Standing on the Promises (the electrifying sense of the possible)
Traditional worship at WFPC Jan 12
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.” (Jeremiah 29)
Christmas was great. The Florida trip was excellent. But I’m so glad to be home. Special occasions are, well, special; but what I like the most are the routines and the simple joys of everyday life. The day-to-day tells my foundational life story, and it’s a really good story.
Church yesterday was remarkable. The New Year has launched with all the encouraging momentum of the fall still intact. Both of us are still a little overwhelmed by the electrifying sense of what’s possible here.
It’s not just the presence of people (and there were a lot of people Sunday), but the presence of The Spirit. There’s a BIGness here that testifies not so much that this is a large church (and it is) but that God is a HUGE and potent God.
FAITH: In my Sunday Morning study group we’re looking at a series by pastor/writer Andy Stanley. Yesterday’s discussion was about faith, and he pointed out something I’ve been talking about for a long time. Faith isn’t a “power” Christians leverage in order to make God do stuff. No, faith is understanding God’s promises and living as if we really do believe. Promise, Stanley said, is the bridge between hope and faith,
This is particularly appropriate for our church at this time, because we’ve been framing our whole journey into 2014 from the context of, “Standing on the Promises.” Or, as Rebekah has said more than once, “Living into God’s Promises.”
What I’m feeling around here is a very real movement from, “Hoping and wishing,” into, “Faith and believing.”
sharing the Good News from Wake Forest
HOW? If you want to know “why?” this is happening, or “how?” the transition is transpiring, then I’d simply point out that God’s promises are true, that God’s love is new every morning, and that – as Paul wrote to his friends in Rome, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (10:17).
“I will be found by you,” God said through the prophet Jeremiah, “and I will bring you back out of captivity/exile/wilderness…”
