The Atlantic Foursquare Church Pastors and Leaders

01/16/2022

01/14/2022

Foursquare Canada Prayer and Fasting - Day 5

I Sure Could Use A Little Good News Today - by Daniel Gies

Like many people I like to check the news, starting in the morning with the lead stories. Later that night I will check local and international. It seems like the world is hooked on conspiracy theories, doom and gloom, China, Russia, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Covid, and vaccines. There seems to be so much fear in the news. I began to notice how quickly time passed while I was reading one article after another. It occurred to me that I was spending more time in the news than I was in the Word. My diet had become more fear and anxiety, than peace and assurance. I chose to flip the equation over. Unlike before, where I had been reading twice the amount of news than I was reading scripture, I would now read twice the amount of scripture. It doesn’t mean that your total reading time will increase. But what you are reading proportionally has changed.

First place belongs to Jesus.

Psalms 1:1-3 (KJV)

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the council of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law does he meditate day and night.

3 and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also still not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

With the proper diet of scripture, the lens with which you see the world through will change. The world will see us differently too.

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Daniel and Judy have pastored at the Turtle Lake Mission for 30 years. They have four children and three grandchildren. Daniel and Judy both work outside the church, Judy teaches Music and Daniel is a heavy equipment repair contractor. Daniel is the unit supervisor for Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Hobbies include sailing and riding motorcycle.

01/14/2022

Devotion and Prayer Focus

01/14/2022

Devotion and Prayer Focus

Foursquare Canada Prayer and Fasting - Day 2
Have you heard the Good News? ~ John Overholt

Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

“Would you like to hear some good news?” Whenever sharing the gospel (good news) door to door in Costa Rica, I would normally start our conversation by asking this simple question. The response from the families we were visiting was always the same; “Yes, come on in and tell us about this good news that you bring.” I discovered, to my amazement, that the offer of good news always opened the door for me to share about it.

The first words announced by the angels was that there was good news at hand, and so good that it would bring great joy to all people. Perhaps, we need to be reminded that what we have to offer, and what transformed our lives, is indeed good news and something that this world is longing for and longing to hear, especially amidst the uncertainty and struggles that come with the times we are living.

In the middle of being salt and light to our communities, let us also remember that we have good news to share and so let us not shy away from asking the simple question, “Have you heard the good news?”
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John Overholt is the Supervisor of the Coastlands Unit, former Canadian Foursquare Missionary to Costa Rica and pastor of the Campbell River Foursquare church. John and Debbie now live and serve the Lord in Parksville, BC and attend the Compass Church in Nanaimo.

01/14/2022

Devotion and Prayer Focus

Foursquare Canada Prayer and Fasting - Day 3

DON’T JUST PREACH THE GOOD NEWS: BE THE GOOD NEWS
BE PART OF THE SOLUTION, NOT PART OF THE PROBLEM - Barry McGaffin

Lord, why don’t they (my friends, my neighbours, my world) get it?

Lord, your Good News is so incredibly, amazingly good. You are the Good News! You are never the problem. You are always the solution. Why don’t they get it?

Is it because I don’t get it? Am I part of the problem?

Lord, we’ve read it and we hear it. Over and over, you’re saying: DON’T JUST PREACH THE GOOD NEWS - BE THE GOOD NEWS!
“You are the light of the world…a city on a hill…let your light shine…that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
“…what we preach is not ourselves…For God who said, `Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (II Corinthians 4:5-7)
“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)
“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” (I Peter 2:9)

Okay Lord, I get it! I just heard it again in on an old Imperial’s CD: “You’re the only Jesus some may ever see. You’re the only word of life, that some may ever read…” (Imperials Legacy; words and music by Gordon Jensen)

I even read it again in the words of that eclectic Canadian communicator who wrote: “The medium is the message.” (M. McLuhan, Understanding Media)

Lord in your wisdom you have communicated your Good news to us through the medium of the miracle of your incarnation: God embodied in human flesh.
“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling with us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

And now, mysteriously and miraculously, you have chosen to continue to communicate your glorious good news message through the medium of the Church’s bodily presence in this world.

Okay Lord, I get it! Don’t just say it. Do it! Don’t just believe it. Live it!

Jesus this year, help me to not be bad news but to always be more of the good news. Never part of the problem but always part of the solution!

Amen.

(Bible quotes from the New International Version. Some capitalization added.)

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Barry McGaffin is privileged to have pastored four Foursquare Churches in Canada from 1966 to 2018. Barry currently is happy to serve as the North Fraser Unit Supervisor.

01/14/2022

Devotion and Prayer Focus

Foursquare Canada Prayer and Fasting - Day 4

“Die Gute Nachricht Verstehen” - Understanding the Good News by Barry Marsten

It’s more than just difficult for me to read the headlines of any German newspaper, it’s literally impossible, because I don’t read, write or understand the German language. In fact, unless the headlines of any newspaper are written in English, I am at a complete loss as to what they say, even if they are announcing Good News. Sometimes I can try and decipher the meaning, if some of the words look familiar, or if there are a few photos included in the article, but to get the clear message of the story, I have to be able to actually understand the words. Jesus tells us ‘When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart’ (Matthew 13:19). It is a wonderful thing to sow the Word of God into someone’s heart – but if they don’t understand it, it is snatched away and produces no fruit. We need to be people who share God’s Word clearly, with simplicity, so everyone can understand it. If we complicate or confuse the message, the seed doesn’t even have a chance to grow. The gospel is always Good News, but it must be shared in ways that people can understand.

“Lord, please help me share the Good News with clarity and simplicity.”

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Barry Marsten is the Pastor of Cornerstone Church in Calgary, and serves as the supervisor of the Rocky Mountain Unit. He values faith, family, friends, fun and food!