Have you ever had one of those
inspiring moments when it seems that
God has "talked" to you? This
weekend was one of those times for
me, but it wasn't just one moment.
It lasted the whole weekend!
It
actually started Friday evening when
several people arrived at the MAP
building for the I.B.U. Most
of them were from our area.
But a lot of them traveled from
Illinois, Louisiana and various
parts of Arkansas. The
inspiring thing was knowing that
they had taken time out of their
busy schedule and/or traveled many
hours just to come study the Bible!
Not many people are willing to clear
their schedule for things out of
their normal routine, especially
Bible study! God inspired me
through them!
On
Saturday, I had the privilege of
sitting in on some of the classes.
Norman did a great job of inspiring
me to reach out to others,
especially those who visit our home
congregations. He gave us
practical ways of meeting new people
and making visitors feel more
welcome. Bryson and Tim gave a
presentation about their new
ministry - Encouragement and Rescue
- which is geared toward teens.
They told us stories about teens who
are struggling every day with abuse,
drugs, sex, loneliness, etc.
They did a terrific job of showing
me the need to reach out to teens
everywhere and to try not to be
judgmental. God inspired me,
through Norman, Bryson and Tim, to
look at myself and see what I can do
to help make the church a more
inviting place for those who are
struggling so desperately to find a
place to fit in.
Yesterday, (which is actually the
first day of the week, not the
weekend) was another inspirational
day. It started with a class
taught by Charlie J. He dealt
a lot with marriage and how to
communicate, but his material was
also useful for relationships with
other people, such as children,
parents, siblings and church family.
Sonny preached from Galatians
1:18-24. His lesson also dealt
with communication from a different
angle. He touched on the fact
that we all need to be teachable and
willing to open up to others in
order to have the closeness that God
intended for our church family.
We had two respond for prayer and
one person placed membership at our
congregation. The whole
worship and Bible study time was
inspiring and uplifting - from
beginning to end.
Afterwards, we had several from the
congregation come to the MAP
building to eat lunch, then I went
to a drop-in baby shower where I saw
several people I hadn't seen in
awhile, then those who were at the
MAP building went to the local movie
theater together. We watched
the movie entitled, "The Secrets of
Jonathan Sperry." This movie
inspired me to practice what Jesus
preached. We should be good
neighbors, forgive others, be more
concerned about the souls of others
than we are about our physical wants
or needs. It not only caused
tears to flow down my cheeks, but
reminded me that everyone needs
Jesus and I need to reach out to
others with His love. It was
an inspiring movie that was well
worth watching!
The
inspiration continued on through the
night with another time of singing,
praying, studying the Bible and
listening to another message from
God's Word. Then the day ended
with conversations about God, how He
had blessed us, and how we can be a
blessing to others.
The
thing that was most amazing about
all of this inspiration was the fact
that everything seemed to tie
together. All the lessons, the
movie, the conversations, the
responses for prayer and even
placing membership were all about
relationships, communication,
reaching out to others, being part
of a family.
Do
you think God was trying to tell me
something? I can sit all day
long and read His Word, but what
good has it really done? Sure,
I've learned a lot, but God's Word
is more practical than that.
He wants us to use what we learn.
Live His Word. When something
inspires you, take hold of that
inspiration, study it, share it with
others, then go out and live it!
Let yourself be inspired!
|
