Pastor Mike’s Garage April 30th, 2021

Hey everyone, here is another excellent Pastor’s Garage from the one and
only Pastor Mike! But before you read it, please sign up for our prayer day
happening right now. There is one slot missing at 11:30 and a few more
later today. Let’s fill it! Go to grenfellap.com/

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*Pastor Mike’s Garage-April 30/21*

I’ll let you in on a little secret, I’m sitting at my computer
early(ish) Friday morning and I am really struggling with what to write.
It’s not that I’m conflicted in any way, it’s just that right now I feel
terribly uninspired! My brain is in a fog, I fear there is a very real
possibility that anything I have to share in this state might leave you
just a little bit dumber!

It’s been a roller coaster couple weeks, with many in our community
contracting covid, one who’s quite close to us quite seriously, some
injuries, some other health concerns in our church body, changing of
provincial guidelines once again, and the list goes on. Not to mention my
personal stresses of trying to get a full line of broken equipment ready
for the field, keeping a car wash semi-clean and tax week. As Pastor Dave
and myself met on Tuesday morning he shared with me that in some ways he
felt he was failing as a pastor in this season. To be honest I was shocked
to hear him say this as all last weekend I kept thinking how much of a
privilege it was to work with him during this time and how he was carrying
it all so well as a pastor. All last weekend I was struggling with my role
and how I felt I was failing as a pastor in these times. While I realize
that neither one of us is in any way a perfect pastor, I began to realize
that probably the feelings of guilt, inferiority, and failure might also
have a element of attack from the enemy!

This morning as I was thinking about all of this Ephesians 6 came to
mind. *“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on
all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all
strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood
enemies, but against rulers and authorities in the unseen world, against
mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly
places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armour so that you will be
able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you
will still be standing firm.”*(Ephesians 6:10-13 NLT) The New King James
version says “having done all, stand”. Sometimes that’s all we can do in
the midst of the storm when we feel battered, beaten, in a fog, uninspired!
For many years I missed the point of what the NKJ was saying in that verse,
I had the picture of a man in the midst of the battle with hardly any
energy left just standing, arms hanging down, at the end of his rope and
strength, I can relate to this picture quite often. But as I read those
verses in the NLT I realized that the words “having done all” didn’t mean
once you come to the end of doing all you can do. Rather what Paul is
referring to is in saying having done all is to actively put on the whole
armour of God before the battle begins so that we can stand in the midst of
the battle and face what the enemy throws our way, and in doing so come
through the battle standing strong and victorious!

I realize many of us, no, all of us, are in the midst of battles right
now! I encourage you to read Ephesians 6 right now and take steps to put on
the armour of God so that you might stand strong as well! Take captive the
lies of the enemy about who you are and who our loving heavenly Father is!

Pastor Mike