The past few months have been fairly silent on the blog front. I have been busy. But more than that, I have been emotionally drained. Over the past couple months I lost my grandmother and grandfather as well as numerous smaller things that have left me scratching the bottom of the bucket emotionally. It’s not good for your heart’s tank to run low when you are tasked with pouring into the hearts of others.
It is for that reason, perhaps, that I am a little more grateful that Christmas is here. It is a time that I will be able to slow down a little and process the events that my family have recently experienced. More than that, however, Christmas is a time to remember that it was into our emptiness that God came. He wrapped Himself in flesh and lived in our neighborhood. He experienced all of our trials and burdens and then took upon Himself the weight of our shortcomings, failures, and sin. He who had never sinned became sin for us that we might be righteous. He poured Himself out for us.
He still pours into us. As Psalm 23 promises, he is eager to “restore our souls.” He takes us in our weariness and breathes new life into us.
I pray that you have a Merry Christmas, that your stockings are full, and your hearts are renewed.
Our church has been in the sermon series Dare You to Move through the month of November. I have been speaking to our church about hearing from God, choosing to step out in obedience, and holding on to His promise. I have preached these messages with a sense of expectation. I have expected people to step out and make decisions to trust God. What I didn’t expect was to experience this series in such a personal way.
Over the past few weeks, God has been speaking to me about some things that need to happen in my own life and ministry. They are things that I can see that He has been preparing me for. So the words that I spoke to our church a week ago must apply to me as well:
Life change steps of faith happen when conviction seizes the opportunity to move in faith.
I will be talking more specifically about what these things are in the weeks to come. The point of all of this is, however, that my expectation for God to move amongst our church must begin with the expectation for God to move in me.
In the years that I have been a follower of Jesus Christ I have read through the Bible more than once. I read it, whether briefly or at great length, on a daily basis. I, however, continue to stumble upon verses or passages of Scripture that capture my attention. It’s like finding a gold nugget on a familiar path.
This afternoon I was reading and was struck by the following words:
For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. – 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV)
The thought that God is looking for people to strengthen encourages me. When you read the Bible it does not take long to see that God is primarily focused on Himself; not us. His primary objective is to display His own glory. He created us for His purpose. He set forward the work of redemption to secure worshipers for Himself. He will bring all things to an end in order to fulfill His glory.
Yet… He is seeking people to strengthen. He is looking for people in which to pour His power and divine resources. He longs to single out people to build up, encourage, and empower.
And what kind of people is He looking for? …”those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” He is not looking for the best dressed, best educated, or even the best behaved. He is looking for those who have set their hearts on Him; those who are passionate about Him.
In other words, God seeks to bless those who are passionately pursuing the same thing He is… His glory. As I meditate on this text, I am reminded that if I set my heart to seek His gifts I will miss His gifts and may altogether miss Him. However, if I set my heart to seek His glory, I will find His gifts but more importantly I will find Him.
Hello. My name is Brett and I am a footballaholic. I am addicted to football in all forms. From high school games to NFL. In a pinch I will even watch games from the Canadian Football League. Yes, it is that bad.
The NFL preseason started a couple weeks ago. College football began just a couple days ago. We sat in the stands last night as Lake Placid played Sebring.
But it really starts tonight. At 7:00pm tonight there is the kickoff to by drug of choice. The Gators of the University of Florida officially begin their 2009/2010 football season. I say 2010 because their season won’t be over until they win the BCS National Championship game in January.
I write this post in order to help prepare those of you who live in Lake Placid. When you hear loud noises coming from the Morey house tonight do not be startled. Everything is OK. We’re just rockin’ with the Gators.
I got home last night from my whirlwind trip to Atlanta. I spent two days working in our house to prep it to sell. I can hand the keys over to my real estate agent and feel good about how the house looks.
While I was there I paid a visit to Westridge Church. The church is about five miles from our house there and I have been fond of the church for a long time. Westridge is about 12 years old and averages 4,000 in worship. I have been blessed to know some of their staff. God has built an amazing church there.
I went to worship as well as observe how they do certain things. I wanted to learn more specifically about how they do two different things:
- How they handle guest services.
- How they handle lighting, sound, and other environment issues during their services.
Their guest services are exceptional. I expected it it to be such. They are a church that truly exists to bring people to Jesus. From the layout of the building to the volunteers, I always feel like special guest when I attend.
Their worship service was great. The music was the same as our contemporary service (although I prefer our worship leaders). I did, however, learn from how they handled their lighting and sound. I was impressed with some of what they did.
It was a profitable trip. I feel good about our house. I learned from a great church.
By the way, my father-in-law is still in ICU in Lake Placid but is feeling much better. Thanks for all of the prayers.
