The Power Of The Gospel To Bring Change

Our church missions weekend concluded this evening with a concert of prayer. To be honest, I really didn't know going in what exactly a concert of prayer was so I didn't know what to expect, but I knew that I wanted to be a part of it, and I didn't want to miss any of what our guest missionaries had to say. It was a very powerful evening of prayer and worship! Our pastors set up the evening to include everyone in prayer, dividing us into smaller prayer groups at various times throughout the evening to focus on different prayer requests. Ron Julian Jr. (one of our visiting missionaries) also shared with us his leadership team's vision for the future of their ministry, and gave us more specific prayer requests to focus on in our small groups this evening and in the coming weeks and months. While our goal is always to be fully engaged in the worship service and in continual prayer and praise, this format brought a whole new level of connection, not just with God, but with each other as well (at least for me).

A couple of other things that stood out to me from all of today's events are:

- Understanding that we need to go back (as we move forward in blessings, as we are forgiven, etc.) - "Who are the people that God wants us to go back to so that they may come to know Jesus?". For me personally, I know there were a few people that came to my mind immediately that I need to "go back to" and continue to plant seeds until they reach the point of accepting Christ as their personal Savior. We have been given a wonderful gift, and it is our responsibility to share that gift with others, no matter how uncomfortable we may be or how much ridicule we may receive.

- The Power of the Gospel to bring change! While we have a lot of tools and gifts to offer others and a lot of physical needs that we can help fulfill for others and enable more doors to be opened, the Gospel is our most powerful tool. The reason we go is to share the Gospel of Christ so people can be transformed by the Holy Spirit. Once someone accepts Christ, they are no longer the same person - the speed at which mental change happens depends on the individual - but they will no longer be the same.

- As Christians, we have hope in all hopeless situations because ultimately Jesus is going to win.

- Nothing is wasted in the Kingdom of God! No matter what we have done in our past or what we have been through, God will use it. God can use you; God wants to use you; God will use you!

Of course, God never misses an opportunity to speak to us individually (if we are listening!)! Beginning at Friday evening's service and continuing all throughout the weekend, God was communicating to me through these speakers. In my post yesterday, I shared my commitment to open my heart, surrender my will, be outward focused, and accept God's will for me without fear or hesitation. I can't say that I've fully upheld my commitment (I still have these mental battles between my doubts and fears and showing my trust in God by being obedient to Him when He calls me to move!), but I do believe that the Lord has solidified and clarified some of what I've been hearing Him tell me these last several months. So the journey continues... as I'm striving to stay in the center of God's will, I'm realizing that the center of God's will is not a destination, but the process itself. Discovering God's will comes from continuing to seek an intimate relationship with Him every single day. Christ meets us where we are and loves us as we are, but He refuses to leave us there - He is in the business of life transformation, and His work is never done!

Lastly, in regard to this blog... I don't know who I will share it with or who will choose to follow it, but in just the last few days since starting this I've discovered that it is very beneficial to me personally to write down my thoughts and lessons learned here. I keep a notebook of Scripture, songs, readings, etc., that touch me; but I've never been one to actually keep a journal with thoughts, feelings, happenings, etc. When I have tried that in the past, it has usually been during a rough time for me, and once I was through it, I didn't want to have that written reminder so I would throw it away (I know... I kind of missed the point of the journal!). But somehow this is different; it seems more to me as "journaling with a purpose" (I just didn't realize at the onset how much the purpose would be for me!). So if somehow this reaches someone and has an impact on them or they gain even one thing from it, I will consider it a blessing and praise God for finding a way to use it. But if it remains merely a tool for my own use, I will praise God for that as well (I seem to "listen" more and the words kind of hit me upside the head more when I put them out there like this! - There have already been several things that I've known in my heart were right and steps that I need to take and/or adjustments I need to make, but actually seeing them in front of me makes them really stand out and speak to me directly). If anyone understands any of that, it is truly a God thing!