July 2013 Newsletter

In this issue:

Imitators of Christ

I grew up in a tiny town in southern Michigan in the middle of farm country. We lived on Main Street and had a cornfield in our backyard. I loved that simple, hard-working lifestyle. As an adult, one of my best friends owned five hundred acres planted with corn and soy beans. I loved working on his farm with him. He was a dear friend and father figure to me. I highly respected him. A big part of me wanted to be just like him. The longer I knew him and the more time I spent with him, the more I started to look and think like him. I began to understand the business of farming and listened to the grain market updates on the radio to learn the current trading price of corn. I wore jeans, work boots, and a John Deere ball cap. Over time I grew in my knowledge of farming and was able to keep his entire operation going if needed. I even drove the semi to the mill, fully loaded with corn. Those were some of the best times for me and I remember them with a sense of longing.

The interesting thing is this: the more I loved my friend, the more time I spent with him, and as I spent more time with him, the more I began to look and act like him.

This is the essence of being a follower of Christ. I love him and love spending time with him. The more I grow in my relationship with him, the more I look and act like he would act. This is the heart of discipleship.

My natural tendency is just the opposite. I think that if I discipline myself, I can work hard and be a better Christian. But that is not the way it works! Instead, I focus on my relationship with God, and as I grow in that relationship, I find myself wanting to spend more time with the One I love. When I spend time with Jesus, I find myself becoming more like him. I become a disciple of Christ, living my life the way he lived his. I start to look like him in my actions. I begin to think like he thinks. What is important to him becomes important to me. In the end, I become an imitator of Christ and my life is completely changed.

Consider these verses:

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1, ESV).

“And you became imitators of us and of the Lord” (I Thessalonians 1:6, ESV).

“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (Paul writing in his first letter to the church in Corinth, I Corinthians 11:1, ESV).

I pray that you are growing in your relationship with God. I hope you are falling in love with him so that you will want to spend more time with him. As you spend more time with him, I believe you will find yourself becoming more like him. In the end, let us all be imitators of Christ.

My farmer friend passed away several years ago. I still think of him in the spring when the fields are plowed and the smell of freshly turned soil fills the air. I find myself wondering what the price of corn will be this year and how the crops are growing in those fields in southern Michigan. And sometimes I still wear my old farmer hat just to remember how it felt to work those fields. In my heart, I guess a part of me will always be a farmer.

But today I have a different love, and slowly I am becoming a little more like Christ every day. I still have a long way to go, but I love spending time with him and I want to be just like him.

Join me, won’t you? Fall in love with God. Spend time with him. Become an imitator of Christ.

Till next month,

Free Downloads Page on the website

All of the resources we have available as a ministry are available for free downloads through the downloads section of the website. There are copies of several messages Tim has shared at conferences and special meetings, along with three different full length CDs you can download for free. Help yourself! And if you know of anyone who would be blessed by the resources, feel free to share the link with them. Click here to go to the Downloads page.

Connect with Timothy on Facebook

If you would like to keep up with what is going on in Timothy’s life and ministry, he would love to have you as a Facebook friend. This is also the primary means he uses for sharing prayer requests. So if you are interested in supporting the ministry through prayer, this would be a great option for you. Timothy will look forward to connecting with you there. Click here to go to the Facebook page directly.

Upcoming Ministry Events

Come hear Timothy live at one of these upcoming events and mention you heard about it through the newsletter. For details, click here to view Current Schedule.

  • June 23 – Bassett, Virginia
  • July 14-20 – Weston, Maine
  • July 20 – Gorham, Maine
  • August 3 – Alton Bay, New Hampshire
  • August 30 – September 2 – Weston, Maine

Interested In Hosting a Timothy Mark Ministry Event for your Organization?

We are actively scheduling preaching and music ministry events for the next two years. God has blessed abundantly with multiplied opportunities for ministry. If you are interested in hosting Timothy for a conference, concert, or preaching ministry event, please let us know as soon as possible so we can accommodate you. It would be a privilege. As always, all of the ministry events are booked on a simple love offering basis. If the church or organization is able to help with travel expenses it is appreciated but never required. You can use the online booking request form through the link below. Or simply call 941-445-3288 or email today at timothy@timothymark.com.

Click here to go directly to the Booking Request Form.