Mark Beeson

With Gratitude to the Artists

 

 

                

 

 

 

                

 

 

 

                

 

 

Great artists, worshipping with passion and sincerity, help me worship.

As they lead I'm able repent more thoroughly, confess more honestly, praise more exuberantly and commit more completely. What a privilege it was to follow our leaders during GCC's sacrament services this weekend!

 

Psalm 40:1-3

I waited patiently for the Lord.
    He ·turned [bent down; inclined; stooped] to me and heard my cry.
He ·lifted [drew] me out of the pit of ·destruction [or desolation],
    out of the ·sticky mud [miry/muddy pit/bog/swamp].
He ·stood me [placed my feet] on a rock
    and made my ·feet [step] steady.
He put a new song [celebrating victory] in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many people will see this and ·worship [fear] him.
    Then they will ·trust [find refuge in] the Lord.

 

It's Baptism Weekend at GCC!

 

It's here!

We're celebrating God's amazing grace and our commitments to Jesus Christ, in every service and every campus.

Don't worry, if this is your weekend to be baptized, it's not too late to take this step of faith. You can still register. Wear a black shirt with no letters, grab your friends and family to attend with you to witness your baptism, and "Let's do this!"

 

Acts 2:41-42  -  That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.

Where I Run For Dear Life ... to My GOD

 

I was reading the biblical account of David's story this morning. (You remember him, right? He's the one who hurled a stone from his "shepherd's sling" and killed the giant Goliath. Eventually, he became a great King of Israel.) I was captivated by the way Eugene Peterson translated this passage of scripture in The Message.

David prayed to God the words of this song after God saved him from all his enemies and from Saul.

 

2 Samuel 22:3-4, 21-29

My God—the high crag
    where I run for dear life,
    hiding behind the boulders,
    safe in the granite hideout;
My mountaintop refuge,
    he saves me from ruthless men.

I sing to God the Praise-Lofty,
    and find myself safe and saved.

God made my life complete
    when I placed all the pieces before him.
When I cleaned up my act,
    he gave me a fresh start.
Indeed, I’ve kept alert to God’s ways;
    I haven’t taken God for granted.
Every day I review the ways he works,
    I try not to miss a trick.
I feel put back together,
    and I’m watching my step.
God rewrote the text of my life
    when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.

You stick by people who stick with you,
    you’re straight with people who’re straight with you,
You’re good to good people,
    you shrewdly work around the bad ones.
You take the side of the down-and-out,
    but the stuck-up you take down a peg.

Suddenly, God, your light floods my path,
    God drives out the darkness.

 

She asked, "You think there bears around here?"

 

We'd been walking up the side of a mountain together for nearly three hours when Sheila asked, "So, what do you think? Are there bears around here?" 

I pointed to this tree and explained the claw marks were from a bear standing up and marking the territory. I said, "It's sort of like the bear was saying, 'I'm awesome! Look how high I can reach!'"

The sap was still running in tree's fresh wounds, so I said, "Yeah. I'd say there are bears around here."

We figured it was worth a picture, so whoever found our camera would know what happend to us, but as it turns out... we lived.

2 Kings 2:24b  -  Two bears charged out of the underbrush and knocked them about, ripping them limb from limb...

 

Monsters Under the Bed: FEAR

 

 

 

Eric Carpenter beat the thunder out of a drum as he sang Demons this weekend. His musical offering set the stage for us to take a good look at the way we’re living and reorder our lives under God. 

 

 

Now there are more steps we can take together:

• Tuesday evening I’m leading "Discovering GCC" for everyone who wants to take another step in GCC.
  Register to take this step here.
   
• Next weekend we celebrate Baptisms in all our services at all our campuses. NOTE this big change: Everyone getting baptized is wearing BLACK shirts instead of white! Wear a modest BLACK shirt with no letters (long sleeve or short, T-shirt, Golf-shirt or Sweatshirt). It’ll be a weekend to remember. 
  Register to take this step here.
   
• Wednesday, September 25^th, we begin “Life Foundations” with an all-church-discipleship initiative.
  Register to take this step here.
   

 

Megan Wotring sang "Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies)" as more than 100 men and women left their seats and took steps toward Christ this weekend. They walked forward and surrendered their lives to Jesus.

Now we're looking forward to our next steps - the steps we'll be taking together.

 

 

Lamentations 3:40  -  Let’s take a good look at the way we’re living and reorder our lives under God. 

Last Night at the Granger Campus....

 

We shared a great night at the Men's Connect Event: great food (and plenty of it), good friends (or soon-to-be-friends), inspiration and encouragement. 

Before we launch into the weekend services I thought I'd share just a few pics from the evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.

 

Women's Connect Event Memories

 

 

Friday night it'll be the men's turn, but this evening more than 400 women gathered as a company of friends taking steps along the tried-and-true pathway.

It was great.

 

Proverbs 2:20-21

So—join the company of good men and women,
    keep your feet on the tried-and-true paths.
It’s the men who walk straight who will settle this land,
    the women with integrity who will last here.

 

 

In A Few Short Months ....

 

It was less than four months ago when I photographed this little fawn lying motionless in the tall grass. If it survived the summer, it can now run like the wind, elude predators and find its way in the wild. 

That's an amazing transformation in a very short time. In fact, it's so incredible and dramatic that watching last spring's fawns run through the woods makes me think, "Wow. Look what GOD has done! That fawn is only a few months old! Amazing!"

Such impressive development and growth prompts me to examine my own progress. "How much have I grown in the last few months? How do I plan to cooperate with GOD's work in my life in the months ahead?"

I'm adjusting my life to cooperate with GOD's invitation to join HIM in HIS work. I want to make progress during the next few months, so I'm engaging the LIFE FOUNDATIONS discipleship initiative. It begins September 25th and I'm convinced it'll help me grow-up and become more of the man GOD made me to be. 

 

Habakkuk 3:18-19  

I’m singing joyful praise to God.
    I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
Counting on God’s Rule to prevail,
    I take heart and gain strength.
I run like a deer.
    I feel like I’m king of the mountain!

 

 

Glacial Change

 

One of the criteria for a big 'ol chunk of ice to be defined as a "glacier" is that it's moving. It may only be moving three inches a year (as this glacier, pictured near the top of the distant mountain), but it is moving. The result of glacial movements - even if their movements are gradual and slow - can be massive change. Environments, ecosystems, habitats, climates and landscapes are transformed as glaciers move through them. It may take time, but the changes are often so severe that almost everything is different after a glacier has passed.

We all know that things sometimes change quickly. In fact, it sometimes feels like everything changed overnight, but most of the time things change slowly and it feels like the biggest transitions take the longest. 

The changes GOD is bringing may take time, but HE is making all things new. GOD's Kingdom is coming and HIS will is going to be done.

Be patient. 

GOD is at work and everything GOD is doing is good.... no matter how long GOD takes.

 

Psalm 57:9-11

I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
    I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
    your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.

(By the way, if you want to intentionally give GOD some time to bring good changes to your life, you can pariticipate in GCC's new LIFE FOUNDATIONS discipleship initiative this fall.)

Think a Little Support Might Help?

 

Across the years I've learned a few things about photography, not a lot of things mind you, but I've learned a little through study, practice and observation. 

Paramount is the use of a reliable support; a tripod in most instances but a bean-bag, a rolled-up coat, a rock or a handy backpack you can rest your camera on will suffice. Virtually anything that provides a solid rest for your camera can improve your pictures... if you use the support you're given.

A good support makes for better results, especially when trying circumstances make your work more difficult ... and that's not only true in photography.

I often find myself needing reliable support.

Across the years I've learned that a faithful friend, an honest counselor, a wise teacher, one of GOD's cherished Proverbs or some Truth from GOD's Word can stabilize my life and give me the solid support I need to live well... even when trying circumstances make my life more difficult.

I do better with my life if I use the Support I've been given; we all do.

 

 Psalm 94:18-19

When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
    your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
    your consolation brought me joy.

Logan Pass

 

 

When someone asks if it's worth the effort to make the hike up to the Hidden Lake at Logan Pass, say, "Yes."

 1 Kings 19:11a  -  He was told, “Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God.”

 

See the Baby?

 

Several of these (apparently oblivious) sheep were moving toward us when this old ewe looked up with surprise and opened her eyes wide in wonder. She looked at us like, "And what in the world are YOU doing up here?" Apparently, we were the last things she expected to see as she made her way through the mountains with her baby in tow. 

I told her she should be happy we weren't Grizzlies and that a bit more caution seemed advisable. 

Yes, I talk to the animals.

 

Ezekiel 34:11-16  -  God, the Master, says: From now on, I myself am the shepherd. I’m going looking for them. As shepherds go after their flocks when they get scattered, I’m going after my sheep. I’ll rescue them from all the places they’ve been scattered to in the storms. I’ll bring them back from foreign peoples, gather them from foreign countries, and bring them back to their home country. I’ll feed them on the mountains of Israel, along the streams, among their own people. I’ll lead them into lush pasture so they can roam the mountain pastures of Israel, graze at leisure, feed in the rich pastures on the mountains of Israel. And I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep. I myself will make sure they get plenty of rest. I’ll go after the lost, I’ll collect the strays, I’ll doctor the injured, I’ll build up the weak ones and oversee the strong ones so they’re not exploited. 

Ptarmigan

 

Halfway up a mountain hike Sheila and I saw this little guy heading on a path toward us, so I did what any normal person would do in similar circumstances. I laid down on the trail and positioned my camera on the ground between me and the bird, hoping for a chance to get its picture. You've got to get pretty low to be eye-to-eye with a little bird like this one. He seemed unconcerned about my prone display and I waited patiently as he continued my way. I persevered and he eventually wandered into a shootable location. One "click" and he was mine. Another "click" sounded as he struck a pretty pose and now he's yours too.

 

Romans 8:25  -   We are hoping for something we do not have yet, and we are waiting for it patiently [with perseverance].

 

Marvelous Creator

 

Just before I took this picture, I pointed to this little stand of trees and said to Sheila, "Look what God did. How awesome is God!"

 

Psalm 46:8  -  Come and see what the Lord has done, the amazing things he has done on the earth.

Who Wants a Little Cabin with a View Like This?

 

See that little cabin? 

Nice veiw, eh?

(And no, Sheila and I are not staying there...)

 

Psalm 121:1-3a

I look up to the mountains;
    does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
    who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.
He won’t let you stumble.

 

Labor Day Away

 

  - Photo by Adam Tarwacki & Dustin Maust - 

I’m amazed when I look back on the summer. It’s been fast-paced, remarkable, demanding and fruitful. I’ve run as hard as I can run and soaked in the summer months with gratitude. Many of you did the same.

But now it’s Labor Day and our fall rhythms are beginning.

• Our plans for evangelistic outreach are intact and baptism services are on the books for September 21st & 22nd.
• The Early Learning Center is cranking.
• September dates are set for the Men’s Connect Event and the Women’s Connect Event.
• Our Student Ministry summer mission season was incredible and the fall GSM programs begin next Sunday.
• We're serving more in Monroe Circle as missional programming increases.
• 200 Discipleship Guides were trained this summer and we’re poised for the launch of our new church-wide discipleship (Life FOUNDATIONS) initiative on September 25^th.

So, Sheila is taking me away for a few days to rest.

She planned this trip a long time ago. We’ve never been to Glacier National Park so she wanted to take me there to celebrate my 60^th birthday. When she booked the trip, God knew what she didn’t; this time away together would be helpful and timely, more so than we could have imagined.

So, before I ask everyone at GCC to “stack hands” and make this fall one of the most God-honoring and encouraging seasons of our lives, I’d like to thank God for His love, thank you for your devotion to The Jesus Way and thank Sheila for 37 years of life and ministry together.

As I get internet (which seems non-existent in Glacier) I’ll post some pics.

 

  

Isaiah 52:7

How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of the messenger bringing good news,
Breaking the news that all’s well,
proclaiming good times, announcing salvation,
telling Zion, “Your God reigns!”