Collin Church planting announcement

Dear Freshwater Church,

I write today to communicate with you that this past Sunday, Collin shared with the church that God has called him to Church planting. Collin has been an amazing member of the Freshwater staff for 13 years and in this time we’ve seen his exponential growth. Collin now feels God’s call to go out. We believe the word that best captures this announcement is bittersweet! We love Collin and his family and have been so blessed by their ministry in so many ways so it feels painful to know they are leaving, but we also are excited because Freshwater has always believed in the kingdom expanding through planting churches. While Collin does not have all the details, he will be starting this new work in the Kalamazoo area. I understand for the majority of people change is hard but we celebrate that God is at work in Collin and that he and his family will be a blessing to many. I am also guessing that for many of you this may feel like it has come out of the blue – but I assure you that Collin has been praying and God has been directing him every step of the way. On Sunday, we heard Collin share more of God’s leading.

On May 2, we will be celebrating Collin and his family and all the work God has done through them. We would love to have you join us for this special moment as a church. With bittersweet feelings, we look forward to what God will do in the future.

As for Freshwater, I believe we will feel the loss but also rejoice in God’s future believing that God’s kingdom growing is worth all the sacrifices. We will be thankful to have participated with Collin for many years in ministry and now look to what God has next for us, too.

May God bless us and lead us forward,

Troy

A crack in the Taylor Guitar

Mourning our sins and finding comfort in holy God

blog post

1/28/2021

There is a verse in the bible that gives an incredible challenge to live. Monumental. It comes from 1 Peter 1:16. It is God speaking to us, saying, “Be holy, for I am holy.” Any attempt that we put forth in living holy, which is according to the Spirit of God and not the flesh, should be done while considering the holiness of God. But our sin remains all too familiar while we live in these broken bodies. What we need to become more familiar with is the holiness of God. I believe that a greater understanding of God in His holiness, will lead to a great appreciation for the gravity of the sin we commit. Consider this, if we think little of our sin, we are most likely trivializing the holiness of God. Which could lead to our doom. 

Holiness. This attribute of God is not only describing His absolute purity, but His ‘set-apartness’ from creation. 1 Samuel 2:2 says, “There is none holy like the Lord; there is none besides you.” And when we consider this truth of God, we will resolve that our sin is such an offense that rightly ignites His holy wrath in which Romans 6:23 explains, “The wages of sin is death.” That makes sense when we humbly observe the eternal holiness of God. God is holy. He made all things holy. He created man and woman holy. And from temptation to sin, Romans 3:23 is now the reality brought forth by man. “For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.” Our sin does not damage the holiness of God, but it does damage our relationship with God. 

Consider this. 15 years ago I bought a rosewood Taylor guitar. $1,800! My heart was overjoyed to have. It. Was. Holy. Okay it wasn’t holy, but it was made exactly the way it was intended to be made. And about 5 years into my ownership of this beautiful guitar, one day I ran my hand across the face of the guitar while playing, and to my horror, I felt... a crack. Then my heart sank. This irreversible damage consumed my thoughts. I destroyed perfection. I want to fix it, but I can’t. And I am deeply aware that this is not what was meant to be, because I am also deeply aware of what was meant to be. Now back to the beginning. 1 Peter 1:16, “Be holy for I am holy.” If only I had considered the value of this guitar, I would understand how important it is then, to properly take care of it. How I handle it. Humidifying it in the dry Michigan winters. Paying attention to who else handles it. And so on. But in my sinful apathy, I ‘fell short’ of the holy standard that is required to care for such a holy thing. 

Now consider Matthew 5:4 ““Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” The proper response when realizing our offense to a holy God is mourning. Just like that moment I found that crack on my beautiful guitar, and I put my head in my hands in distress and sadness. But now amplify that by eternity. Considering the eternal magnitude of the holiness of God. We should mourn our sin. Because you know it has ruined the relationship you have with God. No more communion. Only condemnation. 

Well how can there be “comfort” for those who mourn then? Because of what God also says in Isaiah 57:15, “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” What unexpected beauty that is the heart of God. He is high and holy, but there is a kind of person He bends low to. The lowly in spirit. The broken hearted. The mourners. We see this beauty fulfilled in Christ when He says in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus takes on weary travelers, those who recognize they are sinners. Hopeless. Depraved. Unable to give themselves the rest they truly need. This is comfort. 

God’s holiness will not allow any unholiness into His presence. This means hell. This, we mourn. And understand, I cannot repair my broken guitar. As much as I wish I had the power to, it will never be restored. In fact, every single thing that exists on planet earth has an expiration date that it will surely meet. Our sin has caused us alienation from God. We know this. It is a pain like no other. However, for those who mourn in their sin, not just because it feels bad in it’s earthly consequence, but its eternal consequence. To those who mourn in such a way that leads them to humble repentance unto Christ. Surrender to Christ. Well those people find themselves with no expiration date. This is comfort. This is resting in Christ. Eternal security. Restored by the blood of Christ. Risen back to life by the power of the Holy Spirit. Standing justified with the precious and holy righteousness of Christ upon our souls. As 2 Corinthians 5:21 beautifully declares, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 

This means reconciliation. No more alienation. Get this… we are now considered HOLY! By the grace of God we were so undeserving of, He so loved the world, that He gave His Son, Jesus, to become our sin, and by our faith we can stand in the presence of the Father. Holy! In fact, that is the truth for the believers even as we live in these broken bodies. And so we now live in this life with a heart that desires to fulfill the call of 1 Peter 1:16 “Be holy, for I am holy”. Amen.