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“Whew!” is how I felt after Easter
Sunday. Ever since we began our “Walking with Jesus” initiative in
January we have worked hard praying, planning and preparing
ourselves to go deeper in our spiritual journey with Christ. The
combination of our 7-week “Experiencing God” Sunday series, weekly
Reality Groups, 24/7 Prayer Chain, and “Experiencing God Weekend”
has inspired many in our congregation to listen more intently to
God’s guidance and take positive steps towards obeying Him. Here
are some of their stories:
·
A man in our congregation
read in the newspaper about an elderly widow woman whose house was
damaged by a fire. Because of his increased sensitivity to the
principles from our study on “Experiencing God”, he visited the lady
to see how he and our church can help her.
·
A lady told me how she was
able to see a potentially difficult and sudden health situation with
one of her adult children as God’s way of facilitating
reconciliation in her family. Apart from learning the 7 Realities
prior to this event she is not sure she would’ve seen as it as such.
·
A man shared with me how
God “spoke to him” during one of his daily prayer walks that he
should call and encourage someone who was going through a difficult
time. He made the call immediately upon returning home and God used
him to encourage someone else.
·
During the 24/7 prayer
chain one lady shared how she began weeping with joy at how much God
really loved her and the incredible experience of spending a full
hour with Him in prayer. |
·
Another lady sensed God
leading her to fast, but had never fasted before without getting
physically sick. This time was different. This time she said it was
God calling her to “fast”, not the church. She made a few minor
adjustments in how she fasted and completed a period of “fasting”
without any problems. Most importantly, she sensed a deeper
connection with God through this experience.
·
A young man told me how
difficult it was adjusting to a new career. He began wondering if
he had made a mistake. Through this period of uncertainly he
decided to trust that “God is Always at Work Around Us” and that
“God Pursues a Continuing Love Relationship with Us”. Soon after
he expressed this attitude of trust in God, his situation made a
dramatic turn for the better.
·
Many who signed up for the
one-hour time slots in our 24/7 Prayer Chain reported how they were
unsure about praying for a full hour. Several reported how the
“Prayer Guide” helped them to fully enjoy the entire hour with God,
so much so, that they often times prayed beyond their one hour
obligation.
Whew! These are just a few of the many
encouraging reports I received. Keep talking about it and giving
feedback on how you are “experiencing God”.
We’ve learned and experienced a lot in
the last few months and even though “Whew!” may express our emotions
right now, we must be careful to not let up. God has bigger and
better things in store for us. So, let’s keep putting into practice
the things we’ve learned and experienced as we continue our “Walk
with Jesus in 2008”.
Your Friend,
Pastor Lewis
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