House of Worship: Let it Rain...

On Sunday afternoon, January 25, 2009, I made my way downtown to the Hall for our special House of Worship event. As I was walking, I put my slick coat and umbrella to good use and hummed the song “Let it Rain” to myself for obvious reasons. This chorus became very meaningful to me as the day continued on - especially when our worship leader spontaneously led us in this song near the end of our time together. The powerful, passionate singing of these words inspires this summary:

There was fervent prayer for the new, out of the ordinary timing for a House of Worship gathering. Help your children know that worship is all of life, God. Let an awesome sense of communion and fellowship rain down on your family of believers.

There were passionate prayers of healing for a dear sister who recently learned of her cancer diagnosis. Let your healing power rain down on your daughter, Lord God, so that her healthy life will bring glory to Your Name.

There was a variety of music offered up by those You have blessed with amazing talent, God. Let the beautiful melodies reign in our hearts all week long, uniting and harmonizing our souls together with a sense of peace found only in You.

There were servant hands and feet moving all over the place to help set up, serve food, clean up, and ensure the highest quality of musical sound. Dear God, let your pleasure in the selfless work of your children rain down a sense of joy in their hearts for the opportunity to be blessed in giving of themselves.

Thank you, God, for letting it rain – for opening the floodgates of heaven and pouring out your love, mercy, joy and peace on the hearts of your children. Now open the floodgates of heaven over all of Greece, Lord, and let your life-giving truth reign in every heart.

Follow Love

Hello friends...The day is finally here. I'm less than 12 hours away from my first flight out of Iowa and on to Greece. :) And I must admit something... today the tears spilled over a few times. It's one of those challenging, yet rewarding transitions in my life... and the feelings are all over the place inside of me... reminiscing the wonderful last four months at home with friends and family, stressing a little about packing decisions, full of exhilaration for the journey ahead, and SO excited to grow closer to the ONE who made me and called me to this mission. :) Ah wow, I'm just... SO blessed, and I am anxious to keep letting this blessing spill over to bless others.

Here's the lyrics to an old favorite song that is really special to me (especially because of you, MO. ;) Love ya!)

Follow Love by FFH:

I'm gonna miss the simple town full of memories
I'm gonna miss just hanging out with all my friends
The rainy days and summer nights
(more like freezing days and blowing snow right now, haha...)
Skipping stones by the river side
(or skiing with the family... okay, I'll quit interrupting now!)
But i know.. its time to go
So here's goodbye here's so long
I must go and follow love
I feel my heart moving on
I must go and follow love
Carry on while I'm gone
This is what i've been dreaming of
I'll miss you so
But i must go, go and follow love

I've got a heart thats full of dreams
and a little bit of crazy
I can feel it pulling me to somewhere i have never been
I'm packing up and leaving home
To travel into the great unknown
Its time, i have to go...

We're not guaranteed tomorrow
So we must just keep on living for the day
and make the most of every moment
every step along the way...

So I must go, go and follow love


Yup, nothing like a song to sum up my feelings right now. :) I will hopefully post again very soon to let you know how traveling goes, etc. I love you all, and thanks so much for your support and encouragement! May you be overwhelmed at the enormity of God's amazing love for you.

The Greatest Gift

I have graded Bible studies for prisoners for awhile, and I wanted to share with you something from one of the lessons. By the way, this is an incredible ministry through Crossroads Bible Institute (CBI), and if you're at all interested in doing this, let me know! Ask me questions! Or just write them at P.O. Box 900; Grand Rapids, MI 49509. Wait, what am I saying... write them? This is the age of cell phones and e-mails, haha. So, here, you can check out their website at www.crossroadbible.org for more info. :) That's better... So anyway, this ministry is a huge encouragement not only for those who are in prison, but also for those like me (and it could be you!) who get to study the Bible with them and encourage them!! Now, here is...

THE GREATEST GIFT

To know without a doubt that Jesus has saved you is truly wonderful. To know that the Creator of the universe is no longer your enemy, but a trusted and faithful Friend, is truly amazing. But the Bible's teaching on salvation is not only wonderful and amazing, it is also very humbling. It's humbling to discover how terribly sinful our hearts can be. It's humbling to learn that even our very best effort can do nothing to merit eternal life. And it's humbling to acknowledge that the only possible way for us to be saved is to have someone else do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

But the amazing "good news" far outweighs the humbling "bad news." Someone else has done for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has done all that was needed in order for us to find the forgiveness, peace, and eternal life we so eagerly desire. Salvation is an act of pure mercy on God's part. It is a gracious gift of God, a gift of sovereign grace.

This wonderful salvation can never be merited or earned. IT can only be received through faith. It s by faith that we receive the gift of eternal life. By faith we confess that Jesus lived and died and rose again for us. By faith we receive Jesus into our hearts. By faith we receive His forgiveness. By faith we become children of God and fellow-heirs with Christ. By faith we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And by faith we begin to produce the spiritual fruits of holiness and love.

All our hope for salvation is therefore found in Jesus alone. And all our assurance of salvation is found in Jesus alone. If we depend in any way on what we ourselves can do or have done (how long our list of good deeds, how well we follow the "moral code," how often we attend church, etc...), we will always live in uncertainty and fear (and we will only be an annoying, loud, clangy gong or cymbal without authentic LOVE (= GOD) flowing through our lives!!). If Jesus' perfect sacrifice did not cover all our sins, what could we do that would? But once we trust the Lord Jesus with all our heart, we need not doubt for one moment that God will graciously give us all that Jesus has merited for us.

Grace alone. Faith alone. Jesus alone. Small phrases. Great truths. And they are the only truths that can give us the full assurance that we truly are forgiven, that Jesus is preparing a place for us in heaven, and that our names are written in the Book of Life. The wonder and glory of salvation - God's greatest gift to meet our greatest need!