Tag: love

When God says, “Don’t preach.”

when god says don't preach

I’ve been trying to figure out how best to write down my thoughts about what happened at Evangel Church this past Sunday. I thought that if wrote it down on social media it would come off the wrong way. But to not say ‘anything’ I felt was horribly unfair to hiding what God did. So I thought I would blog about it.

Church on Sunday was something I will probably never forget. I’ve had a few days now to think more about what happened; about what God was doing in the hearts of all of us as a church family.

The service was an hour and a half of “God’s agenda… not ours.” From the moment the congregation started singing I knew that something different was going to happen. There was no emotional reprieve… only momentum. With each verse, each chorus, each song the level of anticipation and sense of God’s Presence grew. It was like being on a date between the Maker and the Made that hit it off from the get go and was only getting better as the date went on.

I looked around and people had already started to come up into the altar area on their own. People were hungry. People ARE hungry for what God is doing. By the time I went up after the ‘singing’ (we ended up singing for another 30 minutes afterwards) I called others to join those already up at the front. Called people to come up who were lacking the Presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Called for those who were sick to be prayed for by anyone around them.

There was ministry EVERYWHERE…. People crying. People praying for those who were crying. People standing with hands raised. People curled up on the floor weeping. Presence… everywhere.

Let me be clear. There was no ‘smoking gun’ for the service. No new song. No ‘special’ event that tipped the scales. There wasn’t a new formula for us to now try to mimic.

There was though a sense of expectancy in the room. I could already sense it during the preservice prayer. We were waiting. We were longing. We were desiring more of God.

What I have found over the years is that we only get more of God in our lives one way… by releasing more of ourselves. Surrender. It’s not about God deciding to give us more of Himself. He gave us His Son! He built the broken bridge of relationship all the way over to us… except for one last step. That step is the only step towards God we need to take.

I didn’t feel right preaching on Sunday. It was already noon. Our time of worship made celebrating communion one of the most memorable I’ve ever experienced. We ‘felt’ the joy of what we gained from Jesus’ sacrifice. His Presence.

Jeremiah 2:2 says “I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved Me.” I got to see what I’ve been ‘seeing’ for a long time for Evangel. A Bride totally in love with the Groom; and a Groom loving on the Bride that He laid down His life for.

At least that’s how I see it,

 

C

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Coming Home Is Always Shorter

This past Sunday I sat and listened to Kerry give her testimony… her “Love Story” as she called it. I had never heard the story of the Prodigal Son that way before. It still is affecting me almost a week later.

We often focus on how ‘far’ we have moved away from God rather than how ‘close’ we are able to come back. We forget that He is waiting for us to return back to Him and then starts running to ‘meet us’. HE is the one who shortens the journey back to Him.

At least that’s how I see it,

 

C

PS – We launched a new series for our YouTube Channel called “McK and Mike” and we continued the conversation from Sunday. If you want to hear Kerry’s message you can click on this link right here. Enjoy.

 

 

Dad is Easy… Father is Hard

Well we’re about to go into another weekend of great services at Evangel Church and I think that for the first time, I’m not specifically having a Father’s Day emphasis in my message.

Okay, before you all come at me with your brand-new ties that you’ll never wear again and your bbq utensils, I have good reason. We are wrapping up our current series on “Within These Four Walls” and we are taking a look at how God looks at us as the Bride and He is the Bridegroom… so there will be plenty to correlate with Father’s Day…

That said, I thought I would just make this observation… from what I have found out in Health class, the Discovery Channel, and sitting reading magazines waiting for the doctor, the act of becoming a dad is fairly easy. Actually, some would say that it’s pretty close to the real thing… us men start something and then let someone else finish the job. 🙂

Well what I would like to challenge tonight is the fact that being a ‘father’ to children is SO much harder than just being a dad. It’s not just about starting something, it’s about being there every step of the way… from beginning to end. Fathering is making today make tomorrow better… read that again. Fathering is making ‘today’ make ‘tomorrow’ better. What I mean is the act of fathering is ‘investing’ in your children so that they will be better because of you… not in spite of you.

Maybe you’re disconnected from your kids… Maybe it’s been a while since you said “hi”, “how are you doing”, or “I love you.” I never said that it would be easy. Actually, my whole point is that it’s NOT… but think of what OUR Father did to tell us that He loved us… it wasn’t easy… but it sure made a difference!!!

At least that’s how I see it.

C

God’s Marriage Proposal

I know, it’s Christmastime and Boxing Day sales are creeping up even ‘before’ Christmas!!!

Some people ask me how come God had to come as a baby. Why did He need to do something as drastic as that? Well, I guess I could try to explain it this way:

I love my wife… terribly. I remember how much I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I hardly had any money but I got a ring and asked her to marry me… and she said “Yes!”

Would she have said yes if I sent a messenger? Or maybe in a letter? Would she have jumped for joy if I had sent her an email or text message? Probably not. It was SO important to me that ‘I’ needed to do it!

John 3:16 says that “God so loved the world the He sent His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” That’s how much God loves us and that’s why He sent Jesus… No other way could He express His love for us but to come and tell us Himself… through Jesus.

At least that’s how I see it,

Craig

Stop The Traffic!

I’ve done some pretty dumb things as a kid… tried to jump over a ditch with my bike forgetting that front wheel was not attached properly… got my tongue stuck to a metal pole in the winter (yes… I had to find out for myself). I think one of the dumbest things I ever did was decide to become a toll-booth on my street with a big long stick telling people to stop… and go. When my dad saw me doing it… I stopped… and I ‘go’ed!

But my dad hardly remembers that moment. He disciplined me and was upset… but he loved me more than he was mad about what I did. It was his love that I remember that day… even though I DO remember the discipline.

Psalm 25:6-7 says “Overlook my youthful sins, O Lord! Look at me instead through eyes of mercy and forgiveness, through eyes of everlasting love and kindness (NLT).” Some people think that their past prohibits God from forgiving them. Nothing could be further from the truth. His love is everlasting. His forgiveness is always available.

At least that’s how I see it,

Craig