Sunday morning retuning: And so our journey with Jesus through the book of Luke begins. I want to encourage you to keep your eyes open for Jesus. It may very well surprise you where He shows up. Expect to see Him everyday.
I sat in my study several times last week looking forward to starting the next part of our journey together with Jesus as a church family. I am excited to see how He will show Himself to us and where He will lead us. I hope you are too.
I also sat in my study several times last week looking forward to traveling to District Conference. It is an annual event for the leadership of our District of Alliance churches to get together to celebrate what God is doing, pray and talk about the future, and do some business as well. I generally look forward to it, but especially so this year. Why? Because it is in West Virginia.
As I sat thinking on Friday about these two converging realities, something struck me and actually brought me to tears. Staying a step behind Jesus is not always easy and often requires a willingness in us to lay something down or walk away from something. It occurred to me that staying a step behind Jesus for me and my family has meant leaving the state we love so much.
If you do not know me very well, let me tell you that I love West Virginia. I do not think I can explain the sacrifice in a way that can truly explain it, but suffice it to say that we left family and friends, and the church where I met the Lord in addition to a place that is dear to us to come and serve North-Mar. But here is what I really want you to hear. Though I LOVE West Virginia, I love Jesus MORE!
In that moment I was overcome by a rush of emotion. I really must love Jesus to leave my home state, family and church to serve here. And I do. And I believe that you too want to be willing to leave whatever is necessary for you to stay one step behind Jesus. But it is not always easy.
I want to encourage you to resolve that you will stay one step behind Him in the weeks and months ahead of us. It is important to do that now because as He shows Himself to us, we will have the opportunity to adjust the direction of our life to His call. Let’s do it.
Jesus, help us to commit to staying close to you. Then Spirit give us the grace to do it. We love You Jesus and we want to stay one step behind You, but we confess we can only do it if you help us.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy
No comments:
Post a Comment