in a mainstream denomination, but got involved with drugs in the eighth grade and continued using through his years at the University of Oregon. Back in Portland, two years ago, he wanted to get his life on track.

"I had a lot of bad relationships in college. I started to skip classes. So when I came back I was determined to find a college group," Doucet said. "I also realized I wanted to get married eventually -- and I didn't want to meet my future wife at a bar."

A friend invited him to Solid Rock and The Way.

"At first I was drawn by the music," Doucet said, "but then the preaching is what keeps you there."

Dear faithful servants on Sunday church,

I am so proud (in the best spiritual sense) of you guys and gals. All went well in the beginning and the middle and the end. And we didn't even have to listen to Zach!
What a party! What a blessing! What wonderful love just a bouncing off the walls! God really blessed us. He had it all under control. His ultimate plan I think was for us not to just hire a band and have a good time, but also to make new friends and discover another ministry in which our church can pray for and support. I think of the money we could of saved, (I would!),if we weren't always giving it away, and I know for sure that God is fully in charge of our little congregation. He is able to bless all over the world because Hillside is willing to ride His train into His station whenever He pleases and whenever He chooses. How exciting. I checked with the guys from African Accapella and their van broke down only because someone left a switch on and it ran the battery down. But Hillside (you guys) came through and blessed them with a rental. God allowed the battery to go dead. Hillside stood in the gap and now God can further our friendship and relationship with even more people that have only one thing in mind: God being glorified. Thank you Father for
your faithfullness to Hillside and to African Accapella. I also learned from them they need brakes installed on their van. I have the tools and am currently finding out when it is best for them for us to go there. If anyone wants to share in that blessing let me know. They have nothing scheduled for this weekend so I am leaning in that direction. No worries if you can't make it. God will provide. He certainly proved that on Sunday with the help of a certain small congregation I am so proud of (in the best spiritual sense!) Love you all and see you soon. Doug.

A big thank you letters to your Church.

(From Morris, one of the singers in the African Gospel Acappella group)

hello Zach Elliott.
unbehave of the AGA. Ministry We want to extend our many thank to you guys for Blessing us today. We ready appreciate what your Church did for us and still willing to help us.
this is our first time for our Ministry for a Church to rent a car for us to go and sing for them and bless us more.
We want for you guys to continue to pray for our Ministry, So we can be able to bring one or two of our friends to joins us to continue to preach the good news of Jesus Christ.
thank Morris and the other guys.

Encouragement

PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!

Pulling an Amtrak

Sitting at the railroad crossing in Canby, I saw something pretty cool: an old, green train engine creeping slooowwwwly toward the crossing, blowing his musical horn over and over. Expecting a long wait for a sluggish freight train, I put on my e-brake and sat back to watch the conductor, wearing his striped hat, coming toward me. Then I noticed it wasn't a freight train at all; it was an Amtrak, being pulled along by the old engine! I'd never seen an Amtrak before that wasn't flying through town in a matter of 10 seconds. I wondered what was wrong with it, and pondered that maybe its engine had broken down, and this old conductor had agreed to rescue it by pulling it to its destination. How cool! Even the fastest train needed help. I started thinking about how we can pull others along when they are weak, and allow ourselves to be pulled when we are weak. No doubt the Amtrak will get repaired--but not without the help of the old green engine.
Lisa G.

A Prayer for the Hillside Fellowship Church

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generation, for ever and ever! Amen.”
Ephesians 3: 14-21

Love Steph S