All In: Here We Go Again!!

The church is made up of regular people. People who are striving to know Christ and follow him. People who are human and flawed. People doing the best they can and people who are trapped in patterns still struggling to be free. People who sometimes do what is right and sometimes do what is wrong. People who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. 

For the second Sunday in a row our church invited people to take a step of obedience.  People were invited to follow if the Spirit was leading them. They were called to baptism. Baptism is an outward symbol of an inner commitment. It is a sign. Like my wedding ring. It does not miraculously change us and free us from all that is wrong in our life. Baptism is a public declaration that Jesus is Lord of my life and it is my full intention to follow Jesus to the best of  my ability for all of my days. More people took that step today. The last two Sundays together saw 45 people walk in obedience. It has been incredible to witness!  

For all of our flaws and failures, God still moves. In spite of our limitations and our weaknesses, God still builds his church. I had the honour of watching a man who I have known since childhood choose to participate in baptism. The son of a man, who I used to babysit, was baptized today. Three precious young men, who we love as if they were our own, took that step of obedience today. So many precious, special people who I have gotten to know over the last years. They stood up and declared they are "All In with Jesus". My heart is so full that we have been allowed to be part of this body and witness this. It is truly beyond words. 

We love the team we serve with completely. We are privileged to work with people of such depth, humility and quality. As leaders we try to follow God and lead the church with integrity. I can only speak for Craig and I.  We are often alarmed by our limits and the weight of the task. We can get overwhelmed by areas where we feel we are failing or not making headway. We can get overwhelmed by our faults.

 It is days like these last two Sundays where we get to see God move in power. When we get to see people take steps of obedience and faithfulness. It is days like today that calm our fears. That reassure us. Even if we feel we are messing everything up, when we feel we are not enough, God is still at work. It is an incredible encouragement to witness people walk in obedience. It reassures our hearts. It reminds us we are only called to offer our best. We acknowledge our weakness and thank God for his faithfulness. It strengthens us to keep moving forward and keep seeking God's direction. 

It is moments like this where I am overcome with gratitude. This is were the action is. This is why we do what we do. The cost of following is worth it. In times like this I am humbled and overwhelmed that the Creator of the Universe asks us to follow. That he entrusts us with people who are dear to his heart. He invites us to be a part of something much bigger than ourselves.  When we have the courage to go where he goes, we get to see magnificent acts. We get to be a part of things we could never accomplish on our own. God is still building his church. When we dive 'All In", we get to see a bit more of God!