First of all, the plane ride down was delayed an hour. Frustrating because I frantically hurried through Friday night rush hour traffic for nothing. However, after boarding the plane, I sat in
the wrong seat. Yet God planned for that to happen. I had the wonderful opportunity to share my faith with Dave; a Jewish 20 year old from New York headed back to continue his junior year at Emory. I was reading "The Bondage Breaker" by Neil Anderson - a book to help believers understand and know how to combat Spiritual Warfare based on the truth of their identity in Christ. Now, as you might guess when he asked what the book was about, I hesitated for fear of "weirding" him out. Since I had no idea where he stood in regards to understanding faith in Christ. Typically when I get on a plane, I can easily fall asleep before getting in the air. But this open door to a spiritual conversation was quite welcomed. For the next hour and a half of the 2 hour flight, Dave drilled me with scenarios about why a good guy, husband of one wife, wonderful father who service on the PTA should go to heaven and on the other hand a guy who has killed 30 people and then on his death bed professes faith in Christ should die. As the Lord laid Scripture on my heart, I was able to challenge his paradigm of human worth, the eternality of a soul, and what a fulfilled life truly is. I explained to my new friend Dave, that the good guy was simply basing his meritorious entry into heaven on his works, whereas the fictitious antagonist - the murderer- was basing his entry into heaven on the sacrificial work of Christ- what He has already done. Although this is easy to understand while reading, as I was speaking these truths, I was reminded of this wonderful reality. That it's not about me - neither how good nor how "bad" I am. It's all about Jesus! Thanks be to God. Although I can't give the good report that Dave bowed his head and gave his life to Christ at 30,000 feet, I do have a good word about the outcome. During our conversation, I continually used as much Scripture as possible for my responses. It was quite exciting. The best part of that was when I explained to him that when it comes to things like heaven and even faith in a God we don't see, the truth of the matter is that we "walk by faith and not by sight". Dave gave me a curious look when I said that. "Hmmm... Walk by faith and not by sight," he repeated. I said, "yeah, do you want me to write it down for you?" He said, "No, I'll remember that." I was thrilled when he said that. I prayed in my heart that God would sow the Word into him so deep that truth would spring up fruit for a harvest of coming to faith in his life. The outcome of the conversation was encouraging.While down in Atlanta, I had a wonderful time hanging out with Jesse and Dillon, friends that I made in Arizona and God has allowed us to stay connected in spite of the fact that Dillon (button down) is now serving the country at a Marine Base in Jackson, NC and Jesse (green shirt) is working with kids as a pharmacist at a hospital in Atlanta.
I also got to meet Rachel, Jesse's girlfriend, a cool southern belle from Florida. Together the four of us made enough noise to wake up many neighbors in the
surrounding area. Laughter, smiles, and genuine conversation marked a quick but deep visit. For example, we started a discussion about what it means to truly desire racial reconciliation in the world and in the church. My boys are quite open to learning about different people, learning from different people, but aren't timid about sharing their opinion regarding controversial things or issues. They keep me sharp as they balance out a willingness to learn and dialog. I thank God for such brothers!Gratefully God has allowed me to connect with other saints who are filled with the Spirit. It is encouraging to know that you're not alone in your pursuit of the Lord. When Sunday after Sunday I look around and feel as if I'm surrounded by robots who mechanically - file into pews, stand only when instructed, move theirs lips without a link to their heart, and quickly file out after the last song ends. Now, I think that they may have never encountered the living God; so I pray that they could taste and see His goodness and essence (Psalm 34:8). But how sweet it is to connect spirit-to-spirit with other saints that have experienced God's salvation - beyond justification, but sanctification!
On Sunday night a spontaneous "pot-pie party" hosted by my friend Eric (in the picture below sticking his head into the frame) allowed such a
connection with me and five friends. The sisters in Christ present that night are teachers at Harvest Christian Academy (Kelly and Stephanie are to the right, Kim is below) and my brothers are involved in the Connect ministry at Harvest with me. After enjoying far too much of the succulent pot pie pastries and watching the premiere of the new Knight Rider Show (which by the way is sort of weak, except for the super -hot Ford Mustang Cobra SVT - the new K.I.T.T. The special effects were cool and I must confess I lusted after this car a little bit.) for the first couple of hours, I suggested that we spend some time sharing and encouraging one another. Over the n
ext two hours we filled the room with the beautiful sound of voices crying out to Jesus in song as the guitar was strummed softly. Interspersed prayer helped usher in the Holy Spirit. Then one by one we each shared a testimony of what God has been teaching us along with areas of growth and expectation in the Lord. Once everyone had shared we continued in prayer and song asking the Lord to lead us and guide us collectively (during that time) and individually, even beyond that night. When I finally glanced at the clock, it was a little after 1 a.m.! And I was... not really tired...but I was still.... in awe at the presence of the Spirit of the living God. It was an awesome start to the week. I connected with God, and others in a way that honored Him and increased my faith. (which has been a prayer of mine lately) Lord please continue to increase my faith. Each person present contributed and the result was a dynamic experience that only could've been orchestrated by the Holy Spirit.Finally, I have been waiting in excited anticipation to see where God would place me as a church planter. Over the past week I've been able to talk with my closest accountability brothers as well as my parents about an opportunity that was presented to me by the Harvest Bible Fellowship leaders. the overwhelming response from those with whom I've shared so far has been affirmation in the Spirit. With each person I get a different lens through which to look at this opportunity and I have been continually in prayer about it. I won't (yet) share a specific location, but I ask that you pray for God to continue to give me wisdom and discernment as I seek to transition to the next level of ministry. I am taking a trip to visit this location on Sunday and look forward to meeting other saints of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I pray for sweet communion in every possible way; ways that I can think of and even ways that I cannot yet imagine! Eph. 3:20
God hasn't ceased to blow my mind and I look forward to walking closer with Him today
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