A Weekend to Remember

I went to a leadership conference this weekend that shook me up!  Some of what the speaker shared confirmed what The Lord has been speaking to our local congregation….amazing!  Click on this link and listen to the messages from 3/20/15 and 3/21/15 by Dr. Bob Gladstone.  I heard biblical truths that challenged me on so many levels but left me hungering for more of God.  The speaker spoke with a passion that could not have been fabricated. He spoke from a place of authenticity and deep connection with God. The fire was contagious and I was stirred to the core of my being. I WANT THAT FIRE.  THAT PASSION.  THAT FOCUS.   He challenged us to become obsessed with the Gospel, which inevitably will leave us obsessed with Jesus.  The truths were simple, the very truths we try to accomplish through complicated means.  I was overwhelmed and didn’t quite know what to do. As the truths came at me, I wanted to worship, I wanted to cry. I wanted to repent for not always having the right focus.  I wanted to shout, “THANK YOU JESUS for revelation knowledge.”  Kingdom building, he reminded us can be risky, being family can be messy and we won’t always get it right but it is worth every effort.  WOW!  How often do we as the people of God gravitate toward what is convenient, what is comfortable?  How often do we measure success by the number of people in the church, even if the spirit of God is absent?  How often do we hinder the gifts from flowing because it means we lose control?  How often do we neglect the essentials like loving and forgiving our brothers and sisters in Christ but want to go out and be special? How often do we make it about us and not about HIS WILL?    Oh that the church will return to the traditions of God… the only ones that matter.  I want to live, breathe, and be the gospel.  I want His kingdom to come in my life.  I want His love, mercy and grace to ooze from my words and actions spilling over into the lives of everyone I meet, ultimately showing them Jesus.

And then Sunday came, we went to church and it continued.  The word was sung, preached and then demonstrated through forgiveness,  prayers of intercession for our brothers and sisters in Christ, warm embraces were exchanged saying, ” I am here for you, I am going to fight with you because we are family.”  We. Are. Family.   I was overwhelmed to see the word come to life.    How awesome is our God!