“Pressing On”

It is the nature of the Christian faith to be found often “snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.”

The NorthPointe congregation will never “recover” completely from the tragedy that took our pastor from us and nearly cost the life of our Ministry Assistant also. Satan has wounded us deeply. We are not in denial on that point. Neither are we defeated. We will hurt and we will mourn, but we will not quit! We will not surrender the field to the enemy.

Multitudes of fellow believers from around the globe have shared encouraging words in these months since that day the world seemed to stand still in North Arlington. We know that thousands continue to pray for us, and for that we are humbly thankful.

My task as Interim Pastor is not to replace Clint Dobson. I could never do that. My assignment is to preach and teach the Word of God, offer my best effort at leadership and partner with God’s Spirit in the work of encouragement.

When it comes to the work of encouragement, I take my cue from the Apostle Paul. In the final paragraph of Romans, chapter 8, Paul says, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? …. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtererd.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

One day, not long after Paul wrote those inspiring words to the Christians in Rome, he found himself unjustly imprisoned in that very city. From that Roman cell he wrote to his friends in Phillipi, “…forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

And so, in that great tradition, we at NorthPointe say to our community, to our sweet friends around the world, and to the Devil, himself, if he’s listening, we press on!